How to choose the right delicious and ripe watermelon What are the signs to look out for? This material will help you choose sweet watermelons with juicy flesh without a high concentration of dangerous nitrates.
First rule: watermelon season.
It is best to buy watermelons at the end of summer, then this berry no longer contains a lot of nitrates and will bring maximum benefit, joy and pleasure.
Second rule: the "correct" places.
It is recommended to buy melons and watermelons only in special places that are intended for the melon trade: in equipped tents and shops. In such tents, there must be a hinged awning, and fruits and berries must be placed on special floorings, above the ground at least 14 cm.
Third rule: unharmed and whole.
When buying a watermelon, you need to carefully examine it from all sides, you need to make sure that the fruit is not damaged. It should not have any bruises, cracks and other visible flaws, and even more so, the fruit should not be rotten.
Fourth rule: fruit size.
A lot of buyers, choosing a watermelon or melon, are guided by the size of the fruit, but this is absolutely no guarantee of good palatability and maturity.
Fifth rule: shiny hard crust.
Mature "minke whale" has a hard and shiny crust, which is difficult to pierce with a fingernail.
Sixth rule: degree of striping.
To buy good watermelon, be sure to pay attention to how striped the watermelon is. After all, the more contrasting color of the watermelon crust, the more ripe it is.
Seventh rule: yellow spot on the side.
As a rule, while the watermelon ripens in the field, it “lays down” one side of itself and a bright spot forms there. If the fruit is ripe, then the spot is bright yellow, sometimes the spot becomes orange.
Eighth rule: dry tail.
A dry tail has always been a sign that the watermelon is ripe. When ripe, the watermelon, as it were, “disconnects” from the bush by drying out the tail. But do not forget that such a dry tail can also be found in fruits that have been plucked for a long time and at the same time they will not necessarily be ripe.
Ninth rule: Who tastes better - "boy" or "girl"?
As you know, among the watermelons there are "boys" and there are "girls". If the “boy”, then on the opposite side of the tail, the bottom of the fetus is slightly convex, while for “girls” the bottom is flat and decorated with a wide circle. It is believed that "girls" are tastier and sweeter, they have more sugar and much less seeds.
Tenth rule:"voiced" watermelons.
If the watermelon is already ripe, then when tapped, it makes a sonorous sound, not a dull sound.
That's all the secrets of choice delicious watermelon. Before serving it on the table, you need this sweet and fragrant berry Be sure to wash under running water.
In the photo: 8 eight most important signs of a ripe watermelon:
How to choose a watermelon without nitrates?
Some unscrupulous melon growers, fertilizing the soil with nitrates, often exceed the permissible norms in pursuit of rapid fruit ripening and fast yields.
So, you should be alerted by the following signs that will help you avoid food poisoning from "chemical" watermelons:
- bright yellow fibers that go to the rind of the watermelon towards the core;
- excessively bright red color with a purple tint;
- instead of sparkling grains on the cut - a smooth, too glossy surface.
In the summer, the most grows favorite treat children and adults - watermelon. Juicy fragrant fruit is useful alternative dessert. Do not rush to buy a berry, it may turn out to be completely tasteless and watery.
How to choose the right watermelon so that it turns out to be ripe and sweet, what you need to pay attention to, will be prompted by the advice of experienced farmers.
The height of the watermelon season does not come until August. At this time, melons and watermelons ripen on melons. Therefore, without any fear, you can safely buy a crop in the last month of summer.
However, some sellers have been trading since almost the beginning of June. It is very dangerous to buy fruits at this time, most likely, chemicals were used for early ripening, which accelerate growth. These components include nitrates. At a glance and taste, they are not felt in any way, but human body cause enormous harm, up to the strongest food poisoning
Important! For the presence of nitrates, watermelon pulp can be checked in a folk way. The pulp is crushed and dipped in a glass of water. If the water turns red, then there is absolutely no fruit. The appearance of turbidity in the glass indicates that the pulp is healthy.
What to pay attention to
There are several ways to help choose a crop with ripe and fragrant pulp. They are not difficult to remember, but in practice they are very useful.
Peel
It is necessary to carefully examine the fetus from all sides for cracks, mechanical damage, scratches. The skin must be intact, without flaws. Damaged areas of the skin indicate that microbes could already penetrate the watermelon pulp, it is better not to buy such a fruit.
