mushy watermelon: avoiding it, dealing with it

November 15, 2023 11:35 AM

Sometimes when I buy a watermelon a bunch of it is mushy. Is there a way to avoid that? Do you have any tips for using up the mushy part?

I buy whole, small watermelons at Trader Joe's. Most of the time they're good, but sometimes a lot of the flesh is really mushy.

There's no sign of a problem with the rind.

It's possible they're getting partly frozen somehow, although usually the mushiness is sort of ribboned through the fruit, so that seems unlikely.

In the past, I've thrown out the mushy part, but recently I went ahead and ate it. It's fine, and tastes fine, it's just unappealing texturally.

Any tips on how to avoid mushy watermelon? (I've tried the thumping trick, and it hasn't helped.)

Any suggestions for using up mushy watermelon?

Thanks!

posted by kristi to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

Best answer: no suggestions on avoiding (and very interested), but for using up subpar watermelon - i add a little lime juice and a pinch of salt and blitz it with my immersion blender. really lovely, especially amazing after a workout, probably a great base for a cocktail.
posted by quadrilaterals at 11:41 AM on November 15, 2023 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Dehydrate mushy melons. They're great dried.
posted by aniola at 11:45 AM on November 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

My understanding is that the mushiness is what happens when the fruit is overripe. I find that the thumping trick is more of an art than a science, and smaller melons makes it more challenging. Does the incidence of mushiness change through the seasons?
posted by zamboni at 11:58 AM on November 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: We eat a lot of watermelon popsicles all summer; I immersion-blend a container of watermelon (or sometimes just mash with a fork if I only have a little bit) and freeze in popsicle molds. The texture turns out great - it’s not too hard/icy. No other ingredients. I bet mushy watermelon would work great, and you probably could just kind of spoon it into the molds without even blending.
posted by maleficent at 12:16 PM on November 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: blended watermelon with a bit of lime and vodka makes an excellent cocktail
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:36 PM on November 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

It's been my experience that Trader Joes' strength is not in produce. According to one TJ employee I talked to a few years back, TJ sometimes doesn't refrigerate produce that other stores would. So I would suggest trying a different grocery store to see if their options are better. But I think there is a limit to how excellent an out of season water melon can be.
posted by oceano at 4:04 PM on November 15, 2023

Best answer: In the past, I've used these parts of watermelons for smoothies - like overripe strawberries and bananas (which it goes good with), whole fruit that's not pleasing to the eye or palate can taste really good when you blend the hell out of it.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:18 PM on November 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The Kitchn had a mushy/mealy watermelon recipes round-up a few months back; drinks, but also curry, pickled rinds, gazpacho, sorbet, and a caramel sauce.
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:40 PM on November 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

Mod note: A few comments removed. Please stick to addressing the OP's actual question, thanks!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 5:56 AM on November 16, 2023

Best answer: the two pieces of advice that have improved my watermelon selection skills were to look for a dull, not shiny rind and for a yellow, not white, field spot. I don't know if that advice holds true for smaller melons. Also I agree that TJ's produce is sub-standard in my experience.
posted by jindc at 7:02 AM on November 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you all for all the terrific answers!

I marked best answer for all the answers I'm likely to try (lime especially), things I'm unlikely to try but hadn't thought about (dehydrating! NEVER would have occurred to me. Probably won't actually do it, but fascinating idea!), and other things that surprised me - that Kitchn round-up had a WATERMELON CURRY that sounds amazing. I just might try that.

Many thanks to everyone who shared suggestions and info!
posted by kristi at 2:08 PM on November 22, 2023