❶ How To Choose A Watermelon?

Watermelon has earned great popularity for its delicate, refreshing and truly summer taste. More than one book has been written about watermelons and their beneficial properties. Official medicine recommends it as a source of vitamins and potassium, and non-traditional medicine as a remedy for all diseases. But how to choose a really tasty and healthy watermelon? Location: Location: When choosing a watermelon, remember that it is primarily a seasonal guest on our table. Therefore, the purchase of watermelons in early summer should be approached with the greatest caution. Such fruits, as a rule, are supplied from the countries of the Central Asian region and a large amount of nitrogen fertilizers is used in their cultivation, which negatively affects the quality of the watermelon and can make it hazardous to health. The least safe watermelons grown by Russian producershowever, due to climatic conditions, it is not necessary to wait for their appearance on the market before mid-July.

The method of transportation is no less important for a watermelon. So, carelessly delivered watermelons, on the crusts of which there are damages and dents, are not worth buying. The danger of such watermelons is that harmful bacteria penetrate through cracks and dents into the edible pulp of the fruit, which find in it an excellent breeding ground.

When choosing a suitable one from a batch of watermelons, it should be borne in mind that the smallest watermelons may be unripe, and the largest specimens, on the contrary, are too overripe. The pulp of overripe watermelons gradually begins to ferment and such fruits become dangerous to health.

An equally important criterion in choosing a watermelon is its "tail", which is the remainder of the stem on which it grew. While still on the melon, the stem of a ripe watermelon begins to dry out naturally and the fruit is easily removed with the remainder of the dry stem. If the stem of the selected watermelon is bright green and juicy, then such a "minke" was not harvested ripe. Also, on unripe fruits, the stem may be absent altogether, since it breaks off when the watermelon is torn off from the main cage.

A good quality watermelon has the right color, the brightness of which usually depends on the variety. But in ripe watermelons, the stripes are highlighted quite brightly. Also, a yellow spot on the skin of a watermelon, which is formed due to its contact with the ground, is also bright.

The pulp of a ripe watermelon is friable, crumbly, and the grains are dark brown or black. Ripe fruit should be somewhat lighter than its counterparts and crunching when squeezed from the sides.

Since unreliable watermelon suppliers sometimes use artificial colors that are injected through a syringe into its pulp, you should be aware that such fruits can pose an increased danger. But the presence of artificial colors is easy to identify. Even a small amount of the pulp of such a watermelon, falling into a glass of water, gives an unnaturally bright red color to the entire liquid.

Author: Geo