How to choose a juicy and sweet watermelon? How to choose the right ripe and sweet watermelon: signs of determining maturity How to choose a watermelon on the market.

19.11.2021

About a week remains before the official start of the season for the sale of watermelons, but unauthorized trade in melons on the streets of Moscow has been going on since mid-July. Consumers are outraged not only by the high price, but also by the quality of the fruits: watermelons, which are artificially ripened with the help of nitrates, pose a health hazard.

At the same time, sellers of watermelon breakdowns in most cases cannot present either a trade permit or quality certificates.

The permit for the sale of melons will be valid from 1 August. The Department of Consumer Market and Services in Moscow explained that it is not recommended to buy watermelons before this date - it is better to wait until the end of summer, when they are definitely ripe.

The number of melons and gourds in the capital this summer will be almost two times less than last year - total 450 . In addition, retail outlets will operate under the new rules. Sellers are required to work in special clothing, have a medical record and documents confirming the quality of the products.

Where to choose watermelons

In Moscow, the sale of melons "from the ground" is prohibited. Sales outlets should be equipped with mesh chests and special scales instead of household, medical and postal scales. Sellers should not cut and sell watermelons and melons in slices.

In addition, visual information about the operating mode of the outlet and the legal address of the trade organization should be placed on the tray or breakup.

To protect yourself, it is best not to buy watermelons at "spontaneous" ruins, where the products are not checked by sanitary services, and always ask if they have any documents. And even more so, you should not buy at the roadside collapses: there the products absorb toxins.

Some producers stimulate the ripening of melons with nitrogen fertilizers, which leads to the accumulation of nitrates in watermelons. The consequences of their use can be serious - acute infectious poisoning or chronic intoxication, which doctors call the "cumulative effect".

How to identify a nitrate "bomb"

It is impossible to determine the nitrate watermelon by eye if it is not cut. You shouldn't even try a berry if its pulp is laced with yellow or light yellow fibers or has a purple tint.

If you soak the pulp of a nitrated watermelon in water, it will turn red or pink due to the high content of nitrates. A "healthy" watermelon will make the water slightly cloudy.

If you knock on a nitrate watermelon, you feel as if you are hitting a lowered ball. In appearance, such a watermelon may be ripe, but if it does not crack when squeezed, it means that it has ripened not without someone else's "help"

What a flawless watermelon should look like

There is a widespread belief that a large watermelon is "nitrate". This is not true: for example, for the "chill" variety, 10-20 kilograms is far from the limit.

The ideal watermelon should be large enough, not very heavy and with a distinct striped pattern. In order to determine the natural ripeness of a watermelon, first of all, you need to pay attention to the stalk - the tail at the top of the fruit must be dry.

The purchased watermelon should not have cuts and cracks - through which microbes that cause intestinal infections get inside.

There is a myth that a ripe watermelon should ring when you pat it with the palm of your hand. In fact, the sound depends on whether the flesh has softened inside or not. It is the green fruit that will ring, and the ripe watermelon should be deaf.

The crackle that a watermelon makes when squeezed with your hands is a good sign. You can safely buy such a product.

The earthen spot at the bottom of the side should preferably be yellow, not white.

And the last thing. A ripe watermelon can be easily scratched - sliding your fingernail over it will easily remove the top layer of the skin.

When choosing a melon, connoisseurs advise paying attention to the aroma that its peel should exude, to the softness that is felt to the touch, and also to the absence of light brown spots.

What to do in case of "nitrate" poisoning

In addition to nitrates, watermelons can contain microbes and even heavy metals. In case of poisoning, it is necessary to drink as much water as possible to prevent dehydration and reduce the manifestations of the disease.

Is watermelon so useful

There is conflicting information about the benefits of watermelons. Some say that the fiber of watermelons contains potassium, which is washed out of the body when taking diuretics. Therefore, it is advised to consume watermelons for diseases such as cystitis and nephritis.

At the same time, there is an opinion that, although all melons and gourds contain fiber, it is poorly absorbed, loading the stomach. That is why doctors advise children and the elderly over 50 years old to give up juicy fruits.

