No, I don’t “thump” melons but what I do is probably even worse, in the eyes of my fellow shoppers: I sniff them; particularly cantaloupes. I shove their little cantaloupe “belly buttons” right under my nose and smell them. A ripe cantaloupe should smell like a cantaloupe, and if it doesn’t, I put it back and try another one.

I thump watermelons; I press the “belly button’ on cantaloupes; and I sniff honey dews. But I ma not very skillful, and for me it is still hit or miss most of the time.

@zenvelo At least I’m not the only one in the grocery store shoving melons right up under my nose and sniffing them; glad I’m not the only one sniffing melons in the grocery store. That makes me feel better at least. :-) Though “shoving” is a bit of an exaggeration. I don’t exactly “shove” them right up into my nose.

I don’t thump, because I’ve done it in the past with mixed results. I just can’t tell, dang it! I do sniff the smaller melons, but for watermelon, I just pick one that looks good and hope for the best. That said, I am lazy, and almost never buy a whole melon, so I can usually see the color of the inside flesh, and that works for me.

Won’t that bruise them?

Which melons you talking about??!!

I sniff them. As lily says, and as Alton Brown taught me originally, they should have a distinct melon-y aroma. Watermelons I just give a once-over. Thumping never occurred to me, but I like the idea.

Never. that always seemed sort of tribal to me – and more of fetish than something that would seriously tell me about ripeness.

My indication of melon ripeness is the stiffness of the outside. If it is hard as a rock, it is not ready to eat. A little give, then it’s OK. Too soft, and it is overdone and won’t taste good.

This goes for agricultural melons as well.

Always. Sometimes I like to squeeze them, too.

It’s when I go around thumping and squeezing others’ melons that I sometimes get into trouble.

I don’t know how, I just pick one and go.

Seems like this should be a NSFW question!

My Mom taught me to push in on one end and see if it gives and then smell them. I always do what my Mom taught me. I don’t thump.

The grocer told me to look for a belly button with a little give and with no greenish tinge on a cantaloupe. A watermelon, unless pre sliced, is anyone’s guess.

At least I’m not the only one who saw innuendo here

With cantaloupes, look for ones that have a yellowish color, then smell them. If they smell deliciously cantaloupe-y, that means they’re ripe.

Sounds like something an irate female gorilla may do in order to warn off some bitches in da hood.

A tip about finding a ripe honeydew given to me by my grocer: Don’t look for a smooth surface. As they ripen, the surface changes and it becomes just slightly tacky. Then it’s ready. It takes some practice. The first four or so I tried this method on, I took to the produce person to see if I was right or wrong. I now feel pretty confident. I also gently push on the stem end to see that there’s little give.

I’m a sniffer.

In the grocery store, thumping watermelons is informative. With catelopes and similar melons, sniffing and pressing the navel is more useful.

In other contexts, I prefer to caress and kiss them.