Cantaloupe…it’s one of my family’s favorite fruits. We eat it year round as a snack, as a dessert or tossed into a fruit smoothie. When it comes to buying cataloupes you want to buy one that’s ripe inside…not rotten. Since you can’t see inside it…how do you tell if it’s fresh and ready to be eaten? Well, here are a few easy tips to help guide you.
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1. Inspect the outside. If you see any bruising, mold or other damage…leave it. You want it to look uniform in shape and of average size. Look at the color…if you see a lot of green, it’s under-ripe.
2. Smell it. That’s right…get your nose up close and smell it. Does it smell good? If it has a bad odor…leave it!
3. Touch it. You want to feel all around it. Look for soft and mushy spots. You want to avoid those. It should be firm but not too firm.
4. Price. If a farmer’s market or grocery store is running an unbelievable sale on them…they’re likely over-ripe and they need to get rid of them fast. When purchasing them at a deep discounts always inspect them before buying.
Once you get the cantaloupe home wash the outside with clean running water to remove dirt and debris before you slice it open. Some people like using a purchased produce wash, but water is just fine. You don’t want to spread bacteria from the outside to the inside of the fruit. Once it has been sliced open it should look uniform in color. A beautiful, bright catanloupe-looking color. It should be juicy as your slicing and chopping it up. As you’re cutting it up…you should experience a sweet smell in the air.
We recommend that you store your sliced cataloupe in a produce container in your refrigerator. You’ll want to eat it within a few days or consider freezing it in freezer bags for later use.