Can watermelon flesh be white? How to choose a delicious watermelon and not get poisoned. Natural watermelon should be grainy

Sweet, ripe and nitrate-free? There are many tricks and techniques that allow you to distinguish healthy berries with juicy ripe pulp.

The second half of summer is a real holiday for watermelon lovers. You can enjoy your favorite berry every day: eat the pulp cut into slices, prepare cocktails and a variety of desserts. But the fruit brought home from the market or store is not always tasty and healthy: the pulp may be unripe or unsweetened, and a concentration of nitrates that exceeds the norm can cause disturbances in blood composition and cause severe poisoning.

There are several rules by adhering to which you can choose a watermelon that is not only ripe and sweet, but also without containing nitrogen fertilizers harmful to the body.

With the beginning of the season, watermelons can be found in supermarkets, markets, and in open-air tents. The taste and beneficial properties of berries largely depend on storage conditions, so before you go shopping for watermelon, it is important to choose the right place to buy.

Sanitary conditions in stores and specially equipped storage facilities are much better than in spontaneous markets and tents. Experts strongly do not recommend purchasing watermelons from sellers who offer to choose fruits from heaps dumped on the roadsides directly on the ground. Despite the thick peel, the berries are able to absorb many harmful substances deposited from exhaust gases, and various pathogens can penetrate inside through small cracks.

If you still decide to choose a watermelon in an outdoor tent, pay attention to the following:

from above the fruits must be covered with a hanging awning;
all watermelons must be on a special flooring with a height of at least 20 cm;
The best option is to have side walls in the tent that protect the berries from dust and dirt.

Before choosing a watermelon on the market, in a store or other point of sale, the buyer has the right to request certificates confirming the quality of the product. The document indicates the timing and place of collection, the presence of nitrates and other data that will allow you to make a choice. If there is no documentation, you should not risk your health, even if the price is lower than that of other sellers.

At a certain temperature and humidity, watermelons can be stored for quite a long time, however, it is impossible to provide such conditions at street sales points. This means that the average shelf life is no more than 2-3 weeks. After this, the berries begin to sour and lose their taste. If it is not possible to determine the harvest date, you can check this by tearing off a small piece of the skin with your fingernail: fresh watermelons can only smell like cut grass, and a small amount of moisture will appear on the surface.

Some producers and sellers, in order to preserve the harvest longer, treat it with a mixture of chalk or a solution of alabaster and paraffin. In this case, the storage duration increases by 1.5-2 times, but the quality of the berries is significantly reduced: frequent consumption of the pulp of such watermelons can result in the formation of sand in the kidneys.

The most useful are watermelons grown in open ground. Since this melon crop is heat-loving, the first ripe fruits appear no earlier than the second half of summer. At first, berries imported from Central Asian countries go on sale, and a little later - from the southern regions of the country. The optimal time to buy your favorite delicacy begins in the second ten days of August and continues until the last days of September. During this period, you have the highest chances of choosing a watermelon that is not only tasty, but also free of nitrates.

By appearance

Experienced lovers of sweet fruits first of all pay attention to the color and other external characteristics of the rind. Knowing some tricks will allow you to determine the ripeness of the pulp even without preliminary testing. What should you pay attention to and how to choose the right watermelon based on appearance?

Many people are interested in the question: is it possible to determine the presence of nitrates in the pulp by appearance? Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine the content of an increased amount of harmful substances without cutting the fruit, unless using a special device.

Knowing the signs of excess nitrate levels will help you avoid poisoning. Before eating a cut watermelon, inspect it carefully:

a good watermelon has pulp, on the cut of which sugar grains are clearly visible;
a dangerous concentration of nitrates may be indicated by the presence of voids in the central part of the fruit;
A ripe watermelon has black seeds; the combination of unripe seeds and ripe red pulp is a bad sign.

By sound

When a watermelon ripens, the pulp changes its density - it becomes more porous. This feature makes it possible to determine ripeness by the sound that the berry makes when tapped. To do this, tap the crust with your knuckle. The louder the sound, the riper the berry. You can test several watermelons in this way and compare the results.

