How to recognize the taste of watermelon at first sight: 5 Golden rules
How to choose the right watermelon so that it does not turn out to be hard and tasteless? According to the expert, this is easy to do - you just need to carefully examine the fruit from all sides.
What to look for when choosing a watermelon?
At first glance, all watermelons are the same. But do not rush to take the one that is closest to you - there is a chance that it will turn out to be unripe, unsweetened, and even completely dangerous to health. Take a closer look at the “striped berries”.
Boy or girl?
Experienced melon growers jokingly divide watermelons by gender:
- those whose “nose” (the place opposite the tail) is large are called girls;
- those with a small “nose” are considered boys.
Of course, this division is conditional - all fruits are borne only on female flowers, and male flowers are needed for pollination. However, as practice shows, “girl watermelons” are much sweeter than “boys”, in addition, they have fewer seeds.
You can identify a “girl” not only by the size of its nose, but also by the shape of the fruit itself - it will be more round, sometimes even slightly flattened, regardless of varietal characteristics. Unfortunately, such specimens are rare, so the search for a sweet and tasty watermelon turns into a real hunt.
Dried ponytail
Another way to choose a good watermelon is to pay attention to its tail. As the fruit ripens, the lash connecting it to the mother plant gradually dries out.By the time harvest begins, it has become so fragile that the watermelon can easily be separated from it by hand. If you see that the tail was cut with scissors or a knife, it means that the melon growers were in a hurry and put up unripe berries for sale.
The tails of watermelons that have not yet ripened, but have been cut long ago, also tend to turn yellow. However, they are not dried out to the touch, but flaccid.
What does watermelon sound like?
You've probably heard more than once that you can find a ripe watermelon by sound. It is enough to knock on several fruits and compare the sound:
- for fully ripe berries it will be clear and sonorous;
- in unripe ones - more deaf.
This difference is due to the fact that a ripened fruit is always more juicy, while an unripe fruit has predominantly hard fiber inside, which does not conduct sounds well.
soil stain
Each watermelon has a light area on the rind without stripes or green coloring. It is called a soil spot, because it is on this side that the fruit lies on the melon and waits in the wings. Many people are afraid to buy “striped berries”, in which this spot has an intense yellow color, suspecting that this is a sign of poor quality. In fact, the opposite is true - a light spot indicates insufficient ripeness of the fruit, and a yellow spot, sometimes with brownish splashes, indicates sweetness and juiciness.
How can you not choose a watermelon?
You can often see a picture where the seller cuts out a small triangle near the nose or tail to demonstrate the bright red flesh to the buyer. You cannot select watermelon using this method for reasons of food hygiene.
There are many pathogenic microorganisms on the crust. They are also present on the trader’s hands and on the knife blade. When the seller cuts the fruit, bacteria get inside and begin to actively multiply.Their colony grows quickly both due to the external temperature (usually hot in summer) and due to the high sugar content in watermelon juice. As a result, you run the risk of bringing home not a vitamin bomb, but an infectious bomb - for example, if E. coli gets into the watermelon, poisoning cannot be avoided.
Now you know which watermelon to choose so as not to make a mistake. Don’t trust the seller, check the fruit you like yourself - this will help you avoid disappointment and enjoy the sweet, tasty, juicy striped berry.
By specific gravity. A ripe watermelon is lighter than water. Therefore, I roughly estimate the volume of the watermelon and relate it to the weight. And I don’t buy small watermelons. According to my theory, the small watermelon started later. (maybe I’m wrong). There are varieties of small watermelons (in the Orenburg region), but they are not sold here. I haven’t seen “watermelon girls” here in Magnitogorsk for many years. And they were before. And the best watermelon I bought weighed 22 (twenty-two!) kilograms. True, this was fifty years ago. How I dragged him home was epic
watermelon is NOT a berry. Only amateurs call him that. According to all the rules of the Soviet era, watermelon belongs to the PUMPKIN family. Watermelon is the brother of pumpkin (also zucchini, potesony).
