3 Signs Your Watermelon Has Gone Bad, According to an Expert

In the heat of summer, reaching into an icebox for cold pieces of watermelon is so refreshing it's almost a relief. Few fruits are as irresistible when your body needs quenching beyond gulping down a cool drink.

The whole scenario goes off the rails when you bite into a piece and it turns out of be spoiled. Unlike other fruits, it can be hard to discern at a glance when watermelon isn't good any longer. Here's how you can figure it out.

3 Signs That Watermelon Is Bad

I reached out to Stephanie Barlow of the National Watermelon Promotion Board. She's been with them for over two decades, so she knows her way around a watermelon.

"The watermelon cuts might not look off-putting, but the smell may be, so sight alone is not a perfect indicator of freshness," cautions Barlow. Here's a checklist for other tells.

1. Smell: "Once it’s gone bad, the smell is off," explains Barlow. "The smell of a watermelon is straightforward—sweet and fragrant." When that watermelon is bad, "the sweetness is no longer there. It might smell a bit rancid, like spoiled food."
   
2. Feel: Here's a sensory characteristic I don't often consider. "The texture would be off, perhaps developing a slightly slippery sheen to the touch," says Barlow. "If you’re not feeling the texture of the watermelon flesh as it was when it was first cut, that might be a sign that its time has passed." 
   
3. Taste: If you haplessly bit into a piece of watermelon that looked and smelled fine but tasted sour or had a fizzy sensation on your tongue, it went bad.
   

Still Unsure? Then Pitch It.

Don't take chances. Besides, life it too short to mess around with bad watermelon. "While not a scientific saying, the expression ‘When in doubt, throw it out’ is most useful when it comes the freshness and quality of cut watermelon that’s been in your fridge for several days, or even over a week," Barlow says.

So go get yourself a fresh watermelon to savor...and perhaps save the rinds to try out pickled watermelon rind or even this watermelon rind kimchi.

Make Your Cut Watermelon Last Longer

I've had cut watermelon go off within days, while other times it lasts a while week or longer. Is there an art to this?

According to Barlow, yes. "Since watermelon is 92 percent water, as soon as it’s cut and in storage in your fridge the juice starts to leak out. A good way to alleviate the watermelon cuts breaking down faster is to drain off that juice that accumulates into a glass (and enjoy because watermelon juice is terrific!)."

So storing the watermelon in a manner that keeps it from stewing in it juices, so to speak, might be a big help. "The guidance is conservative at our website, which says to enjoy your cut watermelon within 3-4 days," Barlow says. "In my own personal experience, I’ve enjoyed fresh and delicious cut watermelon well after a week of being cut and in the fridge."