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Fun article about how to pick a ripe melon

cherry — Tue, 28 May 2019 20:27:34 GMT

Can Nigerian Drumming Teach You to Pick the Perfect Watermelon?

Acoustics is here to help you find ripe produce.

by Reina Gattuso
May 23, 2019
Can Nigerian Drumming Teach You to Pick the Perfect Watermelon?
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A watermelon vendor in Nigeria. Kenogenic/CC BY-SA 4.0
For Ogbodo Nkiruka, the slap of a hand hitting a watermelon is a welcome melody. A fruit vendor who’s been selling watermelons from a roadside stand in the Nigerian city of Enugu for 15 years, she identifies the ripeness of her wares by ear. Each melon has its own music, a deep, hollow thump—ba ba, ba, ba— indicating a fruit that’s perfectly ripe.

When Stephen Gbakobachukwu Onwubiko, an independent acoustics researcher based in Nigeria, first stumbled across Nkiruka’s stand, the thwack of hand on watermelon struck him like a drum—literally. “Those pitches can be correlated with the Nigerian drum,” Onwubiko says. The sounds were so similar, in fact, he wondered whether Nigerian fruit sellers might be uniquely equipped to detect watermelon ripeness due to their familiarity with traditional drumming.

Onwubiko is specifically referring to the igba, a cylindrical drum played across Nigeria and particularly among Igbo people. Igbas are played at occasions ranging from festivals to funerals, and they come in many varieties. “There’s the male drum, the female drum,” says Onwubiko. “There are drums played for spirits, there are drums played for kings.” But the drums share a special attribute: They “talk.”

Skilled players can make the drum beats mimic the tones of spoken words, and before telecommunication, drum patterns were used to send messages across long distances. Today, many urban Nigerians, who didn’t grow up using drums this way, may not have as developed an ability to interpret the rhythms as their rural counterparts, says Onwubiko. Still, igba drumming remains a ubiquitous cultural form. So Onwubiko wondered: Could familiarity with igba drumming train fruit sellers’ ears to more easily detect the sound of a ripe watermelon?

Traditional drummers in Ekusa village, Nigeria. Hyperfocalstudios/CC BY-SA 4.0
To test the hypothesis, Onwubiko conducted a study with collaborators Traci Neilsen, associate professor of physics at Brigham Young University, and Andrea Calilhanna, a music researcher from the University of Sydney in Australia. Onwubiko interviewed fruit sellers in Nigeria, then recorded both the sound of an igba drum and the slap of a ripe watermelon. Neilsen translated that audio into a spectrogram, a visualization of the frequencies of the sound waves over time. By comparing the spectrograms of the ripe watermelon and the igba drum, the researchers found that the two sounds had a similar duration and initial frequencies, giving them a similar timbre or tone quality. The researchers theorize that the similarity between the drum sound and the watermelon slap may prime fruit sellers to more easily detect watermelon ripeness. “They have subconsciously or subliminally received ear training that makes it easier,” Neilsen says.
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Of course, Nkiruka, the Enugu watermelon seller, didn’t have to conduct a formal acoustical study to understand the similarity between Igba drumming and the hollow echo of a ripe watermelon. Instead, watermelon vendors’ knowledge is a form of “internalized, embodied acoustics,” Onwubiko says. This more subtle influence of sound on everything from our mood to our decision-making falls under the field of psychoacoustics, Onwubiko’s research specialty.

The technical definition of psychoacoustics labels it the study of the interplay between the physics of sound—the movement of sound waves through space—and its psychology, or how we perceive and understand it. For Onwubiko, however, the best definition of psychoacoustics is visceral. “There is a drum slapping that will give me goosebumps,” he says, whereas it may not affect a listener unaccustomed to Nigerian music. This difference in reactions is the domain of psychoacoustics, and it’s this deeper, more subliminal relationship between culture, psychology, and sound that may make Nigerian fruit sellers experts at detecting ripe watermelons.