Watermelon is a berry and squash belongs to pumpkin
Posons! Well, who doesn’t know what POTESONS are!))))))))))
Potesons are potesons grandpa!
Watermelon is a berry. I don’t want to offend you... Read, even schoolchildren know this.
Watermelon is a vegetable
Watermelon is a fucking animal
Watermelon is a billion (in rubles)
Watermelon is a pumpkin berry.
And how will this information help us choose a ripe watermelon?
And I actually thought that a watermelon was a watermelon.
Watermelon is a berry.You can’t cook it in a frying pan, but you can cook zucchini and potesony, because they are pumpkin.
What are POTESONS?
Spots are places on the body that itch.
Common watermelon (lat. Citrúllus lanátus) is an annual herbaceous plant, a species of the genus Watermelon (Citrullus) of the Pumpkin family (Cucurbitaceae). Melon culture. Fruit - pumpkin, spherical, oval, flattened or cylindrical
Watermelons are even fried
Watermelon, I thought watermelons were on the ground! Nuna can have a watermelon on the melon patch! Bakhcha is a garden, a vegetable garden.
Bakhcha is such a woman with a dried up nose
Watermelon “girl” is less sweet, juicy and always full of seeds. The best “boy” watermelons are 13-15 kg and above, but here you need to follow your recommendations, otherwise you will be sorry for the money spent.
agree..
until they cut out a square (triangle)… and let you try. Fuck you guessing whether the watermelon is ripe...or not..))
It’s better to buy ripe watermelons in August or September... It’s more reliable...
As a friend from Astrakhan taught me, before August 10th, buying “watermelons from Astrakhan is useless, they are unripe... Buratins bring early ripening ones and tell everyone “Astrakhan, Astrakhan...”, although these are Chinese early ripening ones grown in the Volga region...
watermelon is a berry
Stupid comment! Ripe watermelons already have voids or loose pulp inside, while unripe ones have dense pulp, which is why they make a ringing sound when slapped with your hand. Author - STUPID!!!
You don't know anything about watermelons
That’s right, ripe watermelons make a muffled sound, while unripe ones make a ringing sound! And also, about the ponytails! There’s no point in navigating through them; within a week (the time it takes for the watermelons to be delivered to the place) any hvlstik will become sluggish!!!
Crap!!! exactly! otherwise I don’t understand something!?... everything is confused!
both unripe and overripe watermelons convey a muffled sound, so....study student.....
Watermelon, the largest berry on planet earth!!!
Earth is the largest berry on the planet Watermelon!
Everything that is written.. bullshit.. Watermelons can only be heard by clicking the sound. And it doesn’t matter.. girl.. boy.
We have only boys at the market.
The answer is simple - there are no girls because all watermelons today are not fruit-bearing hybrids!
Well done! It’s just that all the girls have already left for Moscow! You can see them even in these photos, but we have only boys.
Read Wikipedia!!! It says in black Russian: Common watermelon (lat. Citrúllus lanátus) is an annual herbaceous plant, a species of the genus Watermelon (Citrullus) of the Pumpkin family (Cucurbitaceae).
Found something to believe! Wikipedia is not Science, but OBS (One Baba Said).
Read Wikipedia?))
And what's that?
Set of rules?
Or a rule of law?
For reference, Wikipedia is a site on which anyone can leave any (I repeat ANY, including unreliable) information.
Don't read Wikipedia, read the encyclopedia)
Agree
A watermelon has a stalk, which means it is a fruit, but since a watermelon is considered a berry, its correct name will be like a fruit berry, and if someone doesn’t know about this, then Google will help you!
I have been buying watermelons for many years now, based on only 3 parameters:
1. Size and weight. The bigger, the better. but 10 kg is the minimum in any case, anything less goes through the woods.
2. Sound when tapping. Not deaf, but voiced.
3. Tail. Not only he himself must be dry, but also the entire stain around him.In the worst case, a couple of millimeters of greenery along the outer radius, but no more.
