Summer... It remains in the memory of the hot sun, warm nights, travel, gatherings by the fire, photos from vacation and the main dessert of this season - watermelon. Of course, everyone is eager to try this berry as soon as possible, but there is a chance that you will buy a watermelon that is not yet ripe. And this will be a real disappointment! Therefore, it is quite obvious why very often people standing in front of the counter have a question: how to understand that a watermelon is ripe?
One of the most famous ways to select a ripe watermelon is to tap it. A dull sound will tell you that the fruit is ripe, and a ringing sound will mean that the berry is still “young” or there is a lot of water in it.
There is another way by which you can accurately determine the degree of ripeness of the fruit. You need to take it approximately in the middle, bring it to your ear and squeeze very hard. An unripe fruit will be “silent,” while the skin of a ripe berry will bend slightly and crackle quietly.
Very often, buying a striped berry becomes like buying a lottery ticket. So, you are standing in front of the counter, looking forward to cutting into the deliciously juicy and sweet fruit at home.
What will help you determine exactly which fruit is worth taking, and which one is better to refrain from buying:
It is highly not recommended to buy striped berries near roadways, because melons and melons very quickly absorb pollutants from the external environment. Therefore, it is better to buy juicy fruits in stores and tents that are specially equipped for this. In such tents, the fruits should be on special floorings located at least 15-20 cm above the ground.
This is necessary to prevent germs, dust and dirt from getting on the fruits. Also, tents should be equipped with awnings that protect the berries from the bright sun. Ideally, of course, it is better to buy watermelons in tents located near the fields where they were grown.
Sometimes watermelons turn out to be “overfed” with nitrogen fertilizers, which are contained in huge quantities in the pulp of these berries and become dangerous to human health.
There are several known ways in which you can determine at home from a cut of a watermelon whether it contains nitrates:
If you still have doubts about the “purity” of the fruit, it is better to eat the pulp from the middle, not reaching the white border with the crust (more nitrates accumulate there).
When you bring the berry home, you must wash it with a brush (you can even use soap) so that there is no dust or dirt left on the crust. And the cut fruit should be stored for no more than a day in a cool, dark place (for example, in a cellar or in the refrigerator).
Thus, you should choose a watermelon not only by its external characteristics, but also by the time and place of its sale. Choosing a watermelon is a rather complex and, one might even say, labor-intensive process, but if you approach it responsibly and with a clear understanding of how to understand that a watermelon is ripe, your efforts will be rewarded with the delicious taste that this symbol of summer will give you.
Useful tips
Finding ripe cherries, pineapples, strawberries or other sweet fruits can turn into an adventure.
For example, you liked a large red strawberry, but after trying it, you discovered that it only looks beautiful, but has no taste as such.
Usually, when choosing sweet apples or bananas, we can by appearance immediately determine their ripeness. But there are fruits whose ripeness not so easy to determine. This is especially true for fruits, which we don't buy very often.
So that you don't have to trial and error When choosing fruits, there are several ways to help you find the most delicious fruits.
1. Don't judge the ripeness of a pineapple by its appearance. Even if the pineapple is greenish on the outside, it may be quite ripe on the inside.
2. You can determine the ripeness of a pineapple by its appearance by looking at its leaves, which should be thick and green. You can try pulling a little on one of the upper leaves - if it comes off, it means the fruit is definitely ripe.
3. In addition, a ripe pineapple should be firm and free of cracks.
If the fruit is soft, it means that it was picked while still green, after which it was stored in a warehouse for a long time, which is why it became soft. The taste of such a fruit will be sour. A ripe fruit, when pressed, will spring back and sag, but will still remain elastic.
4. Also pay attention to the smell, which should be sweet, and, naturally, similar to the smell of pineapple, and not something else. If you don't smell anything, the fruit is not yet ripe, and if it smells like vinegar, the fruit is overripe.
5. You can click the pineapple with your fingers - if it is ripe, it will sound loud.
6. The base of a ripe pineapple is usually a little moist. If it turns out to be dry, it is likely that after the fruit was picked, it was stored somewhere for a long time.
* After purchasing, it is better to eat the pineapple immediately, as it does not ripen after it is picked.
* It is worth noting that ripe pineapple contains magnesium, zinc, manganese, potassium, iodine, copper and iron.
1. Everything is simple here: if the strawberries are not red, most likely they are not sweet and not tasty. But color sometimes does not always indicate the ripeness of strawberries.
2. The best thing to do is smell the strawberries. Try to catch the smell of a handful of strawberries, and you will immediately understand whether it is worth spending your money on them.
Cantaloupe, cantaloupe or watermelon - their thick rind makes it difficult to determine ripeness.
1. It is advisable that there are no extra spots on the melon.
2. Softer varieties, such as honeydew melon, should have a matte rind rather than a glossy rind (which often suggests the fruit is overripe).
The cantaloupe should have an orange-gold hue underneath the mesh pattern.
