Watermelons that are loved by many people during summertime can be disappointing with a strange taste or an unusual consistency of pulp. In this article, we will examine why yellow or whitish fibers are present in the pulp of a watermelon.
White veins in a watermelon - what is it?
The content of whitish and yellow veins in the watermelon pulp means a high content of nitrate, on which the melons were grown. These veins appear under the influence of chemicals (nitrates), which stimulate the development of both the whole plant and the ovary. In young fruits, the veins are white in color, and serve as the "arteries" through which nutrients enter.
Did you know? In Japan, farmers have been growing square watