The best watermelon I have ever had was bought at a Black Cat fireworks stand somewhere north of Mobile, Al. I was 13 when I had it, 30 year later, I can still taste it.
Im sure it was a "legit" beautiful watermelon with seeds!!! It's so crazy one man kind of gets their hands on things and has the greatest capacity to fuck things up like doing whatever to make things GMO and remove the seeds ..... I'm glad you got a good melon for you and your family ❤️❤️❤️
I miss Albertson’s. I remember getting a free cookie every time my parents would take me shopping. Then we’d go to HEB to recycle our cans outside and get some cash. San Antonio was fun in the 80’s
Mine also...I still miss him & remember his voice & his kind gentle character...along with his cigars that he would ask me to go purchase for him🥰 And yes, I was allowed to purchase his tobacco & a quart of beer! In Illinois, the kids would go to the back of the tavern, as they were called, to buy a gallon jug...wish I could recall the cost, but is was only a handful of change🥴 Difficult to believe how this world has changed😳
Exactly that’s how my mom taught me, I know her mom taught her and I’m quite sure my grandmoms mom taught her lol. They all were raised in a small city in VA and not just with watermelon but with just life lessons in general I learned a lot from folks down there especially from my grandma 🙌🏾🙏🏾
@@dtcarpediemand @miles_8607 I appreciate everyone sharing your personal stories with me. Reading them makes me smile and takes me back to when I was just a kid because I know exactly what yall are talking about. Im the only one left out of all my family except for a few cousins. Its hard cause once these people are gone the knowledge and the way they taught us go with them. Its certainly not forgotten as long as we carry it with us and share it with others.I love being able to share those things with other people especially if its something that helps them or they can pass on to theyre children. The worlds changing and its up to people like us to make sure the things our people learned and passed to us are passed on to the ones who will be here after us. Thanks for sharing your stories with me.
@@BeverleyMiller_ yep I remember when I was about 9 yrs old, I would go to corner store with a note from my mom to buy her cigarettes, boy times have changed.
Sir, you seem so trustworthy! Im here for it! I always go by color. Less stripes and the darker the green is the sweetest. Those solid dark green ones are by far the sweetest! We had about 10 this season and out of all 10.... the solid green was 5 star! ❤ from East Texas
My family used to grow watermelons in El Salvador when I was a kid. We would carry them a couple of miles or so as kids to sell on the side of the road. Nothing like some home grown watermelon on a hot summer day.
I also use the Tink-tink/Thump-thump method. But also it depends on where the store gets the melons. In Dallas where I live, our produce can come from anywhere, but the store I frequent gets theirs from the Rio Grande Valley. I also look at the yellow spot where it was laying on the ground, and the stem cut. Remember, once that stem is cut, that Mellon will not get any sweeter than what it already is. I look for dry stems but not dry, n' sunk-in stem nubs. It means, that Mellon is a oldie, but not a goodie. It will only ferment and develop that "swampy stankiness". They kinda had'da bad watermelon season in the RGV, this year, and the prices are so high, I can only afford maybe 1 watermellon every 3 weeks now. I don't mind the seeds though. They are annoying but the Mellons are sweeter. IMO.
My grandpa raised/grew melins since 1929.He showed me the stem twist method for ripeness.The first twist turned brown indicated a ripe melon.He always cut the melon leaving couple inches of the stem attached.Them straight stemmed melins were left to mature.Other dealers half assed their melins with/without stems Mixed sizes and inconsistent.
The taste of watermelons , cucumbers, and a host of others are really a reflection of the type soil and timing of water (rain) during their most sensitive growth. My grandad turned his melons at a certain size and swore that was one secret.
I won't buy a "seedless" watermelon, either. In addition to your other points, I've found that the seeded ones are far sweeter, juicier, and tastier than the seedless. 🍉🍉🍉
Thank you Mr. Rollins for all your wonderful memories and videos of cooking experience. Ice so learned so much from watching your channel. Can u do another chicken fried steak and gravy video. That's my favorite thing. God bless you for all you do.
Thank you for this video! I remember my mom used to tap watermelons when picking them out, but I don’t remember how she did it and because she died when I was young, I never got to ask her. Makes sense now :)
@@bigreddog502 You're absolutely wrong. That color method means that you don't know what you're talking about. My father was 1924i Mississippi, and grew them as well as sharecropping cotton, and the thump test always results in the best watermelon. Edit: that's like saying a red tomato is the best indicator of flavor (The inside of hothouse tomatoes are as white as chalk, with no flavor whatsoever)
@@LaVander-bl5ej your father was an old goot that didn't know what he was talking about. They believed every wives tale they were told, just like you apparently 😂😂😂😂😂
@@LaVander-bl5ej 27 people agree an only one moron ( you) says otherwise 😂😂😂 yeah just cus your daddy did something don't mean he knows shit either little boy, go set back at the little kids table
Kent, When i worked in a grocery store in my Teen Years an older farmer told me the same thing especially the hollow sound! Customers wanted me to pick the watermelon for them cause i got so good at pickin them out! They said it was the best melon they ever had! Sorry to hear about THE BEAG! I know the feeling . i had a beagle that looked a lot like Duke .They are family! It rips your heart Out!!
Thank you I was going for dense. We would grow melons every season. We would break them open during the morning,eat the center and and let our animals feast, the horses loved it the most.
Sir! Please make more videos like this!!!! I’m always too embarrassed to ask for help to pick out fruit at the store. Also I’m not sure most people even know. Thank you sir I at least know how to pick a watermelon.
If you brought legitimate watermelons from back in the day before mankind, put their paws on it, and fucked with the fruit......... you would have seeds that you could spit❤️ There are still water melons out there like that !!!!!!!
love the procedure to pick up the good one. we had pumpkins growing and first few of em growing from the motherplant got huge dmg from hail early on, which left big marks on the outside bark but the motherplant was strong enough to heal the damage from hail impacts in no time, it did left marks here and there but nothing to worry about, still got some of them hailed down come backers in the storage. what really is important is stem and flowerbud check and also the layaround/sunburn spots. great job there.
This dude knows what he’s talking about. I ordered some of that seasoning salt stuff that he had for sale and it’s the best stuff I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve ordered it twice since then…. way better than Tony’s or your regular seasoning salt. It’s got something extra. It’s good on meat vegetables, rice rice, chicken pork it doesn’t matter it’s everything except Jell-O and cornflakes.
As I found out in the past the more yellow on the bottom where it's at at had more time to ripen up on the vine the awful your Technique works too the denser sound is means as more right❤❤❤❤
Best watermelon I’ve ever had comes from the farmers market right down the street from my house in Dublin Ohio. I bet I’ve visited that market over a thousand times over the past 23 summers of living here. Sweet corn and peaches are also a big hit with my family so I get a ton of those as well. They don’t last long at my house, lol. I’m so grateful for this market. I have family in Tulsa OK and that’s the first place we go when they come to visit in the summer.
My dad was from Chelsea,OK. When I was 10 we would go into a store and he would thump many a water melon until it sounded (hollow) right. I think of him every time i thump (pick) one out!😀
Kent, my father who grew up on a farm taught me a trick to find the best watermelon, and that was you also thump it, but also take a wheat straw and lay it crosswise on top of the melon, and if it turns perpendicular to it it’s a good one
As a old Florida boy that grew up thumping melons i agree 100% listen for the hollow sound for the best melons. My Dad used to take a broom straw and put it diagonally across the melon then say watch this if the melon is ripe the straw will line itself up with the lines in the watermelon 🍉, and sure enough the straw would move and line up with the lines in the watermelon every time. Little did i know as a kid my Dad was ever so slightly blowing on the broom straw. To be honest i never knew it was a trick until well into my adulthood.😅😅
Another way is take a straw from a broom...lay it on the mellon...if tge straw turns on its own...its a ripe mellon..if it sits still...its not ripe...this also works on cantelopes and pumpkins...give it a try...its awesome👍🍉
I have always picked a perfect watermelon using this method my Great Grandfather taught us 1. fine the one that has yellowish large spots which means it wasn’t picked to early and has ripened on the vine 2. Any extra type brown vain marks on the melon will mean it’s ripe too 3. Thumping it for a hallow sound I have picked out the best melons for over 50 years 👍
The best watermelon I have ever had was bought at a Black Cat fireworks stand somewhere north of Mobile, Al. I was 13 when I had it, 30 year later, I can still taste it.
True. I had the best watermelon many years ago and since then watermelon is no longer the same for me.
@@PufakCo Same.
I think that when they took the seeds out, they ruined the watermelons! 🍉
🤷♂️
@@straybullittyep, gotta have trade offs. But you can still find ones with seeds
Im sure it was a "legit" beautiful watermelon with seeds!!!
It's so crazy one man kind of gets their hands on things and has the greatest capacity to fuck things up like doing whatever to make things GMO and remove the seeds .....
I'm glad you got a good melon for you and your family ❤️❤️❤️
I miss Albertson’s. I remember getting a free cookie every time my parents would take me shopping. Then we’d go to HEB to recycle our cans outside and get some cash. San Antonio was fun in the 80’s
Thumping Watermelons is how my grandpa taught me to do it. That hollow sound never lies. It works everytime.
Mine also...I still miss him & remember his voice & his kind gentle character...along with his cigars that he would ask me to go purchase for him🥰 And yes, I was allowed to purchase his tobacco & a quart of beer! In Illinois, the kids would go to the back of the tavern, as they were called, to buy a gallon jug...wish I could recall the cost, but is was only a handful of change🥴 Difficult to believe how this world has changed😳
Exactly that’s how my mom taught me, I know her mom taught her and I’m quite sure my grandmoms mom taught her lol. They all were raised in a small city in VA and not just with watermelon but with just life lessons in general I learned a lot from folks down there especially from my grandma 🙌🏾🙏🏾
@@dtcarpediemand @miles_8607 I appreciate everyone sharing your personal stories with me. Reading them makes me smile and takes me back to when I was just a kid because I know exactly what yall are talking about. Im the only one left out of all my family except for a few cousins. Its hard cause once these people are gone the knowledge and the way they taught us go with them. Its certainly not forgotten as long as we carry it with us and share it with others.I love being able to share those things with other people especially if its something that helps them or they can pass on to theyre children. The worlds changing and its up to people like us to make sure the things our people learned and passed to us are passed on to the ones who will be here after us. Thanks for sharing your stories with me.
@@BeverleyMiller_ yep I remember when I was about 9 yrs old, I would go to corner store with a note from my mom to buy her cigarettes, boy times have changed.
It doesn’t work EVERYTIME ….. I buy two to three watermelons a week during the season and there’s not one consistent feature to rely upon.
Sir, you seem so trustworthy! Im here for it!
I always go by color. Less stripes and the darker the green is the sweetest. Those solid dark green ones are by far the sweetest! We had about 10 this season and out of all 10.... the solid green was 5 star! ❤ from East Texas
I appreciate that!
He dug the heart (sweet spot) right out of the center with that spoon! 🍉 My mother used to yell at me when I did that. It's the best part!! 🍉🍉🍉🍉
I see that little Doggie Tale waiting for his SLICE...❤🎉
That’s just how I picked my wife 😂❤38 yrs later sweetest girl ever 👍
You punched her and rubbed her spot?:
HA!!! I need to walk around Thumpin women on the head to find That hollow sound so I Know she's a Sweet one. Lol.
She’s put a gun to your head and made you type that huh
Your wife was sitting next to you and forced you to type that.
My family used to grow watermelons in El Salvador when I was a kid. We would carry them a couple of miles or so as kids to sell on the side of the road. Nothing like some home grown watermelon on a hot summer day.
That is for sure
Growing mine now check them out on my page
I also use the Tink-tink/Thump-thump method. But also it depends on where the store gets the melons.
In Dallas where I live, our produce can come from anywhere, but the store I frequent gets theirs from the Rio Grande Valley.
I also look at the yellow spot where it was laying on the ground, and the stem cut. Remember, once that stem is cut, that Mellon will not get any sweeter than what it already is. I look for dry stems but not dry, n' sunk-in stem nubs. It means, that Mellon is a oldie, but not a goodie. It will only ferment and develop that "swampy stankiness".
They kinda had'da bad watermelon season in the RGV, this year, and the prices are so high, I can only afford maybe 1 watermellon every 3 weeks now.
I don't mind the seeds though. They are annoying but the Mellons are sweeter. IMO.
Nice I grew up in San Isidro and the best melons I had ever, where as a kid there.
The yellow field spot should be large, both stem stumps brown and thumping yields a full, watery reverb.
My grandpa raised/grew melins since 1929.He showed me the stem twist method for ripeness.The first twist turned brown indicated a ripe melon.He always cut the melon leaving couple inches of the stem attached.Them straight stemmed melins were left to mature.Other dealers half assed their melins with/without stems Mixed sizes and inconsistent.
Ken, thanks for the great tips pn getting the best watermelon in a store and what to look for! Doug
I knew about the hollow sound, but not about the stem. Thanks for the tip, Ken!
Glad to help
Same for pumpkins with the stem.
The taste of watermelons , cucumbers, and a host of others are really a reflection of the type soil and timing of water (rain) during their most sensitive growth. My grandad turned his melons at a certain size and swore that was one secret.
As a trucker who's hauled melons, a lot of those big cardboard crates have melons from the same field, same day, same time, same load.
Done many of them loads
Wow!!😊
@@mikematta9053wow!!😊
Nothing is more beautiful than the watermelon crop when you seeing big heads laying around is a beautiful view
I have heard of a lot of different tricks to buying a good watermelon, but I learned something new today! 💕🍉
I won't buy a "seedless" watermelon, either. In addition to your other points, I've found that the seeded ones are far sweeter, juicier, and tastier than the seedless. 🍉🍉🍉
And you can replant them
I see that Mr. Kent is a fellow watermelon student, eats watermelon with a spoon just like the master Tom Willet
It is the only civilized way to eat watermelon. 🍉
@@straybullitt100% agreed 🎉
Thank you Mr. Rollins for all your wonderful memories and videos of cooking experience. Ice so learned so much from watching your channel. Can u do another chicken fried steak and gravy video. That's my favorite thing. God bless you for all you do.
i always look for the bee stings in the watermelon...those have always been so yummmy.
You can spot bee strings in a melon??
@@bigrayskitchen6803 Makes me wonder how the melon made the bee mad.
There are some people that always put a smile on my face .........
Look at the spot where it lies on the ground and take the watermelon that has the most orange spot. You'll never go wrong.
If you’re ever in Mississippi, find Smith Co watermelons.. the best!
I was going to mention that.
Thank you for this video! I remember my mom used to tap watermelons when picking them out, but I don’t remember how she did it and because she died when I was young, I never got to ask her. Makes sense now :)
Great advice! Thank you guys! Hope the pups enjoyed some of this as well.
I use how yellow the underside of the melon is
That's the only way, that thumping nonsense doesn't have much truth. But the yellow never lies
@@bigreddog502 You're absolutely wrong. That color method means that you don't know what you're talking about. My father was 1924i Mississippi, and grew them as well as sharecropping cotton, and the thump test always results in the best watermelon.
Edit: that's like saying a red tomato is the best indicator of flavor (The inside of hothouse tomatoes are as white as chalk, with no flavor whatsoever)
@@LaVander-bl5ej your father was an old goot that didn't know what he was talking about. They believed every wives tale they were told, just like you apparently 😂😂😂😂😂
@@LaVander-bl5ej 27 people agree an only one moron ( you) says otherwise 😂😂😂 yeah just cus your daddy did something don't mean he knows shit either little boy, go set back at the little kids table
@@LaVander-bl5ejol dad should have followed science junior, he didn't know crap just like you
So that's what a watermelon rancher looks like.
Thanks again for the info my friend 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Get a a spoon full like you did and a fresh lemon and squeeze some lemon juice on it if you want to most quenching thing you ever tasted. So good😊
Mr Kent I have stumbled across your channel and I am very interested in the things you teach and share. Thank you for that
Great shopping advice.
You haven't tasted the best watermelon until you've had a Cave City watermelon
Sandía has always been my favorite!
Been a big fan since the Sprite potatoes story. Hope to see more from you.
Kent, When i worked in a grocery store in my Teen Years an older farmer told me the same thing especially the hollow sound! Customers wanted me to pick the watermelon for them cause i got so good at pickin them out! They said it was the best melon they ever had! Sorry to hear about THE BEAG! I know the feeling . i had a beagle that looked a lot like Duke .They are family! It rips your heart Out!!
Hot Tip: Make sure the spot on the side looks like butter, not mayo.
Noted. Thanks.
That’s exactly how my granddad taught me to pick ‘em. Sweet and perfect every time. Thanks for sharing!
Our pleasure!
My ma wanted to drink a watermelon slush, so I got to try and pick out a watermelon with this method. Thank you, Mr. Kent!
Thank you I was going for dense. We would grow melons every season. We would break them open during the morning,eat the center and and let our animals feast, the horses loved it the most.
This is truly a remarkable an awesome helpful tip
I had a hard time trying to figure out which one is the best thank you Kent
Glad you enjoyed it
Sir! Please make more videos like this!!!!
I’m always too embarrassed to ask for help to pick out fruit at the store. Also I’m not sure most people even know.
Thank you sir I at least know how to pick a watermelon.
a broomstraw will never let you down picking out a watermelon
Contrast of the yellow ground spot and the green is a good test.
💛...miss the spitting' seeds...
If you brought legitimate watermelons from back in the day before mankind, put their paws on it, and fucked with the fruit......... you would have seeds that you could spit❤️
There are still water melons out there like that !!!!!!!
All fruits should have seeds!!!
@kellyclark7517 Do some research on what wild natural watermelons are like and you'll realize how ridiculous and hypocritical your comment is.
He knows exactly what he's talking about 👍🏾
We all need more of those oldies knowledge.
common sense really. today's youth sadly lost all common sense
Thanks Mr Kent !! Beautiful Watermelon right there sir !!
I Just love this guy 💜
Love watermelon season!! And sweetcorn season!
I was a watermelon picker for my family farm. I used to listen for the hollowness sound before taking them off the vine. Plus look at the colour.
"When you walk up to a melon..." introduce yourself and say hello....
Thanks for the info, Kent!
Thank you I was doing the exact opposite on the thumping.
awesome tips Ken, thanks!
love the procedure to pick up the good one. we had pumpkins growing and first few of em growing from the motherplant got huge dmg from hail early on, which left big marks on the outside bark but the motherplant was strong enough to heal the damage from hail impacts in no time, it did left marks here and there but nothing to worry about, still got some of them hailed down come backers in the storage. what really is important is stem and flowerbud check and also the layaround/sunburn spots.
great job there.
I picked a nice watermelon to take on my camping trip this weekend
Hope you enjoy
Thank you! We’ve bought horrible watermelon 🍉 the last few years. Now ik what to do. 👍🏼
Thankyou for your knowledge
This dude knows what he’s talking about. I ordered some of that seasoning salt stuff that he had for sale and it’s the best stuff I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve ordered it twice since then…. way better than Tony’s or your regular seasoning salt. It’s got something extra. It’s good on meat vegetables, rice rice, chicken pork it doesn’t matter it’s everything except Jell-O and cornflakes.
My grandfather used to take us to El Campo Texas to get watermelon. I think i am going to make that trip.
Great titorial .. Love this gentleman .. Wish I had some of that delicious Watermelon ..
Thanks
Hey where been im glad your back. nice to see your videos.
