How to choose a watermelon, how to check the watermelon on nitrates, how to store it, can it be frozen? The difference between a girl's watermelon and a boy

In this article we will talk about how to choose the right watermelon. In order not to regret buying in the future, it is worth taking a few minutes to read these recommendations.

Hardly anyone will argue with the fact that watermelon is one of the symbols of summer for everyone from small to large. Juicy delicious berry, which, moreover, has a lot of useful properties - is not it worthy inclusion in the diet?

However, even here there is a risk to choose a watery product or even poison yourself. And in order to avoid this, it is recommended to listen to certain tips.

Which watermelons are the most delicious

In order to understand which watermelons are the most delicious, needs to learn how to deal with their varieties:

• Astrakhan - deservedly takes the palm tree with an incredibly aromatic pulp, which is also very sweet. It is quite easy to get such a berry - it was also common in Soviet times, being a guarantee of quality, and is common today. You can recognize the watermelon on a saturated color, clear strips and oblong or round form

IMPORTANT: The normal weight for such a product is 7-10 kilograms.

The Astrakhan watermelon can be recognized by the saturated color of the

• Crimson suite - it is valued not only for its sweetness, but also for the unusual airiness of the pulp. In addition, it ripens faster than Astrakhan. To learn this watermelon it is possible on the round form, smoothness and easy shine on light.4-5 kilograms is the normal weight

Watermelon Crimson suite glitters on light

• The fire - ripens on the average 71-87 days, as well as the Astrakhan variety. But it is definitely worth it, because the flesh in Ogonyok is unusually tasty and delicate. Recognize this watermelon very easily in a round form, saturated with a dark green color, thin skin and almost complete absence of strips. Weight in general is insignificant - about 2 kilograms.

Variety of watermelon. Ogonek does not have pronounced strips.

• . Sugar baby is just a find for lovers of sweets. You can recognize it in a round shape, rich in the color of the skin and brightly colored by the hue of the flesh. The average weight is 4 kilograms.

Watermelon Sugar baby is small in size

• . The gift of the sun - is an unusually aromatic variety, which is also characterized by the same sweetness. It is oval, reaching a weight of 4 kilograms.

IMPORTANT: For this grade, the Sun's gift is characterized by the similarity with melon in color. Do not be afraid of the yellow shade of the peel, because this is a sign of a quality representative of the variety.

For watermelon The gift of the sun is characteristic of the yellow peel of

• . The chill - is ripening the longest, about 85-97 days. However, a rich sweet taste is worth the wait. It is very easy to recognize this variety externally - round shape and light spots on the skin

Watermelon Kholodok differs by spotting

• The scorpion - as the name implies, it will not take long to wait for it. Yes, and it weighs a little - about 3 kilograms - which will help to cope with carrying even women. Gourmets unanimously assert that the flesh of this variety is extremely fragrant and tasty. You can recognize the scorp on a thick skin and a characteristic pattern from the curved lines

Watermelon Skorik can be recognized by the pattern from the curved lines

How to choose a ripe watermelon?

There are several rules that will help the determine how much the watermelon has matured:

• First of all, it is worth paying attention to the tail of the watermelon, because it is through it that the fetus receives food. If the tail is completely dry, it means that the watermelon has already received all the necessary substances and, as a consequence, has matured. Such fruit contains a lot of vitamins and is extremely tasty.

IMPORTANT: Another green tail says that the watermelon was removed prematurely, without allowing it to ripen.

The matured watermelon has its tail pinched

• The watermelon knocking is not a topic for anecdotes, but a real way to learn about ripeness. Attentively listen to the echo - it should be deaf
• It is recommended to give preference to medium-sized berries - is so much more likely that they have time to ripen. And, on the contrary, the largest and most beautiful watermelon can turn out to be green. Of course, there are varieties that provide an impressive weight, but it is, rather, an exception to the rules
• Try to pierce the nail of the fetus. If this happened, then, unfortunately, the watermelon has not yet ripened. With a ripe berries such a trick will not work.
• Often, watermelons are supplied with stains. Look at their color: so, white says that this watermelon would still ripen and ripen, but yellow - that ripe

In mature watermelon, the spot on the peel will be yellowish

How to choose a sweet watermelon?

