Can i ripen a cantaloupe

The same ripening process is used for tomatoes, bananas, etc. However, the ripening process stops as soon as your cantaloupe is cut open. Cantaloupe is one of the most popular and well-liked fruit. It is sweet and delicious and provides with few of the essential nutrients.

The antioxidant protects cells from oxidative damage. The body cells, as they metabolize, produce free radicals that can harm the cells. Thus the antioxidants protect against aging, cancer, and other oxidative-related ailments. Cantaloupe is good for heart health and maintains healthy blood pressure by providing the body with vitamin C, Potassium, and fiber.

Before you pick up a cantaloupe, be sure to look for signs at the stem end, the netting, the color, and the smell. All of these indicators will help to find out if the cantaloupe is ready to be eaten or not. If you suspect that your cantaloupe is unripe, leave it overnight or a few days at room temperature. The ethylene gas and enzymes from the cantaloupe will work together to make the fruit more succulent. Cantaloupe will not become ripe after being picked off. It may develop some desirable traits but will not attain the ripened status.

After it is cut open, cantaloupe will lose more of its potential for flavor development. This means that you will not harvest all of your melons at once. Identifying ripe melons in your garden requires looking for different cues, depending on the type of melon you are growing. Cantaloupe and other muskmelons separate from the stem without effort at ripeness. For honeydew or watermelons, tendrils close to the fruit turn dry and brown when the melon is ripe.

A hollow sound from the melon when it is gently thumped and a sweet aroma also indicate ripeness. Pay close attention to your melons around harvest time and check the fruit daily for those that show signs of being fully ripe. Pick fully ripened melons immediately to avoid overripening, but leave unripe melons on the vine until your next check.

Underripe melons have been picked before they develop their full sweetness. When you can see that crack starting to form, that means the fruit was harvested mature enough that the ripening process will continue. It probably still needs to sit at room temperature for a few days as it continues to mature.

Be patient and let that happen. It will not attain the golden color of a summer-grown melon, so do not expect it to be quite the same, but neither is the weather outside. This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. How to determine a ripe melon. Photo 2. CC0 Public Domain. Photo 3. Winter cantaloupe with the stem still attached.

Look for cantaloupe where the stem end has begun to crack arrow , thus indicating the melon is approaching maturity but will improve in flavor if allowed to sit at room temperature for a few days. Did you find this article useful? If there are any tears in the rind, those could also suggest that the fruit was picked too early. Make sure that the stem end is slightly indented since this indicates that it was easily plucked off the vine.

If the stem end protrudes, that could be another sign of a premature harvest. You should also avoid cantaloupe when the stem end has notably soft, moist spots around it. That could suggest that the fruit is actually over-ripe. Look at the netting on the skin. The rind should be covered with a thick, coarse netting that appears well-defined over the entire surface of the melon.

That netting can, however, stand out more easily on some areas than it does in others. Do not expect it to be perfectly uniform throughout. Note the color. If you did not harvest the fruit yourself and are growing it from a second party, check the color of the rind before you make a purchase.

The rind should be tinted gold, yellow, or tan. A green-tinted rind indicates that the fruit is unripe. Use your sense of touch. Gently press on the blossom end of the cantaloupe. When you do, it should yield slightly.

If it feels hard, you should allow the melon to ripen at room temperature for another day or so. On the other hand, if the cantaloupe yields too much or feels mushy, the fruit is likely over-ripe. Similarly, you should pick up the melon as you check it over, as well. When ripe, the cantaloupe will feel heavy for its size. Sniff the cantaloupe.

Take a whiff of the fruit at its blossom end, rather than at the stem end. The "button" of the fruit should be just below your nose as you inhale, and you should be able to sense the familiar fragrance of a ripe cantaloupe when you breathe in. If you cannot smell anything yet, try ripening the cantaloupe for another half a day or so. If you are unfamiliar with the smell of a cantaloupe, simply sniff for a notably sweet scent.

The blossom end is where the softening begins and the aroma first develops, so the scent will be strongest and easily noticed there. Did you make this recipe? Leave a review. I regularly have experienced my canteloupe getting sweeter and riper after cutting.

I wasn't expecting it, but, that's what happened. Last time, I had gone so far as to cube it as well. Not Helpful 30 Helpful No, but putting it in a brown paper bag should speed up the ripening process. Just wait until it smells sweet and the ends can be pressed in a little, then it's ripe. Not Helpful 8 Helpful You may try the paper bag trick overnight, but do not expect a miracle. Not Helpful 5 Helpful A whole cantaloupe was left in a car in a hot garage overnight.

Is it safe to eat it? It's pretty hot outside when they are on the vine and they survive. Why would one night kill them? Cut it open, if it looks or smells differently then it should, don't eat it. If it looks and smells fine, it should be fine. Not Helpful 7 Helpful