The culture has a bright color - the more intense the stripes will be colored in green color the sweeter the pulp will be. Bright green stripes are a sign that the fruit has lain enough in the sun and is already well ripened.
The yellow spot is the place where the fruit lay while it was ripe. If it is with a white tint, then it means that the fruit did not lie on the melon for too long. The size of the spot in a mature watermelon can reach from 5 to 10 centimeters in diameter.
The peel can be lightly rubbed with your hand - it should not smell sharp. If there is an aroma of fresh hay, then the watermelon is not yet ripe.
The size
Many people mistakenly assume that the bigger the watermelon, the sweeter it is. This rule rarely works. The best size is medium. Small watermelons are most often unripe fruits, and overgrown ones are berries that unscrupulous farmers pretty much pumped up with nitrates.
Of all the fruits presented, you need to choose a watermelon weighing up to 20 kilograms, no more.
Boy or girl
lovers sweet berry know that there is a difference between the shape of the fruit. Some watermelons have an elongated shape, a convex lower part - these are the so-called male representatives. In watermelon girls, the shape of the fetus is more flattened and round, and the bottom is flat.
It is believed that watermelons-girls are the sweetest in taste. Their pulp literally melts in your mouth, and there are few seeds.
Sound
The most common way to find out the ripeness of the fruit is to knock on it. If the knock is dull, indistinct and generally hard to hear, most likely the pulp has not yet ripened. When a ripe watermelon is tapped, a clear, sonorous sound is heard. You can try to lightly press on the walls of the fetus - if they crackle, you must buy such an instance.
Important! If the watermelon is already overripe, then squeezing the peel can lead to further cracking.
Tail
Absolutely every fruit has a tail located at the top. If it is yellow, dry to the touch, it means that the berry has already been picked ripe. A green tail indicates that the watermelon is not yet fully ripe.
However, with this method of evaluation, errors sometimes occur. Indeed, even in unripe watermelons, over time, the tail dries up and turns yellow. But if there is no tail at all, this should alert. It was cut off by an unscrupulous seller to hide its maturity - such fruits should be avoided.
Where is the best place to buy
You can buy culture in any large supermarkets, grocery stores. There are observed storage standards, special conditions and commodity neighborhood. You can buy fruits in the markets, but you should ask about the availability of a quality certificate. Every seller should have it. The certificate indicates where the watermelon was grown, its collection period, and there may even be a mark about the absence or, conversely, the content of nitrates.
If there is no certificate, or the seller behaves insecurely, you need to leave - this place probably sells low-quality products. The presence of a certificate is always a positive thing when selling berries and speaks of the good reputation of the seller.
In the market, very often, in order to make sure that the berries are ripe, sellers offer to cut off a piece and taste the pulp to the buyer. This cannot be done. There may be an infection on the knife, and the watermelon itself has not yet been washed. A lot of cases of poisoning occur precisely because of such unsanitary conditions.
When the fruit has already been bought, before eating, it is well washed in the bathroom or in the sink with soap and water. baking soda. Then the skin is wiped dry and only then cut into pieces and enjoy the aroma and sugar taste.
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August is the time of the long-awaited watermelons. And the most actual question season - how to choose a ripe and tasty watermelon? The seller can assure you in June that he has a super-early variety of berries. The purchase will indeed turn out to be with juicy and bright red pulp, only nitrates and other chemistry clearly helped to ripen such a watermelon. Therefore, until the end of the season, it is better not to succumb to the temptation. Natural gourd berries will be on sale only in August.
Perhaps, choosing a sweet fruit is a whole science. How to determine the ripeness of a watermelon and choose a berry without nitrates? Let's study it together.
How to determine the ripeness of a watermelon
By appearance
That watermelon is good, in which the stripes are bright and the peel is shiny. Pay attention to external damage to the fetus. If it is cracked or rumpled, then bacteria could already penetrate into the pulp. This watermelon is dangerous to health. Clothing should be so hard that it is difficult to scratch it with a fingernail. And one more thing: prefer a round watermelon to an oblong one.
According to the size and color of the earth spot
Look for a watermelon that has a yellow spot on its side - this is the place where the berry came into contact with the ground. The color should be reddish, yellow or light brown. But a white earthen spot indicates that the watermelon is not ripe. Spot size should ideally be between 5 and 10 cm.