In principle, the same advice given on the definition of the ripeness of watermelon is also suitable for determining its sweetness. We advise you to listen to a few more recommendations:

• The skin of a good sweet watermelon should not be matte. Stripes differ in sharpness and contrast

IMPORTANT: An exception should be made for special varieties, which are characterized by the absence of bands or light spots.

• Practice has verified not once that really sweet watermelons are available to buyers not earlier than mid-August and early September. Even in the south they mature and become sweet in the second half of the summer. Still need to add the time for which the berry is brought from the south
• Often, sellers cut the watermelon in order for buyers to be sure of the maturity of the fruit. It is often advised that the pulp should be granular. This is so, however, excessive graininess is not welcomed, since it is indicative not of sweetness, but of overgrowth and fibrousness of

. Sweet watermelon should be cut to size with grainy

Watermelon and watermelon: differences

Watermelon lovers have long noticed that these fruits are divided into"Boys" and "girls."The latter are more sweet and contain less pits. How to define the "floor" of watermelon?

• The "girl" has a bottom opposite to the end where the tail is, flat. Also on the flat side should be a large circle

Watermelon girl

• The "boys" all the way around - "ass" convex. The circle on it is small and as if pressed inside

Watermelon-boy

IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that it is possible to meet on the counter more often than "boys".Therefore, in order to search for a "girl" you will need to have a decent patience.

Testing watermelon for nitrates

Nitrates have a very negative impact on health, especially on children. It's not just that they kill all the beneficial substances in the fetus. You can easily get the heaviest poisoning. How to recognize nitrates in a watermelon?

• Strips must be clear. If the watermelon strip is smeared or disappears in some places, it means that nitrates are present in the berry. An exception can be made, except that certain grades without strips
• Make a core cutout in the form of a triangle. This core and will allow to determine the presence of nitrates - so, the dark middle and light crust speak about becoming a part of harmful components

Watermelon without nitrates should be evenly dyed inside

• Delicious watermelon is not in vain called "sugar" - characteristic grains in it to be required. They should not be much, but the complete absence of graininess should alert. Just like the presence in the flesh of thick white veins
• Look at the knife after the cut. No red divorce, otherwise guaranteed in the watermelon there are nitrates. The juice will ideally ideally flow evenly
• Remember the school experiments at the physics lessons, after a small experiment. Collect water into the glass, throw a small piece of watermelon into it. Stir this improvised cocktail. Watermelon without nitrates will give water turbidity as from milk. A harmful piece will make the water a pink
• However, it is not necessary to experiment at home - you can try to determine the presence of nitrates and when buying. Especially beware of large fruit. Ask the sellers to make a cut. Ideally pulp should have a pink shade

IMPORTANT: Scarlet pulp, and even a large watermelon, is a clear sign of the presence of nitrates.

Watermelon should have a pink hue, not a bright scarlet

Keeping watermelons

• Often, watermelons are dusted - especially if they were sold near the road. In general it is desirable to purchase such goods in remote locations from special counters. But anyway, it still costs to cut thoroughly before cutting. - cleaned from dust, it will be better stored.
• Remember that the watermelon that is not cut retains all its properties for 3 months. The already cut fruit should not be kept for more than 3 days.
• A dark and cool place is what needs for a watermelon! Even if you plan to eat it for a couple of days, still take care of the suitable placement of the fruit
• . You did not finish the watermelon and decided to put it in the refrigerator? Then pre- put the fruit on the plate with the pulp down, and on top, pack the food film. All this will lead to the fact that the freshness does not disappear
• Please note that the with hard surface watermelons are better to touch as rarely as possible
• Try to maintain the following parameters in the storage location: air temperature - from +1 to +3 degrees, and humidity -from 80% to 85%

Watermelon should be stored in the refrigerator

How to store watermelons in the cellar?

