I've been tempted for last few days, with all the ripe watermelons lined up by the street. But I've never bought a whole one in my entire life, and I don't know how to tell if they are ripe - other than slicing it open.
So I mentioned this fact, and we got into a discussion on how to tell if it's ripe. Tariq, my boss, said, he'd knock the watermelon, and if it makes "thak thak" noise, then it's ripe. Then we passed it to Suzanne, who also made a sound akin to "ting ting", and said her husband always picked melons in Iran. Then the driver joined in and he said to knock as well, and if it makes "clang clang" sound, you'll know it's ripe.
So, with all the mellifluous noises to go around, god know what kind of melon we'll end up with this afternoon, but here's a primer that I just found online from Mideastfood.about.com. BTW, who knew that watermelon was a middle eastern food?
Look for a melon that is nice looking, meaning free of dents, bruises, cuts, etc. Check under the melon - if it has a yellow or light bottom, it should be ripe. If it's stripes are found all around the melon, pass on it. It's just not ready yet.
You may see people at the market tapping on watermelon. What exactly are they listening for? The are checking for signs of hollowness. It is sounds hollow, its ripe. Not hollow, unripe.
Look for a heavy melon. Watermelons are made up of mostly water, so an ideal melon should be heavy for its size.