We are here every week, Wednesday at @230 central new video, thanks for watching
@@CowboyKentRollins thanks for letting me know and will do🤗 looking forward.
My mouth is watering!
I'm growing my own I hope they turn out this good.
Always go for the ones with the black "bee stings"
If aliens ever come we need to give them the best watermelon we have as a Peace offering
This guy has been around forever, I think he’s like 82-83 years old by now! Keep it up!
My favorite fruit thanks Pops 🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉
As I found out in the past the more yellow on the bottom where it's at at had more time to ripen up on the vine the awful your Technique works too the denser sound is means as more right❤❤❤❤
Come to Georgia. We got you covered
Really enjoyed you on Bbq showdown
I usually take my black friend to the grocery store.. For some reason he's really good at picking out a watermelon 😂😂
I had a Border Collie that absolutely loved watermelon’s.
She was a great dog, and she loved watermelon.
Best watermelon I’ve ever had comes from the farmers market right down the street from my house in Dublin Ohio. I bet I’ve visited that market over a thousand times over the past 23 summers of living here. Sweet corn and peaches are also a big hit with my family so I get a ton of those as well. They don’t last long at my house, lol. I’m so grateful for this market. I have family in Tulsa OK and that’s the first place we go when they come to visit in the summer.
My dad was from Chelsea,OK. When I was 10 we would go into a store and he would thump many a water melon until it sounded (hollow) right. I think of him every time i thump (pick) one out!😀
I love a good watermelon. They're the best and juicy. 🍉😋
Kent, my father who grew up on a farm taught me a trick to find the best watermelon, and that was you also thump it, but also take a wheat straw and lay it crosswise on top of the melon, and if it turns perpendicular to it it’s a good one
Yep we used to do that with a straw from a broom
yep . heading to get one now
Thanks for telling us about the water melon too!!!
Find me a watermelon in any grocery store that still has seeds.
Louisiana, central to be more specific. 👍
Marc's has them!
Tye way he was dressed, i thought he was about to pick a melon fresh off the farm lmfao
My favorite, could eat everyday. 😊😊
As a old Florida boy that grew up thumping melons i agree 100% listen for the hollow sound for the best melons.
My Dad used to take a broom straw and put it diagonally across the melon then say watch this if the melon is ripe the straw will line itself up with the lines in the watermelon 🍉, and sure enough the straw would move and line up with the lines in the watermelon every time.
Little did i know as a kid my Dad was ever so slightly blowing on the broom straw. To be honest i never knew it was a trick until well into my adulthood.😅😅
Another way is take a straw from a broom...lay it on the mellon...if tge straw turns on its own...its a ripe mellon..if it sits still...its not ripe...this also works on cantelopes and pumpkins...give it a try...its awesome👍🍉
Nuthin like a roadside stand fresh watermelon.
I saw Beages tail . Very awesome fur kid
You did a great job there .. homie🧑🏿🦲
Thanks Kent... you da man.
I have always picked a perfect watermelon using this method my Great Grandfather taught us
1. fine the one that has yellowish large spots which means it wasn’t picked to early and has ripened on the vine
2. Any extra type brown vain marks on the melon will mean it’s ripe too
3. Thumping it for a hallow sound
I have picked out the best melons for over 50 years 👍
Out here in West Texas Lubbock area, I go by the thump!
Going to the Watermelon Thump Festival in Luling Texas next week! 😋
My grandpa would put it in the deep freezer a few hrs before we ate it. Still do that to this day. It's amazing
I’ve been doing the same here in the land down under. 👍
underwhere?
You're a cool ol' guy!
I like you and sure would love to try that melon 👍🏻
I miss grandpa and had no idea what to listen for when he thumped them melons. Thanks!
Thank you Ken. This is great information. How about a tutorial on picking cantaloupe? Cantaloupe choice is where I struggle.
My momma showed me this as a kid because watermelon is delicious 🤤 I make a game out of it 😊
I love this man
The purpose of getting a dry stem as opposed to a green one means that the fruit was mature before being picked , thus giving it better flavor