Gourds have the specificity that in their appearance it is difficult to guess about the ripeness and preservation of the fetus. Watermelons and melons may look like in the picture, but in reality they turn out to be either immature or, even worse, rotten. The merchant, of course, can give you a piece of one fruit to try, assuring that all the fruits on the watermelon collapse are the same, but this is not a fact. Even if the crop was harvested simultaneously from the same field, among the berries there are bound to be immature or damaged during transportation. Therefore, it is important to know how to choose a melon.
Grade
It is best to buy fruits at the height of their season, that is, in August-September. Central Asian melons are very tasty, in addition, they appear much earlier than domestic ones. Melons brought from Ukraine are also good. The main exporters are Nikolaev and Kherson regions, the steppe Crimea. In our country, gourds are grown in the south. The best varieties are considered oblong “torpedo”, round and yellow “collective farmer”, greenish “galilee”, fragrant “Altai”. We also learned how to grow imported seeds - among them we can name “cantaloupe” - it is bright orange with a striped peel melon. Price for melons (from 10 rubles per kilo), we traditionally depend not on the variety, but on the season. Early fruits will cost you more.
Smell
An indicator of the ripeness of the fetus is its aroma. How to choose a melon
by smell? Sniff at the junction of the pulp with the tail or “nose” (where the flower used to be). If you feel a distinct delicate aroma, then you have a ripe fruit in your hands. But if the smell is not felt - the melon is not ripe. The higher the ambient temperature, the stronger the fruit exudes its aroma. This must be taken into account when choosing fruits in supermarkets.
How to choose a melon by sound and color
This, of course, is not a watermelon, and you should not click on it and knock - damage the thin peel. It is enough to clap a hand lightly on the fetus. If a dull sound is heard, the fruit is ripe, and if it is sonorous, a little crunchy, like a ripe watermelon - no. But the coloring of the peel eloquently tells us about whether the fetus was not damaged during transportation or storage. Only one small round spot is allowed slightly lighter than the main suit of the melon. At this point, the fruit lay on the ground and, of course, 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. Putrefactive bacteria that quickly spoil the flesh easily leak through a thin skin. Such a fruit has a place in the garbage.
How to choose a melon for elasticity
Take it with both hands and squeeze gently. A good melon should spring slightly, like a handball. If the fruit feels like a hard watermelon, it is not ripe. And if the fingerprint remains on the peel after pressing, the melon is overripe or has waited too long for its buyer. The "collective farmer" should have a smooth skin, and the "torpedo" is rough, with furrows. Scrape the skin lightly. With a ripe fruit you will succeed without difficulty, but an immature one will have a slightly glossy skin.
How to choose a melon "on the floor"
This is nothing more than a sign, because the fruits of the floor do not have. But among the people it is believed that the “girl” melon is tastier and juicier than the “boy”. How to distinguish between them? The beautiful half of the stem - tail - thick and dry. The trail from the flower - the so-called nose - should be large and soft.