I’m happy to announce that I’ll be contributing one video a month to the new-ish YouTube channel Home and Garden for Mere Mortals. My series will focus on food education, including basic tips for choosing produce, simple preservation methods and seasonal topics. The first is How to Pick a Watermelon (and a tip for picking a cantaloupe, too!)

How to Pick a Watermelon 3 Tips:

1. Look for a yellowish patch on one side of the watermelon. This is where the melon sat, ripening, in the field. Lacking the yellow patch, it was probably picked too early!
2. Knock knock knock! Use your knuckles to literally knock on the watermelon and listen for a pretty, hollow sound.
3. Check the stem end (especially for cantaloupe) for a stem that has a little divot rather than a bit of stem remaining. This indicates the melon was picked after ripening.