There were no misfires.
Agree
The radius cannot be external. It (the radius) is always inside.
The article is useful, thank you. In the Baltics, 100% of watermelons are imported. The main problems: unripe, overripe, crushed. And what’s interesting is that large quantities imported are more or less uniform in quality. Either good, or vice versa. We were taught to choose from childhood in the Kuban and Donbass. Limited assortment often forces you to choose the best from the bad.
They are bringing only rotten stuff to the Arkhangelsk region. And this year they raised prices three times. Let the producers eat their own grown crap with nitrates!
If it’s absolutely correct, then watermelon-pumpkin
Garbuz-pumpkin among crests.
I choose a watermelon something like this: 1) average size 10-13 kg; 2) a spot on the side, a sign that the watermelon grew on a melon/ground; 3) a gray speck on top of the watermelon with a larger diameter; 4) by the color of the watermelon and the stripes on it; 5) the tail must be dry; 6) the sound of a watermelon when tapped; 7) and I never take watermelons - first, only during their ripening period; 8) I never check a watermelon from the seller - cut with a knife... There were sometimes misfires, but basically 99% of the watermelons are ripe, sweet and tasty!
Watermelons should be bought during the watermelon season, he walked up and looked at which one he liked, and took everything.
Artyom Brother shalom and what city are you from?
Well, guys, arbouet is food, tasty, filling, enjoyable, thank you for the choice!
The souls of elephants who died in captivity live in watermelons.
Now, when watermelons are stuffed with chemicals for faster ripening, not all signs are relevant.
Last year I bought it and threw it away, bought it and threw it away... Either it was kind of flaccid, or it was red and not sweet, or it had yellow streaks (nitrates) - this one was returned to the seller. “Wah! First time like this!”
And this is in the watermelon region!
Once in my life I ate a really ripe watermelon, it was from a melon patch, and even then the watchman chose it, and then no matter how hard I tried, nothing came out
Such nonsense is always uttered by those who have never grown a watermelon or been to a melon patch.
What is the difference between a ripe watermelon and a ripe one???
The presence of two letters: “z” and “r”.
Watermelon is not a berry, but a pumpkin!
Do not confuse with Ukrainian Garbuz! And watermelon is a fruit berry.
I don’t even care what a watermelon is
And we grow our own watermelons
Donate to whom?
what the hell is going on here??
There are two definitions of watermelon: biological and agrotechnical. From a biological point of view, watermelon is a berry. From the point of view of agricultural technology, watermelon is a vegetable, because it grows on the ground.
in your opinion, it turns out that strawberries are also a vegetable...
Don't you know? watermelons grow on trees. When they fall, it is ripe; when they pick, it is not yet.
Yes Yes! Don’t you know how Michurin died? He climbed onto a pear to pick onions, and a watermelon fell on top of him...
Watermelon is a false berry.
Not a false one, but a fruit berry. By the standards of Botany.
Modern varieties of watermelon are divided according to ripening time: early 55 days, average 65 days, late 75 days, the ripening period is calculated from the time the shoot appears after planting, the early ones can’t be determined by the tail, you can only determine how long ago the berry was picked, planting in the Astrakhan region in the first half of April, Volgograd region in the second half of April and early May.
Judging by all the comments read, WATERMELON is the President of the Russian Federation!?... It’s impossible to understand whether HE is a berry or a VEGETABLE... Most likely HE is a VEGETABLE, since most of the population of the Russian Federation are below the poverty line!?... It’s time to remove IT from the melon plant, IT’S OVER RIPED...
I completely agree.
I completely agree with the melon grower. Clarified the previous comment from Alexander
For the immature, it’s better for you not to be born, you’re already rotten
The VEGETABLE himself is an idiot.....
It's simple - a sweet watermelon - pollinated by a bee, i.e. with a mark in the form of a dry streak on the side.
Watermelons are brought to the market and they lie there until they are sold, and those who do not buy them until August, like they are unripe and full of nitrates, buy the same watermelons in the month of August and think that they bought a ripe and chemical-free watermelon?