How else can you choose a watermelon by sound? There is another known method for determining ripeness, which is more suitable for men. The fruit is squeezed between two palms facing each other. They should be placed in the middle between the tail and the bottom. When you squeeze the palms of a ripe fruit, the peel will make a characteristic soft crackling sound. This method requires a certain physical strength, but its reliability is quite high.

The main taste characteristic by which the quality of the crop is assessed is the amount of sugar in the pulp. At the same time, the sweetness of a berry is not always directly related to its ripeness: it happens that a red fruit with ripe seeds may not be sweet at all.

What affects the taste of watermelon and what sugar levels are considered optimal? During the mass cultivation of melons, the suitability of the fruit for consumption is determined when the sugar concentration reaches 10% or more. To determine this indicator, a special device is used - a refractometer. In the melon field, several fruits are selected in different places, cut and the level of sugar content of the pulp in the central part of the fruit is measured.

However, not all manufacturers offer a product with the recommended characteristics. What is the reason for the decrease in taste? There are several factors influencing the taste of the pulp.

First of all, the choice of variety is important. Despite the large number of different types of melons, breeding work does not stop, thanks to which new and improved hybrids appear. As a result of crossing, not all characteristics can be improved, and often an increase in disease resistance or an increase in yield affects the taste characteristics. When choosing a variety, you should take into account the growing conditions, as well as the structure and composition of the soil.

Even correctly selected seeds may not produce the desired yield if the cultivation technology is not followed or if there are unfavorable weather factors. For normal sugar levels the following conditions are necessary:

Sufficient lighting. The more sunny days there are during the period of plant growth and fruit formation, the sweeter the harvest will be.
Presence of moisture. Sufficient soil moisture ensures good germination of crops and normal growth of melons. But during the ripening of the crop, excess moisture can have a very negative impact on their taste: if there is heavy rain after dry days, the plants can continue to grow and pull some of the substances accumulated in the fruits back into the leaves and stems.
Nutrition. Watermelon is highly sensitive to the presence of mineral fertilizers in the soil. When planting plants on poor soils, regular feeding of the plants is necessary, which makes it possible to obtain a richer harvest and increase the sugar concentration by as much as 2-3%. Some unscrupulous producers achieve increased yields by adding too much nitrogen to the soil. It is capable of causing intense cell growth, in which their number remains the same, but their size exceeds the norm several times. The increase in volume in this case occurs due to the accumulation of water and deterioration of taste. With an increased amount of nitrogen, the pulp may acquire a specific bitter taste.

Another reason for non-compliance with the expected taste is untimely harvesting. Watermelon, unlike the vast majority of fruits, is not able to ripen after picking. The taste characteristics are also affected by transportation and storage conditions.

So how can you choose a watermelon with sweet flesh? Unfortunately, there are no external signs of determining the taste of the pulp. You can find out how tasty and sweet the fruit is only after taking a sample.

Many people prefer to choose the largest berries, mistakenly believing that they are the most ripe. In fact, too large a size may be a sign that the fruit has been artificially enlarged by applying large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer.

The optimal weight depends on the variety: for most of the most popular variety types in the middle zone, this figure is at the level of 5-6 kg; for large varieties and hybrids (“”, “”, “Palladin”, “”), the fruit weight can reach 10-12 kg. When choosing from one batch, it is better to buy not the largest or smallest watermelon, but give preference to medium-sized specimens.

Currently, the opinion that a light shade of the skin is a sign of insufficient ripeness is not true. This is due to the achievements of modern breeding, thanks to which a large number of very diverse species with a peel shade from light green to dark green, approaching black, have recently appeared.

Experts advise paying attention not to how dark or light the watermelon is, but to the contrast between the stripes on the peel. The more pronounced the difference between adjacent stripes, the tastier the pulp.

Before choosing a watermelon, it is recommended to inspect the stem. Should the tail of a watermelon be completely dry or is this not an indicator of ripeness at all? A ripe berry stops consuming moisture and gradually the stalk dries out at the point of attachment to the stem. A dried tail is one of the signs of ripening, but only when it is fragile and breaks easily.

If the stalk is simply sluggish, we can say with great confidence that the harvest was harvested ahead of schedule, and the stalk dried out during transportation. A clear sign of unripe fruits are correctly cut ends of the tails.

