Melon is a very whimsical plant. Not only is it demanding heat and light, this vegetable is also difficult to store. Therefore, it is most often used fresh or processed into jam, candied fruits, melon honey, dried , frozen, etc.
Where and how to properly store a melon at home?
Proper selection of fruits for storage is very important. If you want to keep a melon without losing its properties for several months (maximum - until February), you need to choose slightly unripe fruit with a pronounced aroma. However, green melons should not be taken: they will soon deteriorate. The optimal varieties are Torpeda, Gulaba, Yellow Canarian, Bykovchanka, Zimovka: they are distinguished by a high content of pectin and dense skin. The fruit should be free of specks, dents, cracks and other flaws.
The best melons are stored in a suspended state, in grids, and each fruit must have its own separate grid. Suspend should be so that melons do not touch each other and the walls. The room should be regularly ventilated.
But in the refrigerator melons are not stored for a long time. If there is no other place, put the fruits in special nests, covered with burlap. In ordinary room conditions melons are stored for not more than a week. The main thing here is to eliminate the effect of direct sunlight, so that the melon is not overripe and not spoiled.
As practice shows, keeping a melon at home requires separate from other vegetables and fruits. It should be known that, for example, apples markedly accelerate the ripening of pulp, and potatoes "kills" the melon flavor.
How to store a melon so that it ripens?
Sometimes melons are harvested in immature form. Most often, this is done with late-ripening fruits, which are to "ripen" (ripen). In this case, you need to provide such storage conditions, so that during this time the melon does not deteriorate, but completely ripened and "gained a taste." Another way - the storage of melons on shelves, wrapped in a soft material (burlap, cloth, sawdust). Otherwise, when in contact with hard surfaces, decubitus is formed on the melon, and the fetus begins to rot. Lay melons should be in one layer. In the room where melons are stored, there must be a corresponding microclimate: the air temperature is about 2-4 ° C and the humidity is not more than 70-80%. In the apartment it can be a glazed balcony or loggia, ideally the room should be dark. Also melon can be put in a box with sand in order to avoid evaporation of moisture.
The fact that the melon is already ripe, will show a strong fragrance and a soft nose of the fruit.