Cantaloupes -how do u know when its ripe

Question

i always always always buy a cantaloupes thats either not ripe enough or so ripe its gross i know know to buy them if they have like black on em and bad spots but ya than

Answer 1

A ripe cantaloupe will have an overall orange color, and will have a "cantaloupe" smell.

Most supermarket cantaloupes, watermelon, and tomatoes are picked before they ripen on the vine, and are shipped to market in trucks while the fruit ripens. You can buy a beautiful tomato at the market; but, when you eat it, it tastes like newspaper. Watermelon and cantaloupe are the same--they look ripe; but, when you cut into them--eat them--they are tasteless.

Just this past week, my mother purchased 10 pounds of "home-grown" tomatoes for me. These tomatoes were beautiful, and yes they may have been home-grown; but, they were not "vine ripened". These tomatoes were tasteless, and my mother paid a little over $2 a pound for these "tasteless" tomatoes.

Caveat Emptor.

Answer 2

If they smell sweet then they are ripe. Its not always how they look, if they are green though on the outside then they arent ripe. If they are light tan/beige they are ripe.  

Answer 3

A ripe cantaloupe should have a very sweet fragrance.  Also push on the opposite end of the stem, it looks like a watermelon bellybutton and it should give a little.  If it is hard when you push on it, it is not ripe.

Cantaloupes will ripen after they are picked so if you pick one that is under ripe, you can wait a few days until you can smell it. The inside color underneath the rind should be a golden/orange color.  If it is green, it is not ripe.

Answer 4

There are several ways people use to pick a ripe cantaloupe, I go by outside appearance. Look for an all over creamy color in between the "webbing". If it is green it's not ripe. A little green is OK. Of course you want the melon to be firm also.