Another well-known selection method is to evaluate the surface condition of the peel. It is believed that after ripening, the watermelon rind begins to shine. How true is this and should the surface of a ripe fruit be smooth and shiny?

When ripe, the hardness of the peel increases, and its top layer acquires a pronounced waxy sheen. During the period most suitable for eating watermelon, this shine remains, but when overripe, the skin becomes dull again.

However, this sign is not true for all varieties: many recently bred hybrids have a wax-like coating from the very beginning of fruit formation. It is also worth choosing a berry, taking into account the tricks of sellers who specially rub the surface of the crust until it shines.

At the point of contact with the ground, a so-called “cheek” is formed - a light spot that can have a shade from white to orange. The presence of such a speck is normal if its diameter, depending on the total weight, does not exceed 5-10 cm. Light areas of much larger size indicate low quality of the crop.

By the color of the “cheek” you can determine the degree of maturation. In unripe berries, it is white with visible stripes, but a clean, completely yellow or orange spot on a watermelon indicates that it is ready to eat.

Sometimes, when cutting the fruit, it is discovered that the pulp has an uneven structure and is riddled with dense light veins. What do those white threads inside a watermelon mean? The appearance of compactions is a plant response to stress caused by a sudden change in growing conditions. Basically, such threads appear during sudden changes in temperature.

If there are veins in the pulp, before eating it, you should pay attention to the color of the threads: a yellowish tint is one of the signs of a high nitrate content.

Often, buyers try to choose a watermelon based on the shape and size of the lower part, which remains in place of the fallen flower. It is believed that girls have a wider “mole” and are distinguished by their sweetness, but the taste of a boy, who has a small convex bottom, is much worse. How true are these signs of watermelon sweetness?

The dimensions of the lower part depend solely on the size of the flower and have nothing to do with the “sexual” division of the fruit. A good watermelon does not have to have a wide and flat bottom. At the same time, the size of the “mole” can tell about the number of seeds inside: the so-called “boys” have few of them and they are small, but the flesh of the “girls” contains many large seeds.

Is it possible to eat early watermelons?

The first watermelons on the shelves of shops and markets can be found already in July. Among lovers of sweet berries, there is an opinion that early watermelons contain an increased amount of ammonia fertilizers. How true is this and is it possible to eat the first harvest?

It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally. Ultra-early varieties developed by breeders are capable of producing crops much earlier than mid-season representatives of the crop. The technology of growing plants indoors has opened up additional opportunities. It is quite possible that the earliest fruits were grown in compliance with feeding requirements and do not pose a health threat. The presence of nitrates can be determined from a quality certificate or using a manual nitrate meter.

Knowing the secrets and tricks listed above will help you choose a watermelon that will delight you with its refreshing, sweet, juicy and healthy pulp.

Almost everyone without exception likes a pleasant-tasting, ripe and sweet watermelon with juicy pulp. The fruit makes it possible to quench your thirst, enjoy a unique aroma, and feel the real taste of summer, provided that the watermelon chosen is not limp or spoiled. How to choose a ripe and sweet watermelon and not make a mistake with the choice - let's try to figure it out.

The smooth thin rind and velvety pulp and juiciness of a watermelon are one of the signs of the ripeness and freshness of the fruit. Although watermelon is usually called the largest berry. It contains many valuable elements and vitamins - for example, vitamin C. Watermelon contains potassium, iron and folic acid, a lot of fiber, pectin, magnesium. This is a storehouse of useful substances for our body. It has long been noted that eating watermelon has become a kind of tradition.

A few rules: how to choose a ripe and sweet watermelon

A large fruit is beautifully cut into slices, the whole family sits down at the table. Many people are familiar with the process of cutting a watermelon with a familiar crunch from childhood. True, there are also disappointments when the berry inside turns out to be pale pink and the pulp is tasteless. What is this connected with? The first conclusion suggests itself - the watermelon was deliberately picked unripe for long-term transportation. And if the contents inside cause nausea after tasting, then the product is clearly deliberately spoiled. This happens during artificial ripening, when the fruit is pumped with flavor enhancers and stimulants for growth and ripening. Knowing this, you need to try to find a trusted supplier of the product, and on the spot try to choose the right watermelon that has ripened in natural conditions, taking into account the basic rules. So, where to start checking!

