Nothing says Israeli summer like a watermelon! In the heavy Israeli heat it is important to drink a lot of water in order to cool the body, but it does not have to be ordinary water - watermelons are about 90% water! The average Israeli consumes about 20kg of watermelon every summer.

But the big question is, how do you choose them correctly? Experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development share the tips:

• Color: The watermelon should have a matte hue - a shiny and 'vital' color indicates a lack of ripeness, and a faded color indicates prolonged storage that usually impairs the quality of the fruit. 
• Lighter patch: On each watermelon there is one lighter patch, which forms in the area of contact with the ground. If you identify additional spots, yellow or discolored, that is a sign that the watermelon has had prolonged exposure to the sun, which causes a decrease in its quality.
• The stalk - A fresh green stalk indicates fresh fruit. A drier stalk shows that it is less fresh and that it was picked several days before. It should have a stalk! A melon without a stalk indicates overripeness and fermentation.
• Is it firm? Touch the fruit and try to feel how much it 'gives'. Choose a watermelon or melon that is as solid as possible, any elasticity indicates prolonged storage that impairs the quality of the fruit.
• Shape: Choose a fruit that is as symmetrical as possible, round or oval. This structure indicates normal development of the fruit and ensures that no 'spaces' appear inside the pulp of the fruit. Although spaces of this type are more typical of the months of March–April, which constitute the opening of the watermelon season.
• Patting them! The myth of tapping the watermelon has become so widespread that most of us pat the watermelon without knowing what we should hear. Shimshon Omer, Director of the Vegetables and Field Crops Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, explains: "When we tap the watermelon, we have to wait for a sound back. The watermelon should 'reply' to us with a kind of clean sound. It is recommended to pat a few watermelons, if you feel that there is no echo of the pat, the watermelon is too ripe and its texture and taste will be poor."

Once you have chosen the perfect watermelon how will you store it to keep it fresh until served? Shimshon Omer explains that watermelon can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Before cutting the watermelon, wash the watermelon thoroughly, even though the peel is not eaten, and cut it using a large, sharp knife. If you have not finished the entire watermelon, it is recommended to wrap the remaining part in plastic and store it in the refrigerator.

Watermelons are sold in Israel between April and August. However, thanks to local agricultural research and development, watermelons can also be found in February-March and September-October. But they are tastiest and cheapest in the middle of the summer. Most Israeli watermelon varieties are seedless.

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