The material was prepared by the Internet edition of www.rian.ru based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Choosing the right watermelon is a science. Someone divides watermelons into boys and girls, someone chooses by knocking, and someone trusts only familiar sellers. How to choose a really sweet and delicious watermelon? There are several rules:

The size

Beware of large watermelons. Our climate is not the same for giants to ripen on melons. Therefore, there is a possibility that the giant was artificially fed. And small watermelons may not be too sweet. So the ideal size is medium. In the region of 5-7 kg.

Boys and girls

Watermelons are distinguished by gender. "Boys" are larger, they are slightly elongated along the vertical axis passing through the ponytail. And the "girls" are smaller. They are flattened. If you cut the "watermelon", then the bones will be small. "Ladies" - tastier and sweeter.

Tail

It must be mandatory. After all, he is an indicator of maturity. A yellowish dry tail indicates that the watermelon is already ripe. If the tail is green, the watermelon was picked unripe.

To knock

Ripe watermelon makes a booming sound when tapped. And if the watermelon is slightly squeezed from above and below, then it will crackle slightly. It means ripe.

On the cut

Many sellers cut a square piece of watermelon to show ripeness to the buyer. Better not to buy such fruits. After all, a watermelon instantly absorbs everything - from dirt on a seller's knife, to bacteria and dust, while you carry it from the market.

Signs of a chemical "past"

“It is impossible to visually determine whether a watermelon contains nitrates or other harmful substances,” she said. Tatiana Sannikova, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, expert of the All-Russian Research Institute of Irrigated Vegetable and Melon Growing, - This can be seen only when cutting the fruit. If there are white or yellowish streaks, then the watermelon contains nitrates and the residual amount of pesticides is higher than the permissible norm (the maximum permissible concentration of nitrates is 60 mg / kg wet weight). How much more can be determined only in specialized laboratories, as well as with portable devices for the determination of nitrates, but not every buyer can afford them. "

Own seller

Never go back to the seller from whom you bought a watermelon with nitrates or a watermelon that made you feel unwell or have an upset stomach. You will almost certainly get a low-quality, "chemical" watermelon again.

Own observation, not confirmed by anything

Smooth, beautiful, even, ideally shaped watermelon is usually not the most delicious. Sweet and juicy, the one that is a little unsightly. With a white earth spot on the side, which distorts its circular shape.

How to choose a quality product? Read every Wednesday on AiF-Kitchen

How to choose a ripe and sweet watermelon? In the summer, with the beginning of the watermelon season, many people have this question. The market offers a product of different varieties, sizes and growing places. How to choose the most ripe, juicy, tasty, and most importantly safe watermelon for health, we will consider in this article.

Season of the sale of watermelons

To choose the right watermelon, you must first choose the right time to buy it. Watermelon is a seasonal product, so it is better to buy it at a certain time. For the watermelon to be tasty, ripe and juicy, the ideal period is from mid-August to mid-September.

If you decide to choose an early watermelon, then most likely it will not be tasty and sweet, and besides, it is saturated with nitrates. Even from the Kuban, legal parties do not arrive before the end of July.

Methods and rules for choosing a watermelon

To choose a good, quality watermelon, remember the following rules:

Peel appearance

The peel of the watermelon should be shiny and glossy, the color is uniform, the color is rich, green.
In a striped fruit, the stripes should be clearly defined, bright, contrasting with the main background.
The crust should not have a matte or waxy coating, it should be hard, easy to scratch, but difficult to pierce.
The sweetest fruit may have brownish specks, the so-called "bee cobweb", which indicates that the bees often touched the addicted fruit during pollination.
The watermelon should have rough brown nets, the more nets there are, the sweeter the watermelon.
Small light spots are considered normal, they appear after the fruit ripens, when chlorophyll stops being produced.
You can rub the rind of the watermelon with your finger if after that you smell the scent of freshly cut grass, the fruit is unripe.

