Melons! How do you pick a good one?

Today, I learned something new about picking produce, cantaloupes in particular. Earth Fare had a wonderful coupon earlier in the week for a free cantaloupe, that I wanted to make use of.

When picking a melon, I always smell it to see if it has a nice aroma. I also press on the navel end (end opposite the stem) to see how soft the melon is. The softer the feel, the riper the melon.

I learned today that the navel end can also help you identify the fruit as a male or female. Cantaloupe plants has two flower types, male flowers and complete flowers (having both male and female parts).

The way you tell a male is the navel end rings will be smaller. The female will have larger rings. The "female" melons will also be sweeter because they have a higher sugar content.