Many people love melon. Therefore, it can often be found growing in gardens or on the counter of a store. To enjoy the taste of the fruits of this gourd, you need to know how to choose a melon. This article will tell you how to determine the ripeness of this berry.
How to determine the ripeness of a melon in order to harvest? To date, there are several indicators by which it is possible to determine the ripeness of the crop of a given crop. These options include:
- smell;
- sound;
- appearance.
To choose sweet melon, you must first pay attention to its melon smell. WITH a ripe berry has a pleasant aroma, which to a certain extent resembles pineapple. Some varieties have a pear or honey smell. You can also smell vanilla. Here you need to always make an adjustment for the variety. This is due to the fact that some varieties have their own fruit characteristics. Therefore, you should evaluate not only the copy you like, but also its neighbors. This approach will allow you to understand the approximate ripeness of the entire crop.
If, when picking up a berry, the smell is not felt, you can twist the melon in your hands and sniff more carefully. Some varieties of this culture have a very subtle and implicit aroma.
At the same time, it is worth noting that unripe fruits do not have any smell. Some melons, which are just beginning to ripen, exude a green aroma. If such a smell is found, it is clearly not worth choosing such a fruit. Unripe specimens can be salted. However, to make salted melon tasty, you need to know special recipe her pickles.
You need to know that with an increase in air temperature, the chance to choose a ripe fruit increases significantly. In such conditions, sweet melon begins to smell more clearly.
However, you should not rely only on the sense of smell, since not everyone has a good sense of smell. That's why there are different ways ripeness ratings.
Sound
After the fragrant fruit has been identified, you need to evaluate it by sound. But for this you need to know how to check a melon for this indicator. To do this, it is recommended to gently slap the copy you like on the surface. Ripe melons when performing such manipulations will sound deaf. If the fruit is unripe, the resulting sound will be sonorous.
Peel
The third parameter that you need to rely on so that the selected melon is ripe is the appearance. ripe melon different varieties may have different colors:
- bright yellow;
- yellow;
- light yellow;
- orange;
- with green stripes, etc.
Therefore, you first need to evaluate the appearance of the entire crop. It should be about the same. After that, you need to look at the condition of the peel.
If you take a ripe fruit in your hands, then it will have a noticeable weight. However, it all depends on the variety. Indeed, some varieties form melons weighing up to 1 kg, others - about 2-3 kg.
You need to choose only those specimens that will be intact and without traces of mechanical injury. If it is planned that the purchase will lie in the refrigerator for several days before it is eaten, then you need to buy only whole melons. In this case, it is not recommended to purchase halves. They spoil very quickly, even when refrigerated.
The fact that the selected specimen is immature is evidenced by the following points:
- spots that have an uneven color;
- hardness. Ripeness is signaled by the softness of the skin. With light pressure, slight indentations may appear on it, which almost immediately level out. If they remain, then the berry is overripe;
- pronounced longitudinal veins. They talk about excessive nitrate content.
You can gently pry the skin off with your fingernail to check for ripeness. If the skin is well separated, then the selected copy can be safely bought. This selection method is one of the most proven. In appearance, it is easy to understand which melon is ripe, and which still needs to lie down and ripen. However, do not neglect other methods of evaluation (by smell and sound).
Place of purchase and license
The last point on how to choose the right melon is to determine the place of purchase. After ripening, you can buy this berry in the market or in the store. In both cases, the seller must have a license to sell these products, as well as a quality certificate for the product. You should not buy fruits along highways and roads. Here the products will be heavily dusted.
Now you know how to choose ripe melon. In choosing, the main thing is not to rush and to know all the features of the purchased variety.
Video "How to choose a ripe melon"
In this video, you will learn how to choose a ripe and sweet melon.
Watermelon and melon are indispensable attributes of the outgoing summer. However, each of us has our own preferences: someone passionately loves watermelon, while others cannot live a day without the sweet aroma of melon. We have already talked about how to choose the right watermelon in one of the previous articles. And how to choose a ripe melon? After all, there are many wisdom and secrets in this regard.