The size and color of the earthen spot

The watermelon grows on the ground, ripens within a few months, and a spot forms at the point of contact with the ground. An earthen spot is a yellow spot where the watermelon was lying on. It is called "cheek" or "flank". In a mature fruit, this spot should be one, brownish-yellow in color, with a diameter of 6-11 cm.

If the "barrel" has an uneven color, too light or even white, this indicates that the fruit did not ripen on melons or in an unfavorable climate. Such a watermelon will not be juicy and tasty.

Dry tail - ripe watermelon

Delicious, juicy watermelon can be easily identified by its tail. When the fruit is fully ripe, the flow of moisture from the ground stops and the tail dries up.

A green tail indicates that the watermelon was picked unripe. Over time, it also turns yellow and dries up, so the main differences are:

In a mature watermelon, the tail breaks easily, has a yellow-brown color.
In an unripe watermelon, the tail is sluggish, does not break off, it can be dry, but greenish in color.
If the stem is cut off, you should look at the tip of the tail to determine if it broke off or was cut off.
A watermelon with a tail cut off "under the root" is not worth buying.

How to choose a watermelon by weight and size

It happens that you want to buy a big, just a huge watermelon right away, but you shouldn't do that. It is especially risky to acquire such a fruit in July or early August. This is dangerous to health, because it can be "stuffed" with growth stimulants or other chemicals. And too small watermelons may not be tasty and juicy.

It is better to choose a medium-sized watermelon, not large and not small, weighing 4-7 kilograms.

The integrity and integrity of the watermelon

To choose the ripe, tasty and juicy berry, the peel must be: whole, without scratches, cracks, dents and soft spots.

Remember, dirt, bacteria and germs get into the watermelon when the integrity of its rind is violated.

Therefore, do not buy watermelons that are already cut or that have damaged skins.

Vendors often offer to pick and cut the watermelon, but remember that it is dirty.

How to choose a delicious watermelon by sound

When tapped, a ripe and juicy watermelon will "respond" with a ringing and booming sound. An unripe or overripe fruit is deaf.
You can put your ear to the crust and squeeze the watermelon a little, the ripe one will crackle or crack slightly.
There is another way to check the ripeness of the watermelon. They put a watermelon on one hand, and gently tap the other, if on the holding hand you feel vibration from the blows, then the watermelon is good.

Structure and color of watermelon pulp

The structure and color of the pulp can be determined after purchase:

The color depends on the variety and should be pink to moderate red. If the color is purple-scarlet, the fruit is either overripe or contains nitrates.
The texture of the tasty pulp should be porous, sugar-grained. If the cut surface also indicates the presence of nitrates.
If the pulp of a watermelon is all permeated with white or yellowish veins, this indicates that the product is saturated with nitrates, pesticide residues.

The bones of a ripe watermelon are dark brown or black in color. White seeds are a sign that the watermelon is immature or nitrate.

How to choose a watermelon girl

It is common among farmers to divide the fruit into a boy and a girl.

They differ visually:

girls have a more round shape, slightly "flattened" and they are more tasty, sweet, juicy;
the boys have an elongated shape, they have a “convex” bottom, a small “bottom”, reminiscent of a dot, their taste is somewhat watery.

How to choose a delicious watermelon in October

The watermelon season ends at the end of September, and you still want to enjoy the delicious fruit. In October, the remains of the harvest are brought in, so in October it is better to choose an “unripe” watermelon, which has a yellowish “barrel” and a green tail.

As a rule, by October, all the watermelons are ripe, and good by the standards of August, they become overripe in the fall. But they have a big advantage - they lack chemistry, they are just as tasty and juicy.

Market or store?

You can buy a watermelon, both in the store and in the market, the main thing is that the place meets certain requirements.

Watermelon in the market

A good market is a fenced area specially designated for this purpose. Tents by the road are not considered, because buying a watermelon in them, you can get severe poisoning instead of enjoying the taste.

Requirements to be met by the owner of a trading place selling watermelons:

the presence of a canopy that protects watermelons from direct sunlight;
remoteness from the carriageway;
special storage racks located at a height of at least 20 cm from the ground;
the presence of a certificate of the Surveillance Service for each consignment of goods.

