Nice Melons!

Smell them, squeeze them, shake them...  

That’s what you’ll need to do to find the best melons in the bin at the grocery store. If you’ll be using your melon soon, you need to be sure it’s ripe. In most cases, the smell, squeeze, shake routine will help you determine that it’s ready. For melons such as musk, cantaloupe and honeydew, the smelling step is important. Those varieties should smell like a fragrant flower. Next, give the melon a shake. If you can sense that the seeds inside are loose – you’ve got a ripe one. Finally, it needs to pass the squeeze test. The surface of those melons should give just a bit under the pressure of your fingertips – but not too much. 

Smell, squeeze, shake won’t work with a watermelons. For those, you need to knock and lift. The knock should sound like a thud – not hollow. You don’t want a dried out watermelon. The heavier watermelon is the better choice – that one will be sweet and full of juice.