How tell if a watermelon is ripe

[wtg]

Passing this along to the watermelon crowd. I'm more of a cantaloupe girl myself.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/the-only-way-to-tell-when-a-watermelon-is-ripe-according-to-a-farmer/ar-AA1GIiyV

[Mik]

I’ve used that technique for years.

[Rontuner]

I need a guide to find one that isn't over ripe.. The worst for us is cutting one open to find a mealy, mushy inside. We prefer a crisp, barely ripe one!

[CHAS]

Thump them to get that THUNK. Grew up about 40 miles from "Watermelon Ridge". It was a sandy part of the Bootheel. Saw truckloads going through town when I was a kid.
My father built a large raft which he anchored on a lake where we spent much of the summers until I quit going home between school years. That encouraged eating watermelon in a swimsuit, getting covered in the liquid, and jumping in the lake to wash it off. Don't eat it much anymore. Too messy.

[Bernard]

How about cantaloupes? How many times have I cut one open only to find hard, unpalatable flesh? $4 down the drain. How can one tell if it's going to be soft fleshed and juicy (but not mushy) and flavorful? I haven't had any luck yet.

[wtg]

@Bernard I pretty much do what these guidelines say to, especially the part about smelling the stem end. I buy the Dulcinea cantaloupes at Costco, which are packaged two to a bag. I try to buy a bag with melons at different stages of ripeness so I don't suddenly have more ripe fruit than I can eat in a reasonable time.

https://www.southernliving.com/how-to-tell-if-cantaloupe-ripe-7693521