Watermelon in the store

When buying a watermelon from a store, pay attention to the following points:

watermelons are not stored outdoors, under the sun or near the roadway;
storage racks are located at a height of at least 20 cm from the floor and are not damaged in any way;
availability of the necessary documents for the purchase of goods from trusted suppliers.

How to check the quality of a watermelon

Before you start eating even the most "correct" watermelon you need:

Before you rinse the watermelon with running water, pour boiling water over it. You can check the quality of a watermelon with water and a bowl. You need to pour ordinary water into a basin, lower the watermelon, and if it does not sink, then you have chosen ripe and sweet. If the watermelon has sunk to the bottom, it is better to return it to the seller or throw it away so as not to risk health.
To test a watermelon for nitrates, you need to dip a small piece of watermelon into the water. If the water has acquired a bright color, and the pulp, on the contrary, has become pale, such a watermelon contains nitrates. Slightly pink coloration of water is allowed.
The largest amount of nitrates accumulates near the rind, so it is better for children to give the core of a watermelon - a tasty, juicy and safe part.

The pulp of watermelon has a high nutritional value, it contains many useful substances for health: vegetable fiber, organic acids, pectin, vitamins and microelements. The calorie content is only 38 kcal per 100 grams. Therefore, the watermelon season is the best time for treats, as well as for cleansing and healing the body.

Knowing the above tips, secrets and subtleties will help you choose the right watermelon, which will delight you with a refreshing sweet, juicy and healthy pulp.

Sweet, ripe and nitrate-free? There are many tricks and tricks to distinguish a healthy berry with a juicy ripe pulp.

The second half of summer is a real holiday for watermelon lovers. You can enjoy your favorite berry at least every day: eat the pulp cut into slices, prepare cocktails and various desserts. But the fruit brought home from the market or store is far from always tasty and healthy: the pulp can be unripe or unsweetened, and the concentration of nitrates exceeding the norm can cause a violation of the blood composition and cause severe poisoning.

There are several rules, adhering to which you can choose a watermelon that is not only ripe and sweet, but also free of nitrogen fertilizers harmful to the body.

With the beginning of the season, watermelons can be found in supermarkets, markets, in tents located right in the open air. The taste and useful properties of berries largely depend on the storage conditions, therefore, before going for a watermelon, it is important to choose the right place of purchase.

Sanitary conditions in shops and specially equipped storage facilities are much better than in spontaneous markets and in tents. Experts strongly advise against purchasing watermelons from sellers who offer to choose fruits from heaps dumped on the side of the tracks directly on the ground. Despite the thick peel, the berries are able to absorb many harmful substances deposited from the exhaust gases, and various pathogens can enter through small cracks.

If you do decide to choose a watermelon in an outdoor tent, please note the following:

from above, the fruits should be covered with a hinged 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 to protect the berries from dust and dirt.

Before choosing a watermelon in the market, in a store or other point of sale, the buyer has the right to require certificates confirming the quality of the goods. The document indicates the time and place of collection, the presence of nitrates and other data that will make it possible to determine the choice. In the absence of 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 a long time, however, such conditions cannot be provided at street points of sale. This means that the average shelf life is no more than 2-3 weeks. After that, the berries begin to sour and lose their taste. If it is not possible to set the harvest time, you can check this by ripping off a small piece of the skin with your fingernail: fresh watermelons can smell only the mowed grass, and a small amount of moisture will appear on the surface.

Some producers and sellers, in order to preserve the crop longer, treat it with a mixture of chalk or a solution of alabaster and paraffin. At the same time, 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 outdoors. Since this melon culture is thermophilic, the first ripe fruits do not appear until the second half of summer. Initially, berries brought from Central Asian countries go on sale, a little later - from the southern regions of the country. The optimal time to buy your favorite delicacy begins in the second decade of August and lasts until the last days of September. During this period, the highest chances of choosing a watermelon are not only tasty, but also nitrate-free.