3. As with all fruits, the ripeness of melon and watermelon can be determined by their smell.
4. The weight of ripe fruits is heavy for their size. You can compare the weight of fruits of the same size - the heavier one is riper.
First we need to figure out what type of cherry we are dealing with.
1. The Rainier cherry - also known as Rainer or Reiner - has a red-yellow color, which means you should not be alarmed by the presence of yellow.
2. Sweet red cherries should be dark red in color. The tail of such a cherry should be bright green.
3. You should not take cherries with wrinkles around the place where the tail connects to the fruit.
1. The color of the peel depends, for the most part, on which part of the fruit received more sunlight. You shouldn't expect yellow peaches to turn red when ripe.
2. Peaches with white and greenish spots near the stem will take a few days to ripen.
3. You can press the peach a little to check its ripeness.
* To begin with, don't worry about the color of the fruit. Different varieties of mango have different colors, which have nothing to do with its ripeness:
Variety Ataulfo- golden
Variety Francis- green-gold
Variety Hayden- turns from green to yellow and sometimes red
Variety Kate- green
Variety Kent- dark green, sometimes with yellow tints or spots
Variety Tommy Atkins- difficult to determine, because the peel may be yellow-green, golden, or even dark red
Variety Gigolo- peel color can vary from purple to yellow
Variety Edward- pink, yellow, or both
Varieties Kesar- green, sometimes take on a yellow tint
Variety Manila- orange-yellow, sometimes pink
Varieties Palmer- The peel can come in a variety of colors, including purple, red, yellow, or all three.
1. Lightly press it with your palm, not your fingers - if it is soft, it means ripe. If the flesh is hard and/or does not spring back, the fruit is not yet ripe. But the fruit should not be too soft, because... in this case the fruit is overripe.
2. It is worth looking carefully at the place near the stalk - in a ripe fruit this place is round and plump. When the mango ripens, the stalk rises slightly.
3. Smell the mango near the stem - the ripe fruit has a strong sweet aroma, reminiscent of the taste of mango.
* Mangoes ripen at room temperature. It is advisable to check the fruits every day to know if they are ripe. As a rule, mangoes ripen from 2 to 7 days.
* As with mangoes, the color of an avocado won't tell you anything about the ripeness of the fruit.
* The ripe fruit is slightly shiny in appearance. It should not be damaged and should not have dark spots or dents.
1. You can touch the fruit - if it is too soft, it is overripe and should not be eaten.
2. Shake the fruit a little - if you hear the sound of seeds, it means it is ripe.
* You can choose a slightly unripe fruit - it will ripen in a couple of days. The main thing is to check it regularly.
It is worth noting that avocado is rich in vitamins A, C, E, B, P, as well as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and potassium. It contains a large amount of antioxidants that are beneficial for the cardiovascular system.
1. Look at the color of the peel - a bright red color without a yellow tint indicates the ripeness of the fruit.
2. Also, the peel should not contain visible cracks and should not be rough to the touch.
3. You should not take fruits with dry skin - such fruits were stored for a long time after picking, and they began to lose their moisture.
4. If you look at the place where the pomegranate flower used to be, there should be dry petals there. If they have a greenish tint, it means that the fruit was picked unripe and its taste will not be as sweet.
5. Press the pomegranate a little - if you hear the crunch of the grains, then the fruit is ripe. When pressing on an unripe fruit, the grains simply crush without making a sound.
6. Unlike many other fruits, a ripe pomegranate should not smell, and if it does, it means it is overripe or the fruit was not stored correctly.
* It is worth noting that pomegranates are rich in vitamins A, C, B1, B2, B6, B12, E, P, as well as iodine, iron, potassium, silicon, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, copper, aluminum, etc. In addition , pomegranate contains 15 amino acids that you will not find in any other fruit.
1. Pay attention to the appearance of the coconut - it should not have cracks, dents or various dark spots.
2. Look carefully at the places where the fruit was held by the palm tree - they should not be soft and certainly should not be pressed through.
3. Compare coconuts of the same size - the heavier one will be riper.
* If you need coconut for pulp, then it is better to take ripe fruits, and if you buy coconut for its milk, then it is better to choose not very large young fruits - a greener fruit will contain more milk than a less green one.
4. Over time, the liquid in the coconut becomes pulp. If you shake a coconut, you can find out how ripe it is - if you hear the splashing of liquid, then the fruit is still green.
* Coconut milk contains a large dose of vitamin E, which prevents the development of heart disease and atherosclerosis.
1. Smell the pomelo - the ripe fruit has a pleasant smell that can be smelled even from a distance.
2. A ripe fruit has a peel of uniform and uniform color.
3. There should be no visible damage or green spots on the peel. But it is worth noting that there are certain varieties that have a peel that is evenly colored green.
4. The presence of color stains and inclusions indicates that the plant that produced this fruit was sick, which could not but affect the taste of the fruit.
