When Is It Ripe?

[csalt]

Bear in mind when you read this that I live in the UK so don't have access to all the luscious fruit you have in the USA.
Pineapples and melons are the ones that fox me. How can you tell when they are ripe. Melons feel the same. Pineapples well ????
I'm told if melons smell melony they are ripe? sometimes it's hard to decide what they smell of.. I'm also told that if you can pull a tuft of the pineapple out easily it is ripe. Any comments?

I used to be a Caregiver to an elderly lady who when I took her round the supermarket took great delight in 'snapping' runner beans in hald as she said that if they had a good 'snap' they were good to eat. We never bought the ones she had snapped!

 

[VeraBlue]

Smell the stem end...it should smell like the fruit inside.

Canteloupes that are still green beneath the webbing are not ripe. Pineapple should have a yellow/brownish tint at the base.

Both should yeild to very gentle pressure.

 

[YT2095]

I'm also told that if you can pull a tuft of the pineapple out easily it is ripe. Any comments?

only comment is that`s exactly what I`ve heard too, and when I`ve tried it it seem to be reasonably accurate.

 

[Andy M.]

I've heard that the leaf pulling test is not valid and that the test for ripe pineapple is the smell. Riper fruits have a stronger fruit smell than others.

 

[csalt]

I found this link which is quite interesting.

Specialty Melons

Having said that, when I was shopping yesterday one of the Tesco shop assistants asked 'do you know hot to tell if that's ripe?' (pineapple) and he proceeded to demonstrate the pull a tuft out test. The pineapple did prove to be deliciously ripe...there's not much left! but the link above syas the same as you said Andy.

 

[Uncle Bob]

The optimum test for small melons, cantaloupes, honey dews, etc. is:
Hold it in your hands with the blossom end (opposite the stem end) facing you. Apply gentle pressure with both thumbs to that area. The softer it is the riper it is. This will tell you the degree of ripness. Some people like, say cantaloupes to be a bit crispy, others want it really soft. In time you will discover the "feel" that you prefer. In cataloupes a nice golden color, in Honey Dews a slight yellowing.

Pineapples, Check for easy "leaf" pull, a nice golden color, smell, and its yielding to gentle pressure. All of them together will give you a ripe fruit.

Enjoy!

 

[csalt]

Thank-you Uncle Bob

 

[Charleysaunt]

Honeydews are the most difficult to me to tell, and they take forever to get ripe. I have literally left one on my counter for 2 weeks to ripen. Cantalope have a lovely aroma to the skin all over when ripe. But be sure to test at room temperature--and eat at room temp.
I'm sure most know this about pears, but they ripen from the inside out so when softening to the touch, chances are they are rotten inside. Again, the smell test is good--aroma of when smelling the skin.
And strawberries are never riper than when you buy them.

 

[StirBlue]

Have you seen the size of watermelons lately? They have seedless ones now because they pull them so green that they haven't made black seeds yet. It is interesting how many people like a tart watermelon the size of a grapefruit!

I never buy fresh pineapple unless I need a decoration. They cost around $4.99 here in the midwest and 80% is waste.

At least when you buy a bag of frozen fruit, you know that you have something to eat and how much there is in the bag.

I buy large sweet watermelons in the summer that come out of Mississippi and Texas. I just wait for the Illinois musk melons too.

 

[csalt]

The pineapple I bought yesterday ( a fairly large one) was 99 pence in Tesco. It was included in their 5 vegs or fruit weekly half price offer. They also had 2 canteloupe melons for £2.00 as opposed to £1.48p each.
I wish the grapes were not quite so expensive

It's only the melons and pineapples that get me wondering re ripeness. Other fruit is pretty obvious.

 

[Charleysaunt]

The pineapples this year and last have been just incredible. They are the "golden" variety and I have not had a bad one. They are SO sweet--and so acid. I always eat too much because they are so good--and end up "burning" my mouth.

 

[StirBlue]

One of our local food stores used to have a .10 cent produce sale once a year. It was so much fun. We would buy about 20 ears of corn and have a corn husking contest. Kids are fast!

 

[Dove]

I was told that the leaf test was not as accurate as looking for a golden one all over.