There is a great many various kinds melons, however, the varieties “kolkhoznitsa” and “torpedo” are considered the most popular in central Russia: they tolerate transportation and storage best of all. And in this homeland fragrant berry, South of Russia, there is a whole range of varieties: "Galileo" with greenish and sweet pulp, cantaloupe melon with a striped peel and a bright orange core, fragrant "Altai" melon and others.
Apart from its incredible taste, melon, among other things, has a beneficial effect on the digestive system, improves immunity and improves skin. There is even a special melon diet that promotes fast weight loss without the agonizing feeling of hunger. However, such miraculous effects are available only to those who know how to choose a ripe melon.
We will reveal a few tricks that are sure to come in handy when buying a melon:
Aroma of ripe melon. The ripeness of a melon can be easily determined by its smell. Sweet and ripe melon exudes a delicate aroma. If the melon has no smell at all or, worse, smells of greens, it is better to put such a fruit aside;
Proper melon sound. As in the case of watermelon, you can make sure that the melon is ripe by lightly slapping it with your palm. A ripe melon gives a deaf pop, and not a sonorous one like a watermelon;
Peel. Another little secret How to choose a melon lies in its peel: the peel of the fruit should spring with a little pressure. And if the melon peel turned out to be too soft, and after pressing, fingerprints remain, then the berries are overripe and it is time for her to go to the trash, and not to the hands of the buyer.
Another weighty observation that should certainly be guided by those who do not know how to choose a torpedo melon is the color of the fruit. There should be no dark spots on the melon, the color of the fruit is uniform regardless of the variety. Pay attention to the “tail” of the melon: it should be slightly dried. But the “nose”, the trace of the flower, on the contrary, should be slightly soft.
Try not to buy melon near roads and in tents with unsanitary conditions. Fruits should not roll on the ground! In this case, they can be damaged, and pathogens of botulism or other dangerous infections can get into the melon through cracks.
Be careful when choosing a melon - so you protect yourself from poisoning and can fully enjoy this sweet and fragrant fruit.
The end of summer and the beginning of autumn is a great time when we begin to eat gourds to our heart's content. Melon is the leader among them, according to consumers (as, indeed, watermelons).
Pleasant sweetness, juiciness, a whole range of useful properties, satiety - all these are signs of a good melon. And how to choose the right ripe melon, which will delight us with its taste and bring only benefits? This will be discussed in our article.
Choosing the best melon on the counter
We start the selection of the most delicious melon with her appearance. It should be whole, of a beautiful natural shade (depending on the variety), without dents from blows, rotted areas, cuts and other damage. We pay attention to the smell coming from the melon: it should be spicy, honey, with hints of vanilla, sometimes pear, pineapple. If there is no smell or if it is weak, similar to the aroma of greens, then the melon, respectively, is green, and there will not be the necessary sweetness in it. The stalk of a ripe melon is dry.
We take a melon in our hands and feel it: it should spring. This means the ripeness of the fruit. The hard surface of unripe melons, soft, on which marks remain - overripe, having lost its taste and beneficial features. When you tap a ripe melon, you will hear a dull sound. If she “sounds” loudly, then she should still be in time.
To summarize the main features of a ripe tasty melon:
- She has a pleasant honey smell - you will not confuse it with anything. It's a good sign if you walk up to the melon tray and you can clearly smell their fragrance.
- Elastic - when you press your finger on the surface of the fetus, you feel how it springs.
- Surface without greening, dents - most varieties have a yellow skin color.
- On impact, a dull sound, not a ringing or "sinking" sound.
When setting such a task, how to choose a good melon, take into account: it must be safe and sound! Spots, dents, cracks - places beneficial for the spread of bacteria. By purchasing melons with such surface defects, you run the risk of falling ill with gastrointestinal diseases.
For the same reason, it is also dangerous to buy melon halves, cut in advance for ease of sale. Follow the same principle when refusing to taste a piece of melon that a helpful seller in the market can offer you. Pathogenic bacteria accumulate on both the tasting fruit and the knife.
Choosing the sweetest melon variety
Intending to buy a melon, we are looking for the sweetest one, since it will be the most delicious for us. The taste qualities of this fruit depend not only on the degree of ripening, but also on the variety. So, how to choose a sweet melon in principle, let's orient ourselves a little in varieties.
