Choosing a good melon can be difficult, but there are clues to look for. A ripe melon should be heavy, sound hollow when tapped, and have a slightly yielding flower tip. Sugar pearls and scars indicate a sweet melon. Once home, store in the fridge and wash before opening.
As many melon fans know, an excellent melon has a crunchy, sweet flesh and a refreshing flavor. Choosing melons can be difficult, however, if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for. Luckily, there are a few clues that can be used to discern a truly great melon. Good melons are often heavy for their size and sound hollow when tapped. The flower tip should give slightly when pressed, but the fruit itself shouldn’t be mushy or slimy.
When choosing melons, it helps to think about what you are looking for in a melon. Many people define sweetness and crunchy flesh as ideal traits in a melon. Some melons are climacteric fruit, meaning they don’t ripen off the vine; watermelon is one of them. Others, such as American melon, will continue to ripen slightly but generally become softer rather than sweeter. Therefore, what you see in the store is often what you get, so you have to be methodical when choosing your melons.
Start by taking a quick look at the selection when choosing melons. A ripe melon has a creamy to yellow spot on one side below the space where the stem used to be. This spot comes from lying on the ground as the melon ripens. On one end of the melon, a small indentation marks the space where the flower was. If you press this indentation and it yields slightly, the melon is ripe. These basic ripeness indicators are helpful in choosing melons, but they don’t guarantee a perfect melon.
For a seriously sweet melon, look for melons with sugar pearls and scars. Sugar pearls are tiny droplets of sugar that have spread around the stem. Sugar scars are simply rough patches along the surface of the fruit, often streaked with sugary syrup. These physical clues as you pick the melons can help you narrow your selection for the next stage.
Start by picking a melon. The melon should feel heavy for its size, indicating it has a large amount of sweet juice. Then, gently tap the melon near your ear. The touch should produce a hollow sound, rather than a dull thud. Also, the melon shouldn’t feel slimy or slimy, as these are signs that the melon is past its prime. Take your time with these steps when choosing melons, as you want to make sure you’re getting the best fruit possible.
After you bring a melon home, it can be stored for up to three days in the refrigerator. Melons should be washed before being opened, to remove any traces of bacteria that may have adhered to the peel. Once opened, the melon can be eaten plain, added to fruit salads or used to make an assortment of foods such as melon sorbet. You may also find that melons taste best when served at room temperature, rather than chilled.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
