Watermelon

20100908:
While I've had watermelon many times in my life before, this was the first time that I cut one up all by myself!

It was also fun picking it out. Grace considers two factors: one, the sound the watermelon makes when picking it up and tapping it (should sound crisp, not dull), and two, the color of the watermelon (darker is better).


At home, I washed the dirt off the watermelon and wiped it dry. Then I took my chef's knife and ran it down the middle, but I also had to rotate the watermelon, because the knife was too short to cover the entire length.

After setting one half aside, I began to cut the other half into six pieces by laying the exposed flesh flat against the cutting board.


Comment:
When I cut the half into six pieces I made five parallel cuts. However, I later thought about a modification and an alternative:
1) Make a single perpendicular cut (resulting in 12 smaller pieces instead of 6 large pieces).
2) Cut the half into eight wedges from the edge to the center, like a cake

Result:
I ate about a fourth of the watermelon. I had a couple bites with lemon juice, and had about a fourth of the fourth with salt. Delicious, delicious, delicious!

Picking a Good Watermelon:
Elaborating on the methods mentioned above, a hollow resonating sound indicates the watermelon is filled with more water, which is good. The weight-to-size ratio of a watermelon is also an indicator of a good watermelon - again related to the amount of water in the watermelon.

Darker watermelons tend to be sweeter.

Finally, as with most fruits and vegetables, check for symmetry and surface blemishes which are indicators of health and proper (or improper) storage.

How do you pick a good watermelon? What about fruits and vegetables in general?

[20100909][20161018 Edit]