Tuesday, June 21, 2011

(43-329) Melon Lessons

It's now officially summer; and one of the things that I like best about this season, is it's fruit.  OK, let's face it, I love pretty much everything about summer, but of all the seasons, I have to say I'm most partial to the fruits of summer.

Now fan of fruit that I am; I've never been sure about how to pick them.  Obviously I know that I don't want bruised nectarines, or cherries; but when it comes to the melons, other than givin a Cantaloupe or Honeydew a sniff; up until a few days ago, I had no idea how to tell if they were ripe.  Funny story about sniffin a fruit.  A couple of weeks ago Luis and I were in Sam's Club and I saw some beautiful, Pineapples. I picked one up and went to smell it and man I must have forgotten what I was dealing with because I put that baby so close to my nose that I scratched it up.  The Pineapple had a terrific scent, and the center leaf pulled out easily,  so we put it in our cart, and I promptly wondered why my nose was hurting.  I touched my nose and realized that I had scratched it with the Pineapple and I felt like a first class moron.  BUT, I have to say that the Pineapple that bruised me, was indeed delicious.

On Sunday Kelsie and I went to do some grocery shopping.  While we were in Sam's I saw Cantaloupe for a really good price, and while I was smelling them, a lady turned to the demonstrator that was nearby and asked her to show me how to tell if a Cantaloupe was ripe.  I was anxious to know the real method, and encouraged her to explain.  She told me that I could smell them, as I'd been doing, but you could also push on the little button area and if it had give to it, it was good to purchase.  I chose two (because I told you - the price was really good) and I cut them up tonight and both were perfect. 

After Sam's Kels and I went to Super Wal-mart, where I found watermelon on sale.  I mentioned to Kelsie that I had no idea how to choose a Watermelon as they didn't usually give off a smell.  Kelsie told me that I was supposed to thump it, and when I asked her how she knew that, she told me that she learned that from "Olivia" (the cartoon .)  I asked why I was supposed to thump it, but she didn't know so I took the initiative to locate a produce clerk and ask for help.  The clerk told me that you thump on it (he must watch Olivia too - hahaha); and when I asked why he said that if it had some give to it, as opposed to sounding dense, then it was ready.  It wasn't quite as easy a concept to grasp as the Cantaloupe method, but I chose a Watermelon, and according to Kelsie, (who I couldn't cut it fast enough for); it was fantastic.

I'm always so happy to learn a new domestic trick.  Unfortunately, losing my mom so young, there were a lot of lessons that I missed out on.  Perhaps many of you already knew how to test your fruit; but in case this is news to you too, I'm so happy that I could share my new found knowledge.  If you have additional fruit testing tips for me, please leave me a comment here or on Facebook.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING   

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