Shoppers will only buy the sweetest watermelons if they follow the 'two finger rule'

Daily Record

a day ago

The supermarket shelves are full of the summery fruit right now and there's a simple hack for picking the perfect one - and it's right at your fingertips
It's watermelon season and shelves in our supermarkets are loaded with the green fruit with juicy pink flesh on the inside. It's the perfect healthy and hydrating snack when it's warm outside and can be chopped and stored in the fridge for the family to pick at too.
But buying a watermelon that is ripe enough to eat is something many of us are in the dark about. How do you know that when you crack open it's tough exterior that the inside is sweet and balanced with flavour, with a firm texture and a rich red colour?
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There are several suggestions of how to tell if the watermelon you are buying is ripe and ready to eat. One of the most common is to tap it.
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If it gives off a hollow, deep sound then it should go into your trolley. Others suggest judging it by weighing it with your hands with the logic being, the heavier it is the more water content it has meaning it should be juicier.
But according to food website the kitchn there's one tried and tested method for picking the perfect one.
And it's a trick that is said to be used by farmers to choose the sweetest ones.
Writer Mackenzie Filson swears by the 'two finger rule' which she now always uses when picking hers out in the store.
Mackenzie spoke to farmers and store managers in her quest to find a foolproof way of spotting a perfectly ripe melon.
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The hack has done the rounds on social media too but it's one tip that does appear to stand up.
It involves placing two fingers - your index and the middle one - on the darker green stripe of the watermelon. If the stripe is the width of two fingers then you have hit the holy grail of juiciness and sweetness.
Mackenzie tested the theory and said she was graced with a 'sweet and juicy, eat-over-the-sink-style watermelon'.
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Food Republic also advocate this testing. But they also say to pay attention to the hue of the paler green stripes too.
They said they 'should be a light-greenish hue'.
And they added: "This is important because the stronger the contrast between the two stripes, the better the chances are that it's ripe."
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Food Republic also warn that a shiny watermelon should be left on the shelf explaining this shows its rind is quite new, meaning it hasn't had enough time to mature while on the vine.
And the final check should be it's 'field spot'. This is the spot on the melon which would be where it was sat on the ground.
Choose one with a yellow, buttery coloured patch instead of one which has a white or light yellow spot. And the larger the patch the better as this usually shows the watermelon has spent longer on the vine ripening.