How to tell if a cantaloupe at the market is ripe?
. The cantaloupe is ready to harvest when the stem easily separates from the fruit. To avoid over-ripening, harvest cantaloupes before they naturally separate from the vine. The best way to check maturity of cantaloupes is to place your thumb beside the stem and gently apply pressure to the side. If the stem separates easily, the cantaloupe is ripe. 1 To ensure that you pick the right melon choose one that has no soft spots and locate the stem end. You can determine the stem end by comparing both ends and choosing the one where the center spot is slightly indented, as though you pressed it in with your thumb. 2 Take a nice, deep smell of the stem end with your nose about 3 inches away. If the melon smells so good that you want to cut it open and sink a spoon into it, it is ready for you to take it home. Overall Tips & Warnings If it is early in the season, you may need to compare several melons to pick the ripest one of the bunch. If the smell isn’t quite ‘ready’, let your melon sit on