On a dry stem
The tail of a watermelon is like the umbilical cord of a newborn: through it the fetus receives nutrients. In fact, when the watermelon is ripe, it should fall off the fruit itself and dry up. Therefore, the green stalk of a store-bought watermelon should alert you - the fruit is clearly not ripe. The tail of a ripe berry will be brittle, check without leaving the cash register!
By weight
Many people think that large watermelons are the most delicious. And they are right. A large mass of watermelon speaks of its ripeness. In some varieties, the weight of 10-17 kg is considered the norm. But there is a reasonable limit to everything: the abnormally huge watermelon is most likely grown with the help of artificial feeding. Look for the golden mean.
By sound
Many people know the old-fashioned way - to lightly knock on a watermelon. This is the main sign of a ripe watermelon. If the sound is sonorous when tapped, and the rind of the watermelon springs a little from the impact, feel free to buy! But a dull sound, on the contrary, should alert you - the watermelon is most likely unripe.
How to choose a good quality watermelon
Few calories and lots of nutrients. This is about the watermelon that was grown correctly. per century modern technologies we buy gourds with fear - the reason for this is the chemicals that create artificially ripe watermelons, and also get rid of pests on melons. How to calculate excess nitrates? Look at the peel. Black and brown spots over the entire surface give out the presence of nitrogen salts. Did the fruit look cute? Check it out at home after cutting. If the color of the pulp is unevenly red and with purple spots, then there is an excess of nitrates in the watermelon. This will also be indicated by multi-colored bones (black and white in one berry) as well as yellow streaks from the peel to the pulp.
There is another secret: the pulp on the cut of the “correct” watermelon will be with grains, as if sugar, but the watermelon with nitrate content has unnaturally glossy insides.
To fully verify the safety of a sweet purchase, spend a simple experiment at home: drop a piece watermelon pulp into a glass of water and crush the pulp. Turbid water indicates the naturalness of the berry, the water turned red - an indicator of the presence of nitrates. This is the best way to test watermelons.
- The most natural watermelons appear on sale only in mid-August.
- It is better to buy watermelons in the store. If you go to the market, then bypass the side of the seller, whose watermelons are right on the ground.
- Do not buy watermelons on the highway. Vehicle exhaust fumes are not the best way to affect the safety of the product.
- Refuse to buy a cut watermelon, even if the half is carefully tightened cling film. Under it, bacteria actively develop. And whether the one who cut him observed hygiene is generally unknown.
- Press the fruit from above and below: if you hear crackling, then the watermelon is delicious and ripe.
We wish you delicious watermelons and a pleasant summer!
Summer is remembered for us not only by the abundance of sun, travel and fresh greenery, but also delicious dessert this season - watermelons. A ripe watermelon with velvety and juicy flesh will come in handy on a hot day, and the main thing is to choose the right delicious watermelon. For some time, watermelon was considered a useless fruit, but later it was found that this large berry is a real storehouse of fiolic acids, which have a beneficial effect on blood formation and chemical processes in the body. Despite the fact that watermelon is 90% of its mass water, it also contains useful material– vitamin C, fiber and iron, etc.
Surely, there are many lovers of this delicious berry. However, does each of us know how to choose the right watermelon? Unfortunately, finding absolutely organic fruits, like watermelons, is now very problematic. However, choosing the most “clean” berry, without an excess of nitrates and other things harmful to the body, is not so difficult. There are several secrets on how to choose the right delicious watermelon.
Carefully choose the place and time of buying watermelon. If you want to fully enjoy a delicious watermelon without sacrificing your own health, then keep an eye on where you are going to buy watermelon. It is highly not recommended to buy watermelons near dusty roads, on which cars drive every now and then, releasing harmful gases into the air. Although, on the other hand, this is the most common option, buying a watermelon during a trip near the highway is simple and quick. Watermelons in stores do not differ in taste either - as a rule, supermarkets buy them still immature. The ideal place to buy is a tent next to the field where these watermelons grow. It is better not to buy early watermelons, it is better to enjoy melons not earlier than August.
Pay attention to the color of the watermelon. The "face" of the berry will always tell you how to choose sweet watermelon. Pay attention to the color of the watermelon: it should be contrasting, but not matte. However, it is difficult to choose a watermelon on this basis: before selling, watermelons are carefully rubbed with a rag, giving it a marketable appearance, and therefore determining the ripeness of a berry only by color is a risky business. The yellow spot is also an indispensable attribute of a delicious watermelon. It does not say anything about ripeness, but the size of the spot can tell about the taste of the berry: if the size of the spot varies from 5 to 10 cm, then you have come across a quite sweet and juicy fruit.