The sweet sound of a perfect watermelon. Jamie Tubers/CC BY-SA 4.0
Neilsen, who presented the preliminary findings at a recent meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, says the group needs to conduct more research before they can precisely quantify the perfect ripe watermelon sound. Even at a preliminary stage, however, the group’s research suggests one answer to the age-old question facing anyone who taps on a watermelon at a supermarket or roadside stand.

“Everybody’s thumped a watermelon and wondered what they’re supposed to be listening for,” says Neilsen. It turns out we’ve been listening for the sweet beat of an igba drum all along.

This is what they sound like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58HlOU1zZmE

Re: Fun article about how to pick a ripe mellon

Sooner — Tue, 28 May 2019 16:56:50 GMT

Actually it is seismicity! That's one of three things I look for. I put my hands gently on either side of a watermelon and pat it with one hand. I can feel the vibrations with the other hand.

If I feel them too much, it is too ripe. Not enough and it is green. After some practive you'll get it!

Also, look for a green stem. If it still has some green, it hasn't been picked long. Dried up stem, it's been pulled a long time. GONE stem, probably is really old!

Then the light colored spot: If it is white/greenish white it is green/unripe, and won't ripen. It needs to be yellow! The yellower the better pretty much.

Re: Fun article about how to pick a ripe mellon

godi — Tue, 28 May 2019 20:23:11 GMT

I get a heavy one. I also look for yellow spot on bottom, the yellower the longer it ripened in the sun. I was never a thumper. Looks like I am going to give this a try! 🥁 🍉

Re: Fun article about how to pick a ripe mellon

cherry — Tue, 28 May 2019 20:42:13 GMT

I went to the market today and tried @Sooner advice. I could feel the sound waves on my hand as I touched the side of the melon I was tapping

It didn't exactly sound like the African drum, but it was close, I think. I didn't buy the melon though. It wasn't yellow enough, and I only get stripped melons

Re: Fun article about how to pick a ripe melon

cherry — Tue, 28 May 2019 20:35:25 GMT

MELONS are a mystery. Knowing the condition of the flesh beneath the variously smooth, pebbled, monochrome, striated, mottled or ridged skins takes detective work, a keen eye for the right clues.

"You see people shaking melons, tapping them, smelling them and holding them up to their ears all the time," said Charles Balducci, the produce director for Balducci's in Greenwich Village. "That's about as useful as kicking the tires when you buy a car. You judge a melon mostly by looking at it."

Then comes the moment of truth. Cutting the melon open can be like unwrapping a wonderful gift. Or the booby prize. Around 1600, a time when melons were the rage in Europe and cultivated on aristocratic estates, Claude Mermet, a French poet, observed that with melons as with friends, 50 had to be tried to find a good one.

The quality of a melon has broader implications than something like a single peach or a passing acquaintance. Most melons are communal fruit, large enough to provide at least two servings and sometimes more than a dozen portions.

Although melons of one sort or another are in the market all year, the best time to buy them is August and September, when there is the widest selection. Currently, there are about 15 kinds of melons available in most parts of the country, reassuring for consumers who may be leery of cantaloupes after the outbreak earlier this summer of salmonella poisoning attributed to tainted melons.

Besides cantaloupes, and beyond the familiar honeydews and watermelons there are casabas, Crenshaws and even some special small French-style melons with names like French morning and French afternoon. Others, like the ogen and galia, are grown in Israel.

It is impossible to generalize about selecting melons because the characteristics that indicate fine quality differ for each variety. With some there should be more green or gold, with others less, for example; some should be smoother and others rougher.

If the melon is rough at the stem end, suggesting that it was cut, not merely lifted off the vine, it is a sure sign it will not be ripe. A sufficiently mature melon does not need to be cut, or as they say in the trade, is "full slip." On the other hand, melons with soft areas should also be avoided. It is also useful to know that the variously white, gold, salmon or green flesh of melons may soften and mellow but does not ripen further once the melon has been picked. And with melons, lush sweetness is all.