Real watermelons grow in Uzbekistan, in the steppe regions of the Kyzylkum-Hunger Steppe zone. A step to the right, a step to the left - it’s not the same.
On rainfed soil, in the foothills, late varieties are grown, all dark green in color, but these are late varieties. And those that arrive on the shelves before July are grown under film. They are stuffed with all sorts of things. Come taste from the field from July to October. I'll treat you.
Comments Laugh)))
Watermelon is a big pea
Watermelon cannot be fried, stewed or boiled. You can also throw and kick him. The conclusion is the ball
It's good to piss from them, you wash your kidneys. There are no natural watermelons now, only nitrates.
Watermelon is not a watermelon!? ((
Awww... Tell me... Where do they sell watermelons?
I read that you should take the most unsightly one, crooked, with cobwebs, I bought it... The crust is thick and underripe…. Your experts…..
Nadezhda, advice from an Astrakhan resident on how to choose a 100% ripe watermelon.To do this, you need to come to the market with a large bucket filled with water. You release a watermelon into a bucket, if it floats 3 or 4 cm, then it is mature, but if it floats 1 cm or less, the watermelon is not ripe.
Andrey, you are a real patison, don’t embarrass yourself by arguing about something you have no idea about, are there really such fruits as you, so as not to know that a watermelon is a berry, it’s even funny
I choose a watermelon based on its sound, it should be ringing. A dry tail often occurs on overripe watermelons. Make sure that the color is uniform; in places where it is hit, the watermelon changes color and in these places the watermelon is not tasty; a stain from the ground does not count.
And one more piece of advice. If you bought a certain batch of watermelon, try it on the same day. If you like it, come back and buy a few more. There were seasons when I only bought a very sweet watermelon once and then after a few they were no longer available.
You better tell me how not to buy an overripe watermelon. This is more relevant now.
I don’t care what the seller says, I came for the goods..open the watermelon, I’ll try it...otherwise it’s a big deal
I squeeze the watermelon with my hands on both sides. And I put my ear to it. If you hear a clear crunch, then the watermelon is ripe. If it’s completely unripe, then at least squeeze it with a vice. It will burst, but not crunch.
When slapped, a ripe watermelon makes a loud sound near the tail.
I am a former resident of the city of Chu. During my school years, my dad and I grew melons and melons every year, including watermelons. Residents of Chu are specialists in growing watermelons.The above statements, some of them, coincide with the methods of choosing ripe and sweet watermelons. But there are also incorrect judgments. For example: there are small dark green watermelons, the “Murashka” variety, this watermelon does not grow large, and ripens in 56 days, after this period from the day the seed was planted in the ground it is ripe and the seeds are black and small, there are huge watermelons “Giants” these are striped watermelons that reach a weight of up to 30 kg. and they ripen longer than these “Goosebumps” And they choose watermelons not according to the methods that were described. Maybe now they are like that which are stuffed with fertilizers, but 50 years ago everyone, including my dad and I, chose this way: in the place where the watermelon connects with the lash is a small tendril 4-6 cm long. If this tendril is dry, then this watermelon is ripe, if it is half dried, then it is pink and you need to wait. And there is no need to crush it, knock on it, etc. Melons are defined this way: you need to pull the tail that fits the melon; if the melon is ripe, then it will fall off the tail itself. Of course, this is a normal way of collecting melons, but now they are picking both watermelons and green melons in order to bring them to Russian cities. You can move a normally ripe melon from the melon plant home and everything else you will crush it. There are also certain varieties of melons that are determined by the smell emitted by the melon. These are black melons, when they are ripe they flavor and that means they are ripe.
run your nails effortlessly across the skin of the watermelon. For a ripe watermelon, the layer will remain under the nails. One condition - no effort at all
The city of Chu, where I spent my childhood. Went to my grandparents, the best fruits and vegetables. And of course watermelons and melons.
The most accurate methods are by the tail and by the yellow spot.