The cellar is a wonderful place to store watermelon, but it is also necessary to create appropriate conditions there. With temperature and humidity, we figured out, but should be remembered for a soft surface for the fetus. Ideal for straw.

With regard to the dimensions of the surface for storage, the rack with a size of 1x1 meter is perfect.

IMPORTANT: If you want to place a few watermelons in the cellar, avoid contact with each other. Otherwise, stains and dents can not be avoided.

Do not cut the watermelons from time to time, check and turn them over periodically. Similar actions also serve as an excellent prevention of the appearance of stains.

Remember that the cellar should have good ventilation .Completely closed room should not be in any case.

In the cellar, in which the watermelon will be stored, there must be a ventilation

How to understand that the watermelon has deteriorated?

• The first sign of a spoiled watermelon is its acidic odor .Acidification is facilitated by a long laying of the fruit on one side, as well as a constant presence on the watermelon or in a bowl of
• juice. To the touch, the spoiled fruit is soft and sluggish .Fresh fruit, on the contrary, crisp and hard
• Look at the juice - it will not change the shade of fresh watermelon

Watermelons should not be loose

Can I freeze a watermelon?

Of course, the frozen watermelon is far from fresh, but for the winter to prepare the ingredient for cocktails or dishes is quite possible.

So, the first way is dry packing:

• Prepare a watermelon - clean it thoroughly, clean the cloth with a cloth
• Wash your hands thoroughly with
• soap Now cut the fruit into pieces, peel it from the skin and seeds

IMPORTANT: Cutting can happen as you like - lobules, cubes, slices, balls. As practice shows, balls and cubes are easier to freeze.

Watermelon, diced, easier to freeze

• If desired, you can sprinkle a watermelon with sugar in the calculation of 450 grams of sugar per 2 kg of watermelon
• Cubes are laid out on a baking sheet in one layer. At the same time, they should not touch, otherwise the
• will be glued when frozen. The pan is located in the freezer. Wait a few hours and check the pieces to the touch - they must be solid
• Now the pieces are transferred to a container - it can be a plastic container or a special plastic bag for freezing. But in any case do not take the glass, as it can break

IMPORTANT: It is necessary to leave approximately 1.25 centimeters of free space from above, otherwise during the freezing process the capacity will crack.

• Store watermelon until you want to use it. Please note that at a temperature of -18 degrees it can be stored for 8-12 months. Before use, leave the pieces to thaw in the refrigerator. Use this watermelon after thawing for about 4 days

Watermelon frozen in the form of cubes can be used for making cocktails

The second way of freezing is with syrup:

• First, boil sugar water for medium heat, for which you should take a liter of water and 440milliliters of sugar. Sugar should dissolve completely. If desired, you can use soft honey or corn syrup
• instead of sugar. It's time to let the syrup cool. It is recommended to place it for half an hour or so in the refrigerator

IMPORTANT: Hot syrup simply welds a watermelon, so it is necessary to wait until it is at least room temperature.

• Prepare the watermelon , namely wash, cut, cut the crust, remove the seeds
• Cut the watermelon as it will be convenient
• Fill the half cup with the syrup .Then put into it slices of watermelon, fill them with the remaining amount of syrup
• Place the container in the freezer, but before that, do not forget to paste a piece of paper with the date of freezing. Store container in this way from 8 months to one year.

IMPORTANT: It is recommended to place waxed paper on top - so the pieces will be immersed in syrup.

Watermelon syrup with slices of pulp can be used for

cocktails. As you can see, it is not enough just to buy a watermelon at random - there is a great risk of poisoning or purchasing an unpleasant product. But it's not necessary to be a restaurateur in order to properly choose and store this berry. Just remember some tips.