Deadlines. It is important. Watermelons are seasonal berries. The tasty fruit must undergo a natural ripening process until almost mid-August. Watermelons sold earlier than this (for example, even at the end of June) may be “stuffed” with nitrates. Dishonest manufacturers and suppliers strive to get the maximum benefit from selling goods long before the ripening period. Or they are simply trying to artificially increase the sales season. In this case, melons are fertilized with nitrogen fertilizer and various growth stimulants. The result becomes obvious after eating such a watermelon, even if it looked beautiful and neat. Therefore, it is important to wait for the season and not experiment with your health.
Place of sale of goods. Watermelons are sold everywhere along the highways. This is convenient for travelers; there is no need to specifically look for points of sale. Sellers also don’t bother much about finding a buyer. Everything is in sight! However, you need to remember that watermelons cannot stay in the sun for long. In addition, toxic substances, when storing fruits for a long time in open areas near highways, can leak inside the fruit, even if it is in small quantities. This is especially true for cut watermelons “for testing”. Accordingly, it is better to go to a store or market to buy a watermelon, where watermelons lie in the shade under an awning and on special flooring, and not on the ground. It must be remembered that even a ripe, ripe watermelon can pose a threat. For example, if the crust is slightly cracked, but this is not visible. In this case, microorganisms (germs) can get inside the pulp along with dust and dirt, which will quickly and safely multiply in a humid environment, leading to poisoning.
Type of watermelon. It is important to run your hand around the entire circumference of the fruit. The watermelon rind should be intact, without cracks or scratches, without dents or chips. Conscientious sellers move the goods very carefully. The shape of a watermelon can be either perfectly round or very oblong, depending on the variety. The color also varies - from lush green to sandy with stripes. The location where the watermelon is grown plays a role. Many people prefer to choose a classic-looking watermelon - not an ideal spherical shape with a uniform green color with wide stripes. These stripes should be more intense and darker, indicating the ripeness of the fruit. The crust should shine and be very dense. Moreover, it is easy to scratch, but it cannot be pierced by a fingernail. It’s also worth remembering that a ripe watermelon does not sink in water.
Tail. This small detail will tell the inexperienced buyer how to choose a ripe and sweet watermelon. Thus, the ripeness of the fruit is determined by the dried stalk. The fact is that a ripened watermelon no longer needs to receive moisture from the soil, and the tail dries out on its own. A green or yellow tail indicates that the watermelon was picked unripe. In a naturally ripened fruit, the tail breaks off easily. An unripe fruit usually has a flaccid, but not dry, tail. Its complete absence is a sign that the seller most likely does not want to leave “evidence”.
What does spotting indicate?. Yellow spots on the rind of a watermelon indicate that the fruit has been lying on the ground for a long time. It turns out like a “cheek”. The lighter and larger it is, the more alarming it should be. It is also worth paying attention to the unnatural color of the fruit. When it is strangely green, melons are clearly colored. A ripe watermelon may have relatively small spots - this is a sign of the end of chlorophyll production.
Size and sonority. Large fruits are brought from the South Asian region. Small watermelons are grown in local melon fields. Both can be juicy, ripe and tasty. As already mentioned, it all depends on the variety. The characteristic ringing sound when tapped or clicked on the surface of a watermelon indicates a ripe fruit. Many people have heard about this since childhood. A dull sound is a sign of immaturity. And if you try to squeeze a watermelon between your palms, then the ripe watermelon should crack slightly. The main thing is not to overdo it.
"Gender" and certification. It turns out that watermelons differ by “gender.” Thus, the most delicious and juicy are considered to be “girls” whose bottom is slightly beveled or flat and has a light shade. Absolute convexity and dark color are a “male” sign. Having determined all of these above-mentioned qualities of a real watermelon yourself, you should ask the seller for a certificate of product quality. This way you can find out the “homeland” of the watermelon, the ripening period, and the delivery time. Important characteristics of the fruit are confirmed by color printing.