The sweetest, and the most common, we have melons:
The variety you like can be planted in your garden. By creating acceptable conditions and caring for it, you will get your own harvest of this crop.
To taste self-grown melons in their best time, they should be removed from the bush in time. How do you determine the ripeness of a melon before picking it?
- The stalk is dry or very sluggish.
- The fruits are no longer growing.
- Peel color characteristic of the variety (remember that the side warmed by the sun ripens first).
- Explicit pleasant aroma (in some varieties it happens if you slightly grind the skin).
When you cut a melon from the garden, do not be embarrassed if there are some greenish areas in it. The fruit cannot ripen uniformly at the same time, but the taste does not suffer from this.
Is buying an unripe melon justified?
There is such a tradition among the people: to buy several melons at once, moreover, with greenery. They do this with the aim that the fetus, after lying on the balcony for several days, for example, will ripen and there will be no need to go to the store again. It would be more rational to start by understanding: does the plucked melon ripen? The matter is as follows.
As the practice of gourd breeders says, a melon, quite a bit unripe, may well reach the desired condition at home in a warm place.
This applies only to those cases when the melon is not ripe enough. However, such a fruit will slightly differ in taste from those that have ripened in the garden.
The ripening of a plucked melon is influenced by the variety, growing conditions and subsequent storage, and other factors. Merchants take advantage of this property of melon so that it does not reach the buyer overripe, hopelessly losing its wonderful taste.
Good place to buy melon
Storage and transport conditions are important when it comes to melons. Better conditions are created in shops, supermarkets, trading floors - places of licensed trade in products. Your best insurance in such cases is a sanitary check of trading places and conditions for the sale of goods.
It is strictly forbidden to buy melons from street vendors along the roads! Exhaust gases, dust settle on the product, harmful substances are absorbed into the fruit through microcracks on the peel. Such melons become unusable very soon, even if they were originally of excellent quality.
In closing, don't be afraid to overeat melons. This delicacy is a warehouse necessary vitamins and micronutrients. Approach the choice of the fetus responsibly and prepared, then it will not disappoint you.
How to choose a ripe melon without nitrates - video
Juicy, fragrant, ripe and sweet melon - favorite treat many people.
It is saturated with magnesium, potassium, iron, vitamins C and R. Melon perfectly quenches thirst, lowers blood cholesterol and is sedative. But it just often happens that a beautiful-looking melon turns out to be actually tasteless inside. Let's find out with you in this article how to choose it.
How to choose the right place to buy melon?
First of all, you need to determine the place where you will buy it. It is best if it is a supermarket, an official market or a store. Here the goods are stored in right conditions, and as a result, the risk of poisoning by a spoiled product is significantly reduced.
It is very dangerous to buy melons sold on the highway or along highways, because the fruits absorb all toxic substances and harmful heavy metals well. In accordance with the requirements of sanitary rules - melons should not lie on the ground, but on a special pallet.
The melon does not have a very dense peel, so the product you choose should be whole, without spots, dents or cracks. You should never take cut melons and not let the seller cut them in front of you, because the pulp of the melon becomes an ideal breeding ground for bacteria in it, due to high content Sahara.
How to choose a ripe and sweet melon?
By sound and color
This, of course, is not a watermelon, and you should not click and knock on it - damage the thin peel. It is enough to lightly slap the fruit with your hand. If a dull sound is heard, the fruit is ripe, and if it is sonorous, a little crunchy, like ripe watermelon- No. But the color of the peel will eloquently tell us whether the fruit was damaged during transportation or storage. Only one small round spot is allowed, slightly lighter than the main color of the melon. In this place, the fruit lay on the ground and, naturally, the peel did not receive its portion of the sun. But if the whole melon is covered with dark, slightly concave spots, it is most likely spoiled. Through a thin skin, bacteria easily penetrate inside, which quickly spoil the pulp.
By elasticity.
Grab it with both hands and squeeze lightly. A good melon should spring back slightly, like a handball. If the fruit feels like a hard watermelon, it is not ripe.
