How to Buy and Store Watermelon Like a Pro

Summer never comes soon enough in Chicago, where I live, nor does it last as long as I'd like. So here’s my trick for savoring the season:eat watermelon every day, all summer long.

The average American diet includes roughly 14 pounds of watermelon a year, according to the USDA. I bought my first watermelon of 2016 on Memorial Day weekend and haven’t gone a week since without one on my kitchen counter or in the fridge. If I’m not outpacing my fellow citizens, I’m on track.

Those first melons I brought home from the store were from a warmer clime and I was fine with that. You do what you have to do here in the City of Big, Bad Winters. (Peaches, though—those I wait for.)

但是现在,终于,我可以把我摘西瓜s at the market. I checked in with Stephanie Barlow, spokeswoman for theNational Watermelon Promotion Board, which exists to encourage a watermelon-filled lifestyle for all, and rounded up the following tips.

You can find watermelons when it’s not summer. Those typically ship from Mexico and Central America. But the best time to buy is between May and September. That’s when production kicks in for the four top watermelon-growing states—Florida, Texas, California, and Georgia—which account for two-thirds of the U.S. crop and keep supermarket bins consistently full. In northern areas, the fruit might just now be hitting its peak at your local market.

Pork Tonkatsu with Watermelon-Tomato Salad

Romulo Yanes

text in callout

Seedless is, hands down, the type most of us buy.

“Close to 90 percent of our growers produce seedless,” Barlow says. But the term “seedless" is a bit misleading. Those small white flecks are actually undeveloped seeds.

With seedless melons, which cost more than the old-fashioned seeded ones, we're not just paying for the convenience. They’re more difficult to grow.

Both seedless and seeded varieties—there are hundreds—range in size, shape, and color. They can be oblong or round as a bowling ball. The rind can be striped, speckled, solid green or yellow. The flesh can vary from orange (rare) to yellow (getting more popular) to various shades of red.

Grocery stores usually differentiate by seeded/seedless and by size: 30-plus pounders are on the large end, an average melon is about 20 pounds, a small one is 10 to 12 pounds, and a mini is around 5 pounds.

At the farmers' market, you’re more likely to come across watermelons marked with their variety names. Ask about flavor and texture differences between them, as there surely are some.

Just because it’s a good time to buy watermelon doesn’t mean it’s impossible to bring home a dud. It’s happened to all of us, and what a bummer that is. An overripe watermelon is mealy and an underripe one tastes watery. (All is not lost in either case. Put the puréed flesh to use in everything fromlimeadetosoup.)

Thing is, you don't truly know what you’re dealing with until you cut into it. But you will increase your odds of picking a primo watermelon by doing three things, says Barlow: look, lift, and turn.

Look for any major gashes, bruises, or dents. A watermelon is tough, but signs of serious damage to the outside doesn’t bode well for the inside.

Next, the lift test: pick it up and put it down, then pick up others to compare. The one you want should feel heavy for its size.

Finally—crucially—turn the watermelon around and look for a creamy yellow patch, called the field or ground spot. This tells you that the watermelon sat on the ground and ripened in the sun. If it’s ripe, it should have one regardless of size or variety, Barlow says.

You might have been taught to thump on the melon and listen for a particular sound. Maybe this works, but it isn’t something the watermelon board endorses.

"I’ve heard it should sound hollow, I’ve heard it should sound dull. There is much debate, so there is no guarantee,” Barlow says.

Gingery Watermelon Paletas

Marcus Nilsson

text in callout

If a watermelon was cold when you bought it, keep it cold by storing it in the refrigerator. If not, it’s fine to leave the whole watermelon out at room temperature.

Cut into it within a week, Barlow says. (Don’t forget to wash it first.) If you’ve bought it at the farmers’ market, why even wait? You can bet that melon is at its peak and hasn’t been out of the field long. Store the cut fruit in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll last a week. If you leave any portion uncut, wrap the exposed surface well and carve up the rest within a few days.

“As soon as it’s cut, it’ll start seeping liquid. The life cycle really shortens,” Barlow says.

You can freeze watermelon in chunks, but be sure touse them frozen. Watermelon does wonders for keeping you in a summer mindset, but it does not defrost well.