How good a melon is depends on the grower and on the produce market. Don Smith, the president of Turlock Fruit Company in Turlock, Calif., said that managers of supermarket chains, especially in the New York and New Jersey area, "demand green honeydews that are like cement so they have more shelf life."

He said his honeydews, one of eight varieties of melon he grows, are picked too ripe for these chains. But melons bearing one of his labels, Sycamore, are especially sought-after by discriminating produce managers for their sweetness.

Compared with smooth-skinned supermarket honeydews, Sycamores look ready for the dermatologist, their skins riddled with thin veins of brown webbing and freckling. But that's an indication of high sugar content. "Cosmetically they are not the most desirable," he said, "and they'd never make it through the gate at the chains." But one must remember that it's the inside of the melon that's eaten.

Other, less common types of melons are also being found more often in markets that carry fine produce. Joseph Doria, an owner of Grace's Marketplace in Manhattan, is excited about some of the experimental new melons being grown in California and now available in limited quantities.

"They're very sweet and they're small, so one or two people can eat them in a single sitting," he said.

Lynn Bagley, the executive director of the Marin County, Old Oakland, Vallejo and Novato Farmers' Markets in the San Francisco Bay Area, said there are more than ever this year. It seems that growers are always coming up with new ones, or new versions of old ones.

She mentioned the large crane melon, which is grown only in Sonoma County and has green and yellow speckled skin and orange flesh, and the ambrosia, which is like an extra-juicy cantaloupe. She said there is a huge variety called Kharboozah with crunchy white flesh that originated in northern Iran.

As a matter of fact, except for watermelons, which came from Africa, melons originated in the region of ancient Persia. They probably grew in the gardens of Babylon and are mentioned in the Bible. The name cantaloupe comes from the Papal domain of Cantalupo, near Tivoli on the outskirts of Rome, where melon seeds brought from Armenia were planted in the 14th century.

Melons are members of the same family, the Cucurbitaceae, as the winter squashes, which are essentially their New World counterparts. Squashes existed in abundance in the Americas but melons were brought by European settlers. The winter melon used in Chinese cooking is not a melon but a type of squash.

This weekend, for the third year in a row, the Old Oakland Farmers' Market is holding a melon tasting to introduce consumers to many of these varieties.

"The tasting is a way to get people to try the unfamiliar melons without them having to buy a whole melon," Ms. Bagley said.

"Consumers won't find any of these melons in the supermarkets until they become more popular. But people are interested in trying them because they get bored with the same old cantaloupes, honeydews and watermelons."

That is, if they can find a good one. Telling a Crenshaw From a Santa Claus

CANTALOUPE, the most popular melon grown in America, is round, fairly small, with dense, nut-sweet orange flesh and skin covered with a tight web of netting.

When ripe, the skin under the netting should be a sandy gold color, not green or bright orange. The Hand brand, grown in limited quantities in the Hudson Valley, are particularly fine cantaloupes.

In light of the outbreak of salmonella poisoning earlier this summer attributed to tainted cantaloupes, the Federal Government recommends that consumers wash melons thoroughly, cut them with clean knives, keep them refrigerated as long as possible before serving and leave them at room temperature for no more than four hours. Melon that is bought pre-cut is likely to pose more of a risk than whole melons.

CASABA, a rounded oval melon usually about a foot long, has ridged, pale yellow skin and creamy white, moderately sweet flesh. There should be no green in the skin.

CRENSHAW, sometimes known as Cranshaw, is a large melon -- up to 10 pounds -- with a flattened oval shape, a relatively small seed cavity and thick, dense, pale orange, extremely succulent flesh. The yellow to greenish skin has shallow ridges. When ripe, the skin should yield slightly to the touch.

FRENCH AFTERNOON is similar to the Charentais (also called Cavaillon), the most popular melon in France. It is the size of a large grapefruit, with smooth, greenish skin sectioned in darker stripes and very sweet orange flesh.

FRENCH MORNING looks like the French afternoon but has refreshing green flesh that is less sweet than the French afternoon.