And if a finger print remains on the peel after pressing, the melon is overripe or has been waiting for its buyer for too long. The “collective farmer” should have a smooth skin, while the “torpedo” should have a rough one, with furrows. Lightly scrape the skin. With a ripe fruit, you can do this without difficulty, but with an unripe one, you will have a slightly glossy skin.
How to eat and store melon?
At first glance, it seems, well, what could be simpler - cut a melon, remove the seeds and eat calmly, enjoying the delicious taste and fragrant aroma. But here, it turns out, there are important nuances:
1. Before use, be sure to thoroughly rinse the melon under warm water with soap. Because it is in the skin of the melon and on its entire surface that toxins are present.
2. Never store a cut and half-eaten melon in a warm, room temperature. Do not eat the whole melon at once - put it in the refrigerator immediately.
3. It is undesirable to use melon in combination with cold water, fermented milk products, milk, alcohol and because you risk indigestion, but there is no scientific evidence for this fact.
4. Melon is a very heavy product and therefore it is best to eat it in between meals, but not after meals and not on an empty stomach.
If you want to buy melon good quality, then it is better to do it in season, that is, at the end of August or at the beginning of September. Later melons are most useful, because they are not grown under film covers and use less pesticides and mineral fertilizers.
Bon appetit!!
If we arrange the main culinary symbols of the outgoing summer in terms of popularity, then the leading places will certainly go to melon and watermelon. In this material, we will try to tell you in as much detail as possible about how to choose a ripe melon.
How to choose a ripe and tasty melon?
Many subtleties of choice are similar to those of a watermelon. For example, before buying, the first thing to do is to check with the seller from which locality the product came. The fact is that pumpkins tend to absorb pollution, therefore it is better to avoid melons grown in polluted and gassed areas. Also pay attention to the main subtlety - the presence in the fetus. It is an excess of nitrates, which farmers so often sin, trying to quickly get a plentiful harvest, is the cause of severe human poisoning. The presence of nitrates in the melon is given out by longitudinal stripes on the skin, empty seeds with a grayish tinge and the absence of a pronounced aroma.
During the selection, first tap on the selected fruit. A ripe melon will make a dull sound, unlike a watermelon, for example. If the melon has passed the initial test, then pay attention to the color of its skin. The skin should not have spots, the color of the whole fruit may be different, but certainly uniform.
One of the main secrets of how to choose the right ripe melon is to pay attention to the mesh on the surface: the thicker it is, the more sweet and ripe the melon is in front of you.
Not unimportant is the pronounced sweetish aroma, as well as the density of the fruit: good melon should not be too hard or, on the contrary, soft.
How to choose a ripe and sweet melon "torpedo"?
Among the most common varieties of melons in our area, you can find the "torpedo". This fruit got its name due to its elongated oblong shape.
Like any other melon, the “torpedo” is chosen for its dry tail, strong aroma and soft “nose” (the part of the melon opposite the stalk). As for the specific characteristics of a delicious melon of this variety, please note that it should be oblong, have a rich yellow color, fine mesh and bright yellow longitudinal stripes, not solid, but scattered along the fruit, as it were, with a dotted line.
The seeds of a ripe melon easily move away from the pulp, and the seeds of a particular “torpedo” contain a mucous membrane.
How to choose a ripe melon "collective farmer"?
The "collective farmer" can be found on the shelves much more often than the "torpedo". This is a classic rounded melon with a bright yellow color, mesh skin, without spots and stripes. One of the criteria for choosing a "collective farmer" is precisely its incredibly expressive and uniform color. Make sure that there are no greenish or light yellow spots on the skin - this indicates that it has not ripened. Spots with a brown and grayish tint on the contrary indicate the beginning of decay. It is better to choose melons up to 2 kg in size, so you will protect yourself from overripe fruits or those that have been flavored with nitrates.
As with any other variety of melon, keep in mind that the sound when tapping on the surface of the fruit should be dull, the stalk should be dry, and the aroma should be strongly pronounced, with bright honey notes. Again, try to avoid buying roadside melons, as their skin absorbs any dirt well. Do not buy cut melons either, they begin to deteriorate much faster and may contain pathogenic microflora that gets on the surface of the pulp from the knife.