Determine the ripeness of a watermelon by the sound. Many mistakenly believe that you can choose a good watermelon by a dull sound. In fact, when tapping right watermelon should make a ringing sound, which indicates the porosity of the pulp, and, consequently, the ripeness of the berry. It is difficult to convey in words the sound made by a ripe watermelon, but after a little practice, you can easily determine the correct sound. Also, with a slight squeeze, the watermelon should crackle slightly, which will also notify you of its maturity and juiciness.
The absence of a stalk is a bad sign! Another way to choose a ripe watermelon is to carefully examine the stalk or the so-called “tail” of the fruit. It should be moderately dry and yellow: a too dry stalk indicates that the watermelon has undergone long-term transportation and storage, which is unlikely to benefit its taste. It is better not to buy a watermelon without a "tail": most likely, it was deliberately torn off to hide the poor quality of the fruit.
Ripe and juicy watermelon never sinks in water. In addition, when cut, the berry will diverge, slightly crackling under the knife blade. Ripe watermelon seeds are dark brown or even black in color. White seeds are a sign of an unripe fruit or high content nitrates in berries.
Knowing the secrets of how to choose a good watermelon, you can be sure of the ripeness of the purchased fruit, cutting which you will feel the sweet aroma and immediately realize that you have made the right choice.
Text: Anastasia Buylova
There are many lovers of watermelons, but it is extremely problematic to correctly find and choose a ripe and sweet watermelon, environmentally friendly, which contains minimal amount nitrates.
By tradition, summer is associated with travel, fresh greenery, sun and beach holidays. In summer, you can enjoy the divine taste of a delicious treat - watermelon.
Juicy and velvety flesh will please you with a pleasant coolness on hot days. Previously, watermelon was considered a useless fruit. Over time, scientists have found that watermelon is a source of folic acids, which have a beneficial effect on chemical processes and blood circulation. The pulp contains a lot of iron, vitamin C and fiber.
6 secrets to choosing a juicy watermelon
High-quality ripe fruit can be safely eaten in pure form, or use for liquor.
The carved pyramid is the most popular technique used by sellers to prove the freshness of the fruit. This method does not inspire confidence in me, sellers often use dirty knives.
5 main rules
- Make sure the stem is dry. She is the perfect indicator of ripeness.
- The sound of a watermelon when patted depends on the pulp. Ripe makes a dull sound, green - rings.
- If the fruit squeezed by hands cracks, it is ripe.
- If the earth stain is white, you should not buy. It is recommended to give preference with a yellow spot.
- Ripe watermelon scratches easily. In a ripe watermelon, the top layer of skin can be easily removed with a fingernail.
As you can see, there are many ways to determine ripeness.
How to determine the presence of nitrates in watermelon
The summer falls the largest number food poisoning. In hot weather, products deteriorate, and manufacturers add nitrates to speed up ripening.
How to protect yourself from nitrate poisoning?
Buy products that are in season. For example, cherries and strawberries are bought in the summer. If offered in spring or autumn, they are greenhouse-friendly and contain nitrates.
6 rules for determining nitrates
Buy a special device - a nitrate meter. With its help, the amount of nitrates in watermelon is easily determined.
If you do not want to buy a nitrate meter, you can get approximate information about nitrates on your own.
- The absolutely smooth surface of the fruit indicates the presence of nitrates.
- Cut open the fruit and bring it to a light source. The surface of a purple hue is an indicator of the presence of nitrates. The color should be red.
- Dip the pulp in clean water. If the water turns red, nitrates are present. If it becomes cloudy, there are no nitrates.
- Ripe fruit containing nitrates, slightly sour aroma.
- If the seller does not allow you to cut the fruit, evaluate it by its appearance. Containing nitrates, when tapped, does not make sounds. It becomes soft and resembles a wrinkled ball.
- You can lower the watermelon into a tank of water. If the fruit floats, there are no nitrates.
Finally, I’ll add that nitrates are concentrated not in the middle, but near the crust. If there is no confidence in the ecological purity of the product, you should not eat it to the very crust.
In the course of the story, I shared the secrets of choosing a ripe and juicy watermelon. Additionally, you learned how to determine the environmental friendliness of this summer dessert. See you soon, dear readers!