GALIA melons were developed in Israel and named for the grower's daughter. Israel is still the source of the best ones, although some are now grown in Central America. The galia looks like a cantaloupe, but somewhat yellower under the netting, and the flesh is greenish, like a honeydew.

HONEYDEW, the third most common variety in this country after cantaloupe and watermelon, has pastel green flesh that, at its best, is delectably sweet.

The skin should be creamy white with a matte, almost velvety, finish, not shiny or greenish. Yellowing is an indication of overripeness. A fine network of brown veins or freckles on the skin indicates high sugar content. Honeydews bearing labels from Turlock, Calif., are usually of excellent quality.

JUAN CANARY is a bright yellow football-shaped melon with mellow, fairly firm white flesh. Some rough veining at the ends means sweetness.

MUSKMELON is a larger, juicier, often sweeter and highly perfumed version of the cantaloupe that is grown in the Northeast this time of year. These melons have segmented skins and are larger and usually paler than cantaloupes, with a coarser pattern of netting.

OGEN, or ha-ogen, is small and has smooth green skin with stripes that divide it in sections and delicate green flesh. It is grown in Israel but is said to have first been developed in Hungary.

ORANGE FLESH HONEYDEW is an old-fashioned melon coming back into favor. Buyers should seach for the same characteristics as for regular honeydews, except that there is an orange blush to the skin when ripe. The flesh is rich and sweet.

PERSIAN melons are similar to cantaloupes but very large, usually weighing at least five pounds. It is difficult to find one that has ripened evenly. There should be as little dark green as possible under the netting on the skin.

SANTA CLAUS is an oval greenish-fleshed melon about a foot long with slightly crisp, mildly sweet flesh. The skin is streaked yellow and green. The melon is riper when there is more green. It is a late-season melon; hence the name.

SATICOY is similar to a cantaloupe but is oval, not round, has coarse netting like a muskmelon and has an extremely lush flavor.

SHARLYN, also cantaloupe size, is a rounded oval with netted skin, similar to a Persian melon but with sweet white, not orange, flesh. The skin should be yellow under the netting.

WATERMELONS now come in several varieties, including small, round Sugar Babies; seedless, and yellow fleshed.

Small watermelons, often called ICEBOX MELONS because they may be conveniently stored, tend to have properly crisp flesh and fewer seeds, but the advantage to buying a cut piece of watermelon is that the flesh is visible. It should be deep red and look smooth, not broken or grainy.

Re: Fun article about how to pick a ripe melon

Ms tyrion2 — Tue, 28 May 2019 20:55:04 GMT

Thanks for the list @cherry .

Some of these varieties look wonderful.

I'll add another form of cantaloupe. The Tuscan variety is delicious. Sweeter and juicier than the regular one. I always judge cantaloupe by smell. If there is a good cantaloupe scent at the bud end, it usually means a good melon.

Re: Fun article about how to pick a ripe melon

cherry — Tue, 28 May 2019 21:19:56 GMT

@Ms tyrion2 Sooners tip seems to work too. I just got back from getting more flowers and I had another look at the melons. They had the striped ones ,but they were so big, I didn't think we could eat that much melon.

Re: Fun article about how to pick a ripe melon

cherry — Tue, 28 May 2019 21:33:10 GMT

These simple, striking parfaits are the kind of dessert that wows guests but requires barely more effort than cutting fruit. Ripe watermelon cubes and coconut sorbet taste delicious (and look gorgeous) together, needing only pinches of lime zest for a tropical inflection and toasted coconut for crunch.

Source: Martha Stewart Living, July 2011
10 mins 10 mins Makes 6
Total Time Prep Yield

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut flakes

• 2 pints store-bought coconut sorbet

• 2 cups cubed (1/2 inch) watermelon

• Finely grated lime zest, for sprinkling

Directions

• 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake coconut flakes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet until toasted, about 3 minutes.

• 2. Divide half the sorbet among 6 tall glasses using a 2 1/4-inch ice cream scoop. Top each with a layer of watermelon, another scoop of sorbet, and then more watermelon. Sprinkle with lime zest and toasted coconut.