The OCU gives a series of tips to acquire the best specimen and so that your choice does not become a lottery
Summer is the best season to consume watermelon. And it is that this fruit is already part of the hot days that each year leave suffocating temperatures in our country. Although this food cannot be missing in every greengrocer to cope with the heat, choosing a good watermelon becomes a lottery, which often makes you regret having bought it because its taste is not like what you remember.
Watermelon is made up almost entirely of water, which is why it is a very refreshing option, along with melon, for these months. Also, it accumulates so many fans because it is delicious and very healthy.
How to know if the watermelon is ready for consumption
The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) gives a series of tips and tricks to know if a watermelon is in good condition and ready for consumption.
1. Buy watermelon at the right time. It should be eaten between the end of May and the beginning of September to better enjoy its flavor, since these months are the harvest season. This option is more sustainable than consuming products that have to be imported from other countries.
2. Choose the ones at the top. When you go to the supermarket or a greengrocer, choose the watermelon that is at the top of the pile because these specimens suffer fewer blows and are usually in better condition.
3. Touch the watermelon. To know that you are getting a good watermelon, they have to be hard to the touch. This is a sign that their maturation is perfect, since the lack of firmness indicates that they are past or have suffered damage.
4. Observe if they have cracks. If it presents a small light spot, it does not mean that it is bad, since it may be the area that rested on the ground during cultivation. On the contrary, if it has too many cracks or damage, it will not have the same flavor, although this does not mean that it is not suitable for consumption.
5. Hit. This is a simple trick to avoid failing when buying your watermelon. To know if it is ready to consume, when you hit it lightly it will sound hollow.
6. Check your aroma. If the peduncle area (where the stem was) of the watermelon smells fresh, the fruit is ripe.
7. Look at the color. To know that they are at their point, they should not have a very intense color.
8. Buy the watermelon already cut. This way you can already see if the fruit is ripe. However, the OCU also warns that choosing those that are sold cut in half, quartered or diced has its risks. Therefore, they must be wrapped or packaged.
9. Its conservation at home is also important. The OCU recommends separating the seeds from the watermelon and once opened it should be stored in the least cold area of the refrigerator, well covered so that it does not pick up odors from other foods.
If after following these tricks you get home and the watermelon is not ripe, it is not the end of the world because there is a solution. You just have to wait for it to be ready and to do this, you can store it in a paper bag, and never a plastic one, together with an apple or a banana in a dry and cool room.
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