So, we found out how to choose a ripe and sweet watermelon. Choosing a fruit is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. You don’t need to be a guru to determine the quality of a product by external signs: absence of stains, signs of rotting, unpleasant odor, mechanical damage. The shape and size of a watermelon do not have such a strong effect on taste. This is more about personal taste preferences. It is important not to make a mistake and get a ripe, sugary and aromatic watermelon to the delight of the whole family and friends.

Summer is the time when you can finally enjoy delicious and ripe watermelons. In the minds of most people, these berries have a “standard” color (striped, black-green fruits), but not all watermelons look like this. There are many exotic species that are distinguished by their unusual appearance. So, for example, a rare and expensive species - Japanese Densuke - is also called black watermelon (for the color of the peel), and another Japanese watermelon has a square shape. In this article we will tell you about such a phenomenon as the white watermelon and describe it in detail.

Watermelon with white rind

Down with triviality! From now on, sweet watermelons may no longer have a green color, but be completely white. If you are suddenly faced with the fact that you are offered to buy the absolutely snow-white fruit of this berry, you should not immediately refuse. This is an American Navajo Winter variety, the skin of which is almost completely white. But this does not prevent it from having excellent taste and winning the sympathy of consumers from all over the world.

Description

This variety, bred by American breeders, is characterized by its not too large size and snow-white skin color. Inside, contrary to possible expectations, it has juicy, crispy flesh, colored bright pink. In addition, sometimes the flesh can be quite pale in color, but such a difference is also acceptable in this variety.

This variety can be characterized as unusually drought-resistant, which provides its owners with an excellent harvest even in dry summers and high air temperatures. In addition, the berries themselves have excellent transportability and can also be stored for four months after harvest (provided good storage conditions are provided).

How to choose sweet

The very first rule is not to buy these berries ahead of schedule. The optimal time to buy them starts from mid-August. Early fruits are usually unripe or full of nitrates, which have a negative effect on the human body. In addition, there are several more tips regarding choosing good fruits.

Firstly, you should avoid specimens that are too large; their pulp will likely contain many substances harmful to humans.

Secondly, based on external differences, berries are usually divided into male and female specimens (although, of course, there cannot be gender differences in watermelons). “Boys” have an elongated shape, but in the female half the fruits are more rounded and even slightly flattened. It is the “female” specimens that have a sweeter taste.

Thirdly, you can determine the ripeness of a watermelon by sound. If you hear a ringing sound when you tap, everything is fine. It is also worth paying attention to the condition of the stalk - it should be completely dried out (as irrefutable evidence that the berry itself has ripened and separated from the main branch).

Fourthly, you need to pay attention to the peel itself - it should be very hard and dense. If it is soft, then this is a raw berry.

Watermelon with white pulp

In addition to varieties with snow-white skin, there are also watermelons with white flesh. This is where it gets more complicated, since pulp of this color may be a sign of unripe berries, and not of a tasty exotic variety. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, let’s take a closer look at this variety, which is also called the White Miracle.

Description

White miracle is an exotic variety, the “ancestors” of which lived in distant South Africa. Of course, those wild watermelons that grew in arid deserts did not have a very pleasant taste, but for thirsty travelers they were a real gift.

Nowadays this variety is considered very juicy and sweet. The color of the White Miracle is practically no different from the usual color of watermelons, but the color of the pulp is completely different. The peel of the fruit is quite thin, and inside there is snow-white pulp with a refreshing aroma of strawberry and cucumber. The pulp of the White Miracle acquired such an unusual white color due to the fact that this variety lacks a substance such as lycopene, which gives the pulp of these berries a bright pink color.

In general, in terms of its qualities, the White Miracle is in no way inferior to its brothers, so if you really have this variety in front of you, and not a spoiled fruit of one of the common varieties, you can safely buy it.

By what criteria to choose

Why does such an unusual color of the pulp make people suspicious? This is not surprising, since such a color suggests the immaturity of the fetus. Therefore, there are some signs by which you can distinguish such unripe fruits and not waste money.

The very first sign that this is an unripe fruit is unevenly colored flesh. In the White Miracle it is entirely snow-white, but unripe berries also have pinkish areas.

In addition, the fibers that are inside the pulp are painted in a not very pleasant yellowish color (while they should be white).

