How to choose a ripe and tasty melon

You can choose a sweet melon for several reasons. Traditional autumn fruits such as watermelons and melons are now on sale all year round. Ripe fruit has a moderately firm juicy pulp and a characteristic sweet smell. To find the most delicious “torpedo” or “collective farm girl”, the buyer just needs to use hearing, sight and smell. You do not need to cut a future purchase.

How to choose a melon

You can buy gourds in urban conditions, especially far from their place of growth, in different places:

• in departments of supermarkets “vegetables-fruits”;
• in specialized vegetable stores;
• in the collective farm markets;
• at seasonal breaks.

Buying fruit from the trunk of a car or from the ground is not worth it, even if the seller claims that the product is of perfect quality. Most likely, he does not have documents for a consignment of goods, reliable information about the location of the manufacturer and a personal medical book. When shopping at a spontaneous collapse, you cannot check the conditions for transporting products. Before selling, melons should be stored in an equipped warehouse, and not in the trunk of a car.

The best time to buy gourds is the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, the harvest time. During this period, the buyer can choose the most delicious copy. Modern storage technologies make it possible to preserve the freshness of the melon crop for a long time, however, you can choose the most delicious melon only immediately after it has ripened and been harvested.

It is easy to choose a seller – the best products are from those who are professionally engaged in the sale of fresh fruits. These are shops with direct supplies from plantations, familiar traders in the markets or supermarkets with a large selection of seasonal goods. You should not look for the lowest price – the manufacturer and seller most likely saved on everything, as a result, the purchase may turn out to be unripe, overripe or stuffed with chemical fertilizers.

You can distinguish a ripe fruit from an unripe one by the following features:

• pronounced pleasant sweet smell;
• dry stalk;
• soft skin;
• dull sound when tapped.

When the melon ripens, the seeds separate from the pulp; after cutting, they are easy to remove with a spoon. Collected unripe, specimens that have not ripened in transit are usually odorless. They have a dense, unyielding rind, and the seeds are tightly connected to the melon pulp. When cutting an unripe fruit, its stalk remains juicy and green.

The advice of the fruit shop owner who recorded a video on how to choose a melon will help you choose the best copy.

How to determine the ripeness of a melon

First you need to choose a melon variety. A popular local variety – “collective farmer” – deteriorates faster and is stored less than the thick-skinned “torpedo”. The ripeness of the “collective farmer” is confirmed by a uniform bright yellow color, without green or white spots, and a sweet aroma. The size for this variety is not of fundamental importance, small round melons are not inferior in taste to large representatives of other varieties. Too large specimens, on the contrary, may begin to deteriorate even on melon or during storage.

When buying a “torpedo” you should not put aside specimens with green streaks on the peel. If the main shade of the fruit is sandy, white and green streaks are normal on it. The aroma of the “torpedo” is more pronounced than that of the “collective farmer”, the sweet smell with notes of pear and vanilla, without sour shades, indicates that the fruit has gained the necessary ripeness. Variety “Torpeda” does not lose its taste properties when it reaches a weight of 5 or more kilograms. If all other signs confirm ripeness, you can buy a large “Torpedo”.

How to choose the right ripe melon in appearance and color of the fruit

When inspecting a melon when buying, you need to pay attention to the integrity of the peel. You can not buy fruits with a cracked skin or with a rotten “barrel”. Melon pulp contains a large amount of sugar, which is a breeding ground for the reproduction of harmful microorganisms. If there are dents or cuts, germs can get inside the fetus and spoil it. Rotten from one side, the specimen also cannot be divided into infected and clean parts. Therefore, in the presence of brown spots or an uncharacteristically soft surface, it is better not to buy a melon.

The color of the fruit differs for different varieties, but the general rule for choosing a ripe specimen is the uniformity of color, the absence of white or green spots. The use of preservatives during storage or transport may leave traces of colors uncharacteristic of the variety on the surface, for example, blue streaks on the skin of the fruit, a pinkish tint, or pink splashes on a yellow-brown surface.

