I knock on the watermelons for the sound of ripeness before I pick one. Somewhere along the way, I started this habit. When I say "sound of ripeness," I mean any sound that doesn't sound like a dull block of wood.
Yes, you guessed it -- I have no idea how to pick watermelons. A friend once suggested the knocking method, and I've been doing it ever since, for no better reason other than that it makes me look (I'd like to believe) like I know what I'm doing. The worst part of it all is that I never come home with a good watermelon. You would think that I would pick a good one at least some of the time... but no such luck.
Now, picking a cantaloupe is an entirely different story. I look for that nice cantaloupe-like shape with a nice cantaloupe-like color. Then I smell the bellybutton (that's what I call it) of the cantaloupe for that nice cantaloupe-like smell, and I can almost always pick a sweet one. This method has never failed me. However, last week when I was at the farmer's market with my sister, something awful happened.
As I eagerly approached the bin full of cantaloupes fresh off the truck, one of the workers handed me a cantaloupe and said, "Here's a good one!"
"Wow... thank you, " I said, dumbfounded by this trying-to-be-helpful but annoying and unwelcome gesture. I proceeded to bring the fruit up to my nose and inhaled deeply. My head was screaming "put it back!" but what could I do? I felt obligated to nod at the guy and put the less-than-desirable cantaloupe in my cart.
"I actually wanted more than one," I said, hoping to get another chance at the bin.
"Oh? How many? Two? Here are two more. See this green around the stem? That's how you know it's a good one."
Really? I've never heard that before... I was very skeptical, but I wasn't about to argue with this self-proclaimed cantaloupe specialist about how to pick fruit. How would that look? And besides, he could know something that I don't know. After all, he had that confident-farmer look about him, and I felt I should just trust him. I purchased them and brought them home, hoping for the best.
Well, it turns out that his method is crap. I ended up eating mediocre and flavorless (grrrr) cantaloupes. Well, one of them was good, I admit, but I'm certain that was by sheer chance rather than his method. Yep. You should've seen my disappointment when I cut that first one open. *sigh* (You gotta understand... I live for fruit.)
The lesson I learned?
Don't let anyone, not even the "experts," lead me astray. Do my own research, make my own choices, and stick to my guns. Trust my own instincts (like the smell of ripeness), not empty words. And it's okay to occasionally try someone else's idea for the purpose of experimentation (like how to pick a watermelon), but in the end, I am still responsible for the choices I make. :)
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