How to Choose a Ripe Watermelon Without Nitrates: Here's What to Look for When Buying Watermelons
Choosing a ripe watermelon without nitrates is not as difficult as it seems.
Artem Sokolov, senior researcher at the All-Russian Research Institute of Irrigated Vegetable and Melon Growing, and Irina Koziy, general director of the Russian Berry Union, told us what signs to pay attention to.
The experts' recommendations are provided by the Roskachestvo portal.
How to choose a ripe watermelon without nitrates
Signs of ripeness of a watermelon are: a dry tail, a bright yellow spot on the side, dullness, bright and clear stripes.
You can also use the sound the watermelon makes when you tap it as a guide.
The sound should not be dull or ringing, but somewhere in between, booming, reminiscent of vibration, writes Roskachestvo .
As for nitrates, as Artem Sokolov explained, the only chance to become the owner of a nitrate watermelon is to pick it unripe. And even in this case, the nitrates will only be in the rind.
According to Irina Koziy, scientists from the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Federal Research Center of Nutrition and Biotechnology” claim that not a single case of poisoning with nitrates from melons, vegetables or fruits has been recorded in the world.
What is usually mistaken for nitrate poisoning is either diarrhea from excessive fiber consumption or an intestinal disorder caused by bacteria from poorly washed fruit surfaces, explained the general director of the Berry Union.
