Melon mania, Part Deux

After last week’s Farmers Market item on choosing netted or rough-skinned melons, in which I commented that smooth-skinned melons were harder to choose, I got several e-mails from readers offering their tips on choosing them. So in the interest of providing a universally melon-happy summer, here’s the rundown (just for the record, all were explained in my book “How to Pick a Peach”).

• The best indicator of ripeness in a smooth-skinned melon (such as a honeydew) is to rub your fingers across the rind -- it should feel slightly tacky, like the difference between the sticky and shiny sides of wax paper.

But there are more signs of ripeness -- after the jump.

• The color of a ripe melon will be slightly different as well, more ivory than white.
• Shake a ripe melon and you’ll hear the seeds slosh inside (you don’t want to hear too much, though; that’s overripe).
• Riper melons will be heavier.
• Riper melons will have a slight give when they’re pressed at the stem and flower ends.
• Finally, look for brown freckles on the rind -- these are sugar spots that are formed by the melon’s sugar syrup breaking through the rind and drying (you’ll probably see these only at farmers markets; supermarket produce managers tend to regard them as dirt and wash them off).

-- Russ Parsons

Photo: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times