In appearance

Experienced lovers of sweet fruits primarily pay attention to the color and other external characteristics of the rind. Knowing some of the tricks will allow you to establish the ripeness of the pulp, even without a preliminary test. What should you pay attention to and how to choose the right watermelon in 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 establish the content of an increased amount of harmful substances without cutting the fruit, unless only with the help of a special device.

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

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

By sound

When the 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, you need to knock on the crust with your knuckle. The louder the sound, the more ripe the berry. You can check several watermelons in this way and compare the result.

How else can you choose a watermelon by sound? There is another method for determining ripeness, which is more suitable for men. The fruit is clamped between two palms facing each other. They should be placed in the middle between the tail and the bottom. When squeezing the palms of a ripe fruit, the peel will emit a characteristic quiet crackle. This method requires a certain amount of 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 far from always directly related to its ripeness: it happens that a red fruit with ripe seeds may not be sweet at all.

What influences the taste of watermelon and what sugar content is considered optimal? With the mass cultivation of melons and gourds, the suitability of fruits for consumption is determined when the sugar concentration reaches 10% or more. To determine this indicator, a special device is used - a refractometer. Several fruits are selected on the melon 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 specifications. What is the reason for the decrease in taste? There are several factors affecting the taste of the pulp.

First of all, the choice of the variety is important. Despite the large number of various types of melons and gourds, breeding work does not stop, due to which new 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, the growing conditions, as well as the structure and composition of the soil, should be taken into account.

Even correctly selected seeds may not give the desired yield if the cultivation technology is not followed or if the weather conditions are unfavorable. For normal sugar content, the following conditions are necessary:

Adequate lighting. The more sunny days during the period of plant growth and fruit formation, the sweeter the harvest will be.
The 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 the most negative effect on their taste: if heavy rain falls after dry days, the plants can continue their growth and draw off 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, it is necessary to regularly feed the plants, which makes it possible to get a richer harvest and increase the sugar concentration by as much as 2-3%. Some unscrupulous growers seek to increase yields by using an overabundance of nitrogen in the soil. It is capable of causing intensive cell growth, in which their number remains the same, and their size exceeds the norm by 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 can acquire a specific bitter taste.

Another reason for the mismatch of the expected palatability is late harvest. Watermelon, unlike the vast majority of fruits, is not able to ripen after harvest. The taste characteristics are also influenced by the conditions of transportation and storage.

So how do you choose a sweet watermelon? 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 choose to choose the largest berries, mistakenly believing that they are the most ripe. In fact, too large a size can be a sign of artificially enlarging the fruit by applying a lot of nitrogen fertilizers.

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

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

Experts advise paying attention not to how dark or light shade the watermelon has, 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 the watermelon be completely dry, or is this not an indicator of ripeness at all? Ripe berry stops consuming moisture and gradually the stalk dries up at the point of attachment to the stem. A dry tail is one of the signs of ripening, but only when it is brittle and breaks easily.

If the stalk is simply sluggish, it can be said with great certainty that the crop was harvested ahead of time, and the stalk dried out during transportation. Correctly trimmed ends of the tails are a clear sign of unripe fruit.

Another well-known selection method is to assess the surface condition of the peel. It is believed that once ripe, 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 luster. In the period most suitable for eating watermelon, this shine is preserved, but when overripe, the skin becomes dull again.

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

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

By the color of the "cheeks" you can determine the degree of ripeness. In unripe berries, it is white with visible stripes, but a clean, completely yellow or orange spot on the watermelon indicates that it is already ready for use.

Sometimes, when cutting the fruit, it is found that the pulp has an uneven structure and is penetrated with dense light veins. What do these white threads inside the watermelon mean? Compaction is the plant's response to stress caused by an abrupt change in growing conditions. Basically, such threads appear with sudden changes in temperature.

If there are streaks 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 according to 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 sweetness, but the taste of a boy with a small convex bottom is much worse. How true are these signs of the sweetness of watermelon?

The size of the lower part depends solely on the size of the flower and has nothing to do with the "sexual" division of fruits. A good watermelon doesn't 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 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 harvested crop?

