Watermelon season is the best time of year (May – October, with the peak months being June, July, and August). And while we all know that we take our chances (on sweetness) when selecting fruit out of season there is nothing more frustrating than hauling the biggest melon home in the middle of the summer only to discover that it is overripe (mushy) or just plain bland.

 

 

Well, there is a tried and true method to choosing a sweet watermelon every time and it’s the best kept secret around. Forget thumping the melon (now what is that sound we are supposed to be hearing?); the science of the stripes (are they supposed to be light or dark; wide or narrow; connected or jagged?); or the plain old “Let’s just pick the biggest watermelon around”. End your frustrations forever. Just let the bees show you how.

 

 

Step 1    Follow the Bees or Bee Tracks For the Sweetest Watermelons

Look for the marks (or what I used to think were scratches or imperfections or in some cases, just dirt!) on the watermelon. These “rough tracks” or “rough brown/tan scars on an otherwise smooth and firm melon indicate sweetness”. Pick the “well scarred” watermelons and they will never let you down.

 

 

An additional sign of a well stung and sweet 🙂 watermelon are the “beads of dark brown candy on the rind”.  This is just an added bonus to find.

 

 

Step 2    Additional Signs

These bee stung melons (or watermelons with bee sting marks) will most likely have a Yellow ground spot (where it lay in the field) and be heavy (sign of a juicy, “super sweet“ melon) and firm. Run from melons with total white ground spots (especially sans bee sting marks) or those that are soft or light in weight.

 

 

 

But again the bees know best.

 

 

 

For a watermelon connoisseur, such as myself, just knowing that the bees will guide me through the best part of summer (the secret is out & they have never let me down), that of savoring the sweetness of an ice cold watermelon (the slice, of course, the size of Texas), is a wondrous thing…well, it just doesn’t get any better than that! – Savannah Crisp

 

 

 

P.S. Elephants love watermelons, too. The next time you are enjoying to a nice sweet bee stung watermelon please think of our elephants suffering abuse in captivity  (Let us not forget about Nosey.)  or facing extinction in the wild.  “One elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its ivory”

There just cannot be a world without elephants.

 

 

 

Photos ( sorry about the quality ) taken by Elephant Spoken Here are watermelons actually tested  (well, somebody’s got to do it 😉 ) and savored for their sweetness. Thanks bees!

 

 

Note: These particular watermelons were on the smaller side but they were not displayed at the market as seedless or one of those fancy seedless personal watermelon varieties. (Although as you can see they are relatively seedless.) And they were certainly not at a crazy designer watermelon price. (Not buying it!) Nonetheless, the method remains the same for choosing any type and size of watermelon, as you can see.

 

 

Photo credit of elephant eating watermelon CC Flickr