How to identify a ripe melon by smell

During ripening, the melon changes its smell: from fresh grassy to rich sweet, with notes characteristic of the variety. An unripe fruit may not smell at all; in overripe specimens, the sweetness is replaced by the smell of fermentation or decay.

Chemically grown melons may have all the outward signs of ripeness, but they will not be quite fragrant. Such specimens may have little to no smell or have the smell of an unripe fruit, herbal or with a hint of dampness. You can determine the ripeness by smell by smelling the melon near the stalk.

How to choose a ripe and sweet melon by sound

Tapping the melon helps to understand whether the ripened seeds have separated from the pulp, forming a void, or the fruit inside has a solid consistency. The readiness of seeds for reproduction is a characteristic natural sign of the ripening of vegetable fruits. The pulp becomes juicy, and can no longer make a ringing sound when patted. If the selected specimen sounds muffled, this indicates its ripeness.

How to choose a ripe melon by spouts and tails

The “tails” of gourds are the stalks that connect the fruits with the stem of the plant, through which nutrients enter. If the crop is harvested at the stage of technical ripeness, the stalk, at the junction with the melon, will be a greenish tint filled with juices. After the fruit ripens, the need for the stalk disappears. It dries up, and the ripe melon is easily separated. It is at the tail that it is advised to check the smell.

The side of the ball or ellipse opposite from the “tail” is colloquially called the “nose”. With its help, you can also confirm the maturity of the melon. The nose should not be too hard or too soft. In the first case, the fruit is probably not ripe, and if the skin in the area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe “nose” is easily crushed with a fingernail, the melon pulp began to deteriorate.

The ideal copy has a dried “tail”. Its “nose” is slightly softer than the rest of the fruit. Combined with the uniformity of color and smell, it is possible to identify melons that have matured on melons and have not been subjected to additional influences in order to look more ripe on the road or in the warehouse.

How to determine the presence of nitrates in melon by appearance

The use of fertilizers containing nitric acid salts or nitrates in the cultivation of melons cannot be determined by external signs. In the absence of a special measuring device that makes it possible to determine on the spot the excess of these unhealthy components in vegetables and fruits, it is possible to suspect that chemical additives are abused at the place of origin of the melon only by indirect signs, for example, the absence of a pronounced aroma with external ripeness or spots of an uncharacteristic color .

In what cases should you refuse to buy

You should not buy vegetables and fruits that will not be cooked before use, on roadsides or on unequipped street stalls. With a long stay next to a busy highway, the fruits, like a sponge, absorb harmful substances. Unorganized trade is often carried out without the necessary documents, the origin of melons is known only from the words of the seller.

When buying in a store or not in the market, if the sanitary condition of the outlet is in doubt, and the seller does not have the necessary documents for the goods, it is reasonable to look for another place to purchase a melon.

Doubts about appearance, shape or smell should be decided in favor of not buying. Common defects that indicate that the melon is of poor quality:

• an unpleasant odor (putrid, rotten or too pungent) coming from the fetus;
• dark spots on the surface, indicating that the fruit is rotten;
• black dots on the peel, indicating infection with bacteria;
• mechanical dents or cracks in the skin.

If the seller has a cut melon of the same variety and external ripeness, it is better not to choose a purchase from the same batch, in the absence of a sweet rich smell. It is better not to buy the cut melon itself if you are not sure in what sanitary conditions the cutting was made. Also, do not ask the seller at the collapse to cut the unwashed fruit with his knife. Desserts in the form of pieces of ripe melon can be bought in cafes or supermarkets, where sanitary standards are ensured and expiration dates are monitored.

Conclusion

It is easiest to choose a sweet melon during the ripening season of this crop, in late summer – early autumn. The best specimens have a rich aroma and juicy sweet pulp. A melon that has ripened in the garden has a dry “tail”, and the seeds have separated from the pulp, which is why the fruit makes a dull sound when patted. It is better to make purchases from trusted sellers, in specialized outlets or in retail chains. It is impossible to determine the excess of nitrates by appearance.