It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally. The ultra-early varieties developed by breeders are capable of yielding much earlier than mid-season representatives of the crop. The technology of growing plants in greenhouses opened up additional opportunities. It is possible that the earliest fruits were grown in compliance with nutritional requirements and do not pose a threat to health. The presence of nitrates can be determined from the 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 a refreshing sweet, juicy and healthy pulp.

Watermelon is a tasty and healthy food rich in healthy sugars, vitamins and essential minerals. Among them are folic acid, magnesium, potassium, as well as the most valuable antioxidant lycopene, which is famous for its antitumor properties. Everyone who has tried it at least once knows about the diuretic effect of watermelon, which relieves edema.

How Do I Pick a Good Watermelon?

How to distinguish dangerous watermelons from those that are quite suitable for food? The most pressing issues were considered by Rospotrebnadzor in its recommendations for the selection of watermelons and melons in the season of purchases of melons and gourds.

You cannot buy watermelons and melons along the road. The fruits quickly absorb heavy metals from the exhaust gases. Another important reason why you should not stop choosing watermelons on such debris is the lack of sanitary examination of products. This means that those watermelons that simply did not pass this examination for some reason may get on your table.
Select watermelons and melons at authorized points of sale. In such points, everything should be properly equipped:
- place of trade under a canopy;
- watermelons are stored on shelves, covered with an awning (in no case on the ground);
- at the end of a working day, watermelons are removed from the street.
Where the buyer plans to choose a watermelon, there should be a sign, opening hours, scales and the following documents:
- certificate or declaration of conformity,
- quality certificate issued by the organization that raised the watermelons;
- documents of the seller of watermelons and melons:
  - medical book;
  - information about the legal entity.
When choosing watermelons, you should pay attention to medium-sized fruits. Most often, they are better than large ones.
The seller is prohibited from cutting the watermelons for sampling. Firstly, when trying an unwashed watermelon from the counter, the buyer runs the risk of getting an intestinal infection, and even hepatitis A. Secondly, harmful microorganisms begin to multiply on the watermelon, which was not chosen after all, the sale of such watermelons is prohibited. Therefore, before choosing a watermelon, the buyer needs to inspect the fruit from all sides to make sure that the cover is intact.
The rind color of a good watermelon is bright and contrasting. There is a light spot on the side, on which the watermelon lay - in a good watermelon it is as yellow as possible, even orange.
Choose a watermelon with a hard and shiny rind. The crust is easily pierced with a fingernail - the watermelon is immature.
A ripe watermelon has dry tendrils and stalks.
When choosing a watermelon, the buyer can judge the ripeness of the fruit by small blows to the crust: when a ripe watermelon is struck with a palm, a ripe watermelon vibrates, if you hit it with a bent finger, a moderate sonorous sound appears.
If you squeeze a ripe watermelon along the longitudinal axis, it should emit a faint crunch.

Watermelon inside

Rospotrebnadzor has banned cutting watermelons before selling. Before using the selected watermelon, it is worth analyzing the pulp of the fruit.

A good watermelon has no mucus on the pulp.
The inside of the watermelon is juicy and moderately red. A very bright red color or even a purple tint of the pulp may indicate a large amount of nitrates. The yellow color of the fibers that go from the core to the crust (and should normally be white) is also an alarming sign. However, it is possible to analyze the amount of nitrates only under laboratory conditions.
The smooth, glossy cut surface of the watermelon should alert you. The pulp of a quality watermelon sparkles with grains.
You cannot eat watermelon, which gives off a sour smell after being cut. Otherwise, you can get food poisoning.

Before cutting the watermelons, you must thoroughly rinse the fruits with warm water and soap over the entire surface. Particles of earth, dust, microorganisms, chemicals outside the watermelon, if insufficiently processed, can get inside the fruit and cause intestinal diseases.

When choosing a melon, you should pay attention to almost the same points as when choosing a watermelon with some peculiarities:

in ripe melons, the side opposite to the tail should be slightly soft;
clicking on the crust produces a dull sound;
a melon that does not emit an appetizing melon smell is best not to choose.

Store watermelons and melons in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Also, the department drew attention to the sense of proportion when using watermelons, especially by children.