The Right Way to Thump It
Pink flesh that’s firm. Not too much white around the edges. A covering of skin that’s supple, glowing. Yes, watermelon is the essence of summertime, especially in the Deep South.
Much like going galavanting for a good date, too much flavor is on the line to walk up and take any one home. Unless one is really hard up, she wouldn’t leave with just anybody, now would she? She’d be selective, take her time, maybe even feel a few of the specimens on offer to try to gauge what might be inside when she unwrapped them.
She would be finicky. Her childhood memories are sprinkled with sticky sweet juices and the hard crunch of the random seed in her teeth. Those recollections demand the ultimate satisfaction.
The best way for a finicky person to find the best watermelon in the pile is to thump it. Thumping ensures that the fruit will be ripe and juicy, begging to be eaten in slivers and chunks. It is the foolproof method for picking the best one in the heap.
Instructions For Thumping the Perfect Watermelon
- Place the middle finger behind the thumb and
- Spring it into the side of a melon two or three times, close to the middle of the fruit.
- Listen to the pitch of the sound that reverberates from inside the orb.
- Repeat with another watermelon.
- Evaluate the pitch. Which one is deeper?
- Remember that one and move on, thumping several more in the same motion.
- The deepest thumping sound will be the ripest watermelon. Every. Single. Time.
This post is part of my Torture Myself By Writing About Food While On the Dukan Diet Series. To eat these posts from the beginning, click here and read forward for butt-kicking pimento cheese, delectable pickled shrimp, beautiful boiled peanuts and succulent grits.
That’s how I picked Kenneth….I thumped him a few times, first.
Hahahahahahahaha! Hope you’re all done with moving, Krista.
Except you goofed – he is hollow inside.
Mean, Carnell. Mean.
Not yet…but pretty much all the big stuff is done now, hopefully no more trucking needed
and Carnell man, damn duders
nice post
Thanks, Gavin.
Don’t judge me like MLB does, but I …
don’t like watermelon. I know, it’s anti-Southern; heck, it’s anti-American.
I don’t judge you at all. It’s more for me.
I’ve always thumped…everyone thumps! But I never really knew what I was hoping to discover with that motion…you’re the first person to explain it! You can teach an old dog new tricks! Love watermelon! I hope it’s one of the “ok” foods? Debra
No. Can’t have it until the third phase. It is very hard to walk past all the fresh ones in the grocery stores around here and not have any.
I’m glad you now know why you’re thumping and what to listen for, Debra.
Speaking of thumpa, thumpa, thumpa.
That there video makes me want to go git me some jeans, a hat, some purdy gurls and go do some dancing.
(giggle)
Too many seeds for me Andra – gonna boil me nuts today!
Let me know how they turn out, Jim.
Now this one won’t ruin my diet! I’m now craving watermelon–but thank God that’s healthy. Good advice. I never knew the deepest thump was best. I’ve thumped without really knowing what I was listening for. Silly me. Have a wonderful, watermelon-filled weekend, my friend.
Hugs,
Kathy
You and Sara too, Kathy. The deeper, the better.
Song about a little Carolina girl and watermelons for your listening pleasure…
Love it, Robert. Thank you.
So do I!
Me, too!! And then there’s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OAgcsVNzE4 Love me some watermelon!
I never knew how to thump so thank you. I’ve been wondering lately how they have the seedless variety even though there are still some small white seeds.
Seeds don’t bother me. I just spit them out.
back in the day, when I was being raised in NE Texas eating watermelon meant you had to have a seed spitting contest. Now that there was a lot of fun…
The “icebox” sized ones that I’ve been getting from the Piggly Wiggly and which are grown on John’s Island have been amazing this year. These ones are the size of a very large cantaloupe. And they have the added joy of having NO seeds!
Like you, I love watermelon and associate it with someone calling my Mama and saying, “bring the children over and we’ll cut a watermelon.” And there are family photos of me about 5 yrs old sitting on a dock, dangling her feet in a Lowcountry creek, with a big ole chunk of watermelon in her little girl hands, with that slap-happy grin on my face…so I’ve been eating watermelon in the evening, in the summer for years. Can’t have summer without it.
And just a few years ago my dear friend Mary Edna introduced me to the way the Greeks eat it: Chunks of Watermelon, crumbled feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and torn mint leaves. That is one of the most refreshing salads and makes a wonderful mix of sweet, salty, and tangy.
That Greek salad is amazing. Watermelon and prosciutto are also very tasty together.
Yes, indeed they are! The Watermelon salad is so tasty and unique. Once you have it, you’ll crave it.
And to add another grand image, this from my friend and photographer Marie Pelzer. http://www.etsy.com/listing/104134463/watermelon-photograph-yummy-juicy-red
OK I’m trying that watermelon salad tonight! Thanks Cheryl. Andra, I’m sorry waterman (that’s what we called it when we were little) isn’t on your list of foods. It seems kind of odd doesn’t it since it’s mostly water. Wonder why?
Sugar. I can have it in the next stage, when they won’t be ‘in’ anymore.
You know you had me at “Pink flesh that’s firm.”
But, in reality, I am just not into watermelon. One of those things that makes me un-Southern in many eyes. I don’t like watermelon or sweat tea. I am a rebel!
I don’t like sweet tea, either. Too cloying.
You don’t like watermelon OR sweet tea? OMG What planet are you from anyway. Hahahahahahha
I love watermelon….and not something you have to cut out at diet time, either!
They are really plentiful over this way right now.
Thumpity, thump thump, thumpity, thump thump. Ooops. That’s Frosty the Snowman’s song, isn’t it? I’ve been out in the heat all day. What I need is a chunk of the watermelon Tom brought home that is sitting in the fridge. Yummy.
I hope your garden is prospering under your care, Penny. I talked to my Mother-in-Law (Random Lake, WI, north of you) and she’s put in a bunch of stuff. Been watering it.
But wait. Surely to GOD you can have watermelon?
Phase 3.
I never knew that! Tomorrow my plan is to thump a watermelon in the land of pod people! I wonder what will they thing…
Let me know how it turns out.
I forgot too! They all gawk and it’s a little off-setting!
And I have learned something this fine morning.
Let me know if you use this technique, Cam, and how it works.
Love watermelon. And this reminds me that my father recently sent me a produce quality guide…. in Chinese. He insists that the illustrations and arrows are sufficient. Um, sure, I can tell the guy is thumping, but that doesn’t tell me what I’m thumping for!
Well, now you know.
My Daddy used to take five to ten minutes to pick out THE BEST one. Ha. Watermelon is a summer time tradition in our family. When we were little every year on Memorial Day weekend we’d head to Montana and have a family reunion (after putting flowers on the graves of loved ones) where we would eat the precious, ripened, rare watermelon and then proceed to have a rind fight. Tears, bruises and slashed skin followed…ah, the memories…I haven’t eaten a watermelon in years! *giggle*
Watermelon always brings nice memories, doesn’t it? I don’t have a bad memory in my watermelon history. I love hearing about your traditions, Lori. Rind fight?? I am so glad my male family relations never heard of such.