Tips for choosing watermelon, teach you how to choose watermelon

Whenever the watermelon season comes, it is the world of us foodies, but what issues should we pay attention to when buying watermelons? How to better choose watermelons? Today I will tell you how to choose watermelons and the role of watermelon rind:

How to choose a watermelon

1. Observe the color and listen to the sound. For melons with flowery skin, the lines should be clear and distinct in shades; for melons with black skin, the skin should be dark and shiny. Regardless of the type of melon, the melon stem and navel should be concave inward (this feature is not obvious for "beauty melons", as long as the tail is not particularly pointed). The vine stalk is close to the melon skin and is thick and green near the stem, which is a sign of maturity. Melons that are dark brown, have fallen hairs, are bent and brittle, and have yellow and withered tips of the curls are picked before they are ripe; melons with dried stalks are "dead vine melons" and are of poor quality.

Hold the watermelon in your hand and tap it with your fingers. If it makes a crisp "dong, dong" sound and the hand holding the watermelon feels a little trembling, it is a ripe watermelon; if it makes a "thump, thump" sound, it is a reflection of high maturity; if it makes a "puff, puff" sound, it is an overripe watermelon; if it feels like tapping a stone and makes a "tap, tap" sound, it is an unripe watermelon. A ripe watermelon can transmit the vibration from above to the hand holding the watermelon very well, that is, the more obvious the vibration is felt by the hand holding the watermelon, the more ripe the watermelon is.

2. Look at the head and tail. A melon with symmetrical ends, deep depressions at the navel and stem, and fullness around is a good melon; a melon with a large head and a small tail or a pointed head and a thick tail is of poor quality.

3. Elasticity. If the melon skin is thin and easily broken by pressing with fingers, it is ripe melon; if it cracks when scratched with fingernails and the melon is soft, it is overripe melon.

4. Weigh it with your hands. If you feel it floating in the air, it is ripe; if you feel it sinking, it is raw.

5. Test the specific gravity. The melons that float upwards when put into the water are ripe, while the melons that sink are raw. (The bucket of water may be used by the merchant to wash hands)

6. Look at the size. In the same variety, bigger ones are better than smaller ones.

7. Observe the shape. Melons with neat and symmetrical bodies are growing normally and of good quality. Melons with deformed bodies are growing abnormally and of poor quality.

The role of watermelon rind

In traditional Chinese medicine, watermelon peel is called "watermelon green coat". It has the functions of clearing away heat and relieving summer heat, purging fire and relieving restlessness, lowering blood pressure, etc. It has certain effects on patients with anemia, dry throat, cleft lip, cystitis, hepatic ascites, and nephritis. In addition, because watermelon peel is rich in vitamins C and E, it can be used to rub the skin, or mash it into a mud and apply it on the skin, and then washed off with water after 10-15 minutes. It has the functions of nourishing, rejuvenating, beautifying the skin and preventing and treating prickly heat and furuncle.

1. Summer acne: 100g mung beans, add 1500ml water, boil, remove the mung beans 10 minutes after boiling, 500g watermelon rind (no need to peel), boil and cool. Drink the soup several times a day. The mung beans in the recipe are sweet and cool, which can reduce swelling, relieve gas, clear away heat and detoxify; the watermelon rind is sweet and cold, which can clear away heat and relieve summer heat, relieve restlessness and quench thirst.

2. Strengthen the spleen and relieve heat: 100 grams of fresh watermelon peel and 10 dates, boil them together and drink it as tea every day.

3. To enhance sexual performance: Cut the watermelon rind into shreds, blanch it in boiling water, remove it from the rind, and eat it with cooked shredded chicken and lean meat with seasonings.