5. You should not buy a fruit whose peel has noticeable seals, because... these defects indicate improper storage of the fruit. This fruit will taste bland.
6. The top of the fruit should be firm.
7. Choose fruits that weigh about 1 kg - as a rule, fruits of this weight are ripe.
* Pomelo is a fruit that contains vitamins C, B1, B2, B6, PP, A, as well as antioxidants and pectin.
Many varieties of pumpkin allow you to grow this healthy vegetable from Arkhangelsk to Crimea and from the Far East to the western borders of the country. The unpretentiousness of agricultural technology and the size of the resulting nutrient mass make pumpkin desirable on any garden plot of land. But how can an inexperienced vegetable grower determine the maturity of a pumpkin in the garden without being late with harvesting?
Regardless of the size of the fruit and the timing of harvesting, there are rules that will help protect the fruit in the garden from rotting and pests. Lying constantly on its side, in contact with the ground, in wet weather a huge berry can rot and become unusable. Those who try to process a pumpkin with a rotten side are doing it wrong. Before the fruit receives visible damage, changes have already occurred in the core, and it should not be eaten.
The pumpkin should be placed on a hillock or a specially constructed mound, a wooden or plywood board should be placed down, and covered with film on top during autumn rains. In the last month, when the pumpkin gains sweetness, you need to stop. The length of the roots, which go down to a depth of three meters, is enough to provide the required amount of water.
Indicates that the pumpkin harvest time has arrived, the first cold snap, since even a slight frost makes the fruit unsuitable for storage. You can also keep the fruit in the garden in dry weather, protecting it from cool nights.
You can get a fully ripened pumpkin from the field only in hot regions, when the fruits naturally ripen in the field for more than 4 months. But the good thing about pumpkin is that in addition to its long shelf life of several months, it still continues to ripen.
Therefore, you can find out whether the pumpkin is ripe and how long it can lie on the ridge by knowing the main signs that the vegetable is ready for harvesting:
When harvesting a pumpkin, you need to treat it with care, trying not to scratch it. If trouble occurs, seal the damaged area with a bactericidal plaster or do not leave the damaged vegetable for storage.
Picked pumpkin can ripen for about a month in a dark, cool, dry place. You can store the fruit in such conditions for a long time, allowing you to use a fresh, healthy product during the winter.
It is very important in different regions to use zoned varieties with different periods of reaching biological ripeness. But even the most mature ones take about 4 months. Therefore, in regions with a temperate climate, the seedling method of cultivation is used. A new method in the northern regions is to use mini-greenhouses with biological heating, leaving the root system constantly warm, and releasing the vines into fresh air during the short summer.
Early ripening varieties are harvested at the end of August and grown as seedlings. These varieties include the common Gribovskaya bush, Vesnushka, Golosemyannaya. They have a thin crust and can be stored for up to a month.
Medium-ripening pumpkin varieties - Ulybka, Lechebnaya, Rossiyanka - will ripen in 4 months. Harvest in September, but before the first frost. Frozen fruits are not suitable for storage. Varieties of these pumpkins last up to two months after ripeness.
The most valuable fruits are late-ripening varieties grown under the southern sun. These include, Muscat, Pearl. These pumpkins have a thick, hard rind and sweet flesh that is added raw to salads. Late varieties can be stored in a cool room for up to six months. They are harvested late, but even in the south ripeness occurs in a month or two.
The ripening times indicated on the seed packet are based on ideal conditions. The weather makes its own adjustments. Therefore, you need to navigate when to harvest a pumpkin based on the weather, the condition of the plant and the biological maturation of the variety.
When storing any pumpkin, it is important that the integrity of the fit of the tail to the womb is not compromised. If there is a gap in this place, an infection will set in and the fruit will rot.
Harvesting is carried out in dry weather, after the lashes have dried well from the morning moisture. If bad weather strikes, you will have to harvest the crop in wet weather; such fruits need to be dried well. At the same time, separate damaged specimens. In dry, warm weather, root crops cut off from the main stem can still be kept in the melon patch, under the rays of the sun.
Everything that is said concerns pumpkin as a food product. There are many other varieties in cultivation. Loofah pumpkin provides us with excellent washcloths and serves as a filler in the furniture industry. This type of pumpkin is left to grow even after frost until the skin becomes thin.
Decorative pumpkins are used for crafts in folk art. Therefore, light freezing does not affect the condition of the rind, and the pulp from these fruits is almost never used. Therefore, decorative fruits lie in the garden or hang longer than food varieties.
There are certain deadlines that gardeners focus on when harvesting. For the southern regions, Crimea, pumpkin harvesting time is the end of September and the beginning of October, with possible ripening of late varieties indoors. These are mainly nutmeg pumpkins, very tasty.
In the Moscow region, harvesting should end before mid-September. In this case, you should take into account the weather forecast and avoid delaying the removal of pumpkins when it gets colder.
Siberia is large and here, as in the Far East, the time when you can pick a pumpkin depends on regional climatic conditions.