The pulp itself in spoiled specimens is very loose, and cracks may even appear. For the White Miracle, it should be moderately grainy and solid. The seeds must be black. If they are not black, but white, and surrounded by an incomprehensible mucus, it is better to immediately refuse such a purchase.

On the peel itself, an unripe specimen can easily detect rotten spots, while healthy berries do not have such an element.

Be extremely careful when choosing exotic varieties and pay attention to the nuances. This will help you avoid unnecessary waste of money and enjoy great taste.

Video “How to choose a watermelon”

From this video you will learn how to choose a ripe and sweet watermelon.

Everyone loves watermelons. Juicy pink fruits that make your stomach swell for a long time and make you want to lie on the couch; they are a real symbol of summer, heat and vacation. How to choose the right watermelon? After all, how many times do we bring home the fruit long-awaited by the whole family, wash it, cut it and... get disappointed. We can choose either one that is not ripe at all, or one that is ripe but unsweetened.

There is another misfortune: the amount of nitrates that watermelons absorb into themselves with fertilizers has recently become the reason for doctors to sound the alarm with all their might: it is these substances that, when entering our body, lead to disturbances in the functioning of hemoglobin in the blood, problems with oxygen transport and associated disorders and diseases.

And I really want watermelons! Even despite the risk of choosing something tasteless or nitrate. What should you do to minimize this risk and how to choose the right watermelon at the market or in the store? It turns out that everything is not so complicated. There are several rules, following which, you can most likely choose a watermelon: ripe, tasty and, of course, healthy.

1. We buy in the right places.

Photos of travelers from Turkmenistan, where watermelons lie in huge piles right on the ground, are best forgotten. In the Turkmen outback there are fewer cars and cleaner dust. It would be correct to buy watermelon from special trays, in melon pavilions equipped for storage, and in supermarkets. After all, the watermelons lying on the shelf in the store, and the same ones sold by an Uzbek at the market, come to our cities from the same places. Moreover, in the south of our country - right from the outskirts of cities. But sanitary storage conditions in stores are much better than in markets, and it’s the right place to choose watermelons.

2. Cleanliness is the key to health.

And don’t think that the thick rind completely protects the entire watermelon. Dust, of course, will not reach the pulp, but microorganisms may well enter through microcracks. Therefore, it is better not to select fruits dumped in roadside dust, but to leave them to sellers.

3. Everything has its time.

And especially watermelons. All melons are heat-loving crops, and even in the southern Central Asian countries, watermelons and melons ripen no earlier than the second half of summer. In the meantime, they will grow in our not very hot climate, until they arrive at the places of sale... In general, it is right to choose delicious, high-quality watermelons in our country no earlier than mid-August.

And you shouldn’t listen to sellers’ assurances about an “extra-early, super-sweet variety.” These varieties of watermelons are most often greenhouse “Ogonki” varieties, grown with fatty fertilizers right next to the city. Even if they really turn out to be sweet and ripe, their nitrate filling will be very abundant. The optimal time to choose a ripe watermelon - real and field - is the end of August and all of September.

4. The more, the riper.

This is the absolute truth. Only representatives of certain varieties reach more than 10 kilograms of weight. And only extremely ripe and liquid-filled fruits reach this size. Therefore, when thinking about how to choose a delicious watermelon, choose fruits of the maximum size. The more likely it is that it will be very ripe and juicy.

5. How to choose a ripe watermelon by the tail.

Each fruit, having reached a certain age and filled with moisture and nutrients, stops eating from the bush. And the bush gradually begins to dry out and fade. As a result, the need for connection with the bush disappears, and the place of articulation - the tail - begins to dry out. A ripe watermelon will have a completely dry tail.

When purchasing, it is very easy to distinguish a cut off green tail from a broken off dry one. Even if the first of them dried out during transportation, an even mark from the cut will be clearly visible on it. A watermelon with such a tail is likely to be unripe.

6. The color of the “cheek” is very important.

The cheek is the same spot without color that remains on the watermelon in the place where it lay. That’s right, if the “cheek” becomes yellow and even a little orange, this is typical for extremely ripe watermelons, while in young and unripe ones it most often has a white color.
7. How to choose the right watermelon by sound - the old-fashioned method.

