The quest for the perfect watermelon is a summer tradition, synonymous with the pursuit of the sweetest, juiciest fruit to grace picnics and gatherings. This guide distills the essence of selecting a watermelon that promises to be both ripe and sweet, ensuring your summer days are filled with the refreshing taste of this beloved fruit.
Understanding Watermelon Ripeness
The journey to finding the perfect watermelon begins with an examination of the stem. A brown stem signifies a watermelon that ripened naturally on the vine, absorbing the sun’s warmth and the soil’s nutrients until it reached peak maturity. In contrast, a green stem indicates a premature pick, where the fruit was plucked before its time, leaving its potential sweetness untapped.
The Significance of the Yellow Spot
A key indicator of a watermelon’s ripeness is the presence of a yellow spot. This spot, often found on the belly of the fruit, tells a story of the watermelon’s time basking in the sun. A pronounced yellow spot is a testament to the watermelon’s adequate sun exposure, contributing to its ripeness. A faint white spot, or the absence of one, suggests a lack of sunbathing, leading to a less ripe fruit.
Assessing Firmness and Sound
The texture and sound of a watermelon provide critical clues to its internal state. Gently pressing on the watermelon should reveal a slight give, indicating ripeness. A watermelon that feels too hard and unyielding suggests it is underripe. Moreover, the sound a watermelon makes when tapped can reveal its water content—a hollow sound signifies a fruit bursting with water, while a dull sound may indicate a lack of juiciness.
Putting Theory into Practice
With these insights, the pursuit of the perfect watermelon becomes an informed search for specific traits: a brown stem, a prominent yellow spot, a slight give upon pressing, and a hollow sound when tapped. These indicators, when present together, promise a watermelon that is not only ripe but also abundantly sweet and juicy.
Upon bringing your selected watermelon home, the moment of truth arrives as you cut into the fruit. A ripe watermelon will reveal a deep red flesh, an indicator of its concentrated sweetness. The texture will be crisp, yet tender, filled with succulent juices that confirm its ripe status. The taste test is the final verification, where the sweetness of the watermelon fulfills the promise of a meticulously selected fruit.
Enjoying the Fruits of Your Labor
Selecting the perfect watermelon is an art form that combines observation, touch, and sound. The reward for this careful selection process is a watermelon that enhances summer meals and gatherings with its optimal sweetness and hydration. Whether enjoyed in slices, cubes, or as part of a refreshing salad, the perfect watermelon stands as a testament to the joy of summer eating.
The journey to finding the perfect watermelon is marked by attention to detail and an appreciation for the subtle cues nature provides. By following these guidelines, you can elevate your watermelon selection process, ensuring that each fruit you bring home meets the criteria for ripeness and sweetness. Embrace the challenge, and let the quest for the perfect watermelon become a cherished summer ritual.
My Pink Hair Was Banned at Work, So I Started Showing Up With “Terrible Wigs”
Following a job offer, a 29-year-old woman faced a huge dilemma. She was given an ultimatum: conceal her pink hair or seek employment elsewhere. Embracing the challenge, she devised a clever solution to the restriction, sparking widespread attention online.
Emily Benschoter turned to TikTok to share her journey at her new workplace, but with the twist that she can never show her pink hair while she’s on duty. She only found out the fact after she had already been interviewed and offered the position, a front-of-house role in the hospitality industry, because there was no prior contact with her employers in person or over video chat during the hiring process.
Her manager then suggested she wear a wig and that’s when she decided to pick the funniest ones she could find. Her first TikTok video with the first wig went up on July 19, 2023, and it read: «When you have pink hair, but corporate does not approve, so you wear terrible wigs.»
Since then, people have become invested in her wig choices and her clips have been viewed millions of times. «The worse the wig, the better,» she admitted in an interview. «It is a way to open up the conversation with the customers who think it is insane that I have to cover my pink hair.»
In the same interview, Benschoter also took time to explain why she didn’t just simply dye her hair instead. «Dying my hair for a job I work at for 40 hours per week wasn’t an option,» she revealed. «I am a self-expressive person and I feel very confident with pink hair, so I came up with a solution to keep the job and my hair.»
Despite her having fun with the situation, she doesn’t approve of it. «It’s dehumanizing that I can’t be accepted at face value because my hair is a non-traditional color,» she said. «It’s so superficial that my hair color is an obstacle.»
Not surprisingly, this isn’t the first time someone goes viral on social media because of hair trouble. A different woman also went viral on TikTok after a visit to the hairdresser went wrong. She ended up leaving the salon with a disastrous blowout and the before-and-after photos prompted a massive reaction from folks online. See the photos here.
Preview photo credit emuhleeebee / TikTok, emuhleeebee / TikTok
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