And although this method can only be done by strong men, it is the most effective for calculating a truly mature fetus. Its essence: take the watermelon in the middle (in the plane farthest from the tail) with both hands, bring it to the ear and squeeze. A ripe watermelon will begin to crackle slowly. Unripe - will remain silent. You can also choose a watermelon by knocking. A dull sound will tell us about ripeness, and a ringing sound will tell us about a large amount of water and the “youth” of the fruit.

8. The best way to be sure is to try.

As a rule, hospitable southern guys at markets boldly cut out a red pyramid from watermelons in order to demonstrate the quality of the fruit. This is worth using if you are in doubt when choosing a watermelon on the market. But in the store they allow you to check it differently. Here they simply cut the watermelon in half, wrapping each half in a separate piece of cling film. All the flaws in such a film can be seen almost under a microscope.

9. Natural watermelon should be grainy.

The structure of the watermelon pulp can also be seen on the tenderloin at the market. If the flesh at the cut site is smooth and even, the watermelon is nitrate. It is correct if it has an obvious granular structure - there are few nitrates in the fruit. It is important not to overdo it and not to choose too grainy fruit. Overripe fruits are like this, and their core turns out to be fibrous rather than juicy.

10. Watermelon should be pink.

And only some particularly northern varieties are red. But these same red varieties are usually not large. If in front of you is a ten-kilogram beauty with scarlet flesh, it is almost certainly the brainchild of nitrates. If the red color gives off a hint of lilac, you don’t even have to doubt it.

And after such a thorough examination, it is unlikely that you will be able to bring home a half-green or chemical watermelon. Knowing how to choose the right watermelon, it makes sense to torment the seller a little. Let him carefully turn over a couple of centners of fruit, but you will get juicy, sweet watermelon pleasure at home.

What do you associate with a ripe watermelon? With aromatic sweet red pulp. But it turns out that white watermelon can be no less tasty. Unless the unusual color is a sign of the variety, and not the product of unscrupulous sellers.

Unusual variety

“White miracle” is the name of the variety with an unusual color for watermelon pulp. His ancestors lived in South Africa, in the dry Kalahari desert. There they were wild, small and tasteless, sometimes even bitter. But travelers considered it lucky to find even such a fruit in an arid area - it was often the only source of moisture.
Today it is a large berry with a thin peel. Inside it has sweet, sugary white pulp with an unusually fresh aroma of strawberry and cucumber.
Other unusual varieties of watermelon are also known. Who knows what other color the miracle breeders will want to color the watermelon pulp?

Unripe berry

But most often, purchasing a watermelon with white flesh entails not admiration, but disappointment. Why? Because these are unripe fruits, stuffed with chemicals. How to recognize them?

Signs

They can be distinguished by the following characteristics:

white coating on the surface;
the flesh is unevenly colored, in places it is white, pink, intense red or even purple;
the fibers inside the pulp are not white, but yellow and coarse;
the middle is loose, with grains, cracks and voids;
inside are not dark brown, but white seeds surrounded by mucus;
yellow and white streaks and spots are visible to the naked eye.

Usually such a fruit is not at all sweet and fermented. It has a thick peel, on which you will probably see rotten spots.

If you find the listed signs inside a watermelon, stop eating it. Otherwise, you can get severe poisoning.

Causes

You can get ready-made fruit in June-July in several ways, some of which are unsafe for human health:

1.Safe way.
The plant is covered with a film, under which it grows and ripens faster. You won't find a sunspot on this watermelon.

2. Unsafe method.
The juicy center accumulates toxic nitrates. The most common growth stimulant is nitrogen. By increasing its dose, melon growers successfully accelerate its growth and reduce the growing season by almost a month. And they don’t think at all about the sad consequences of consuming such an agricultural product.

3. Another unsafe method.
You can turn a safe watermelon into a dangerous one after it has been removed from the melon plant - unripe and with white flesh. The presentation is achieved by injecting a solution of potassium permanganate or nitrate inside.

Press down on the surface of the berry. Do not buy it under any circumstances if pink water appears.

But it’s better to wait until August and September, when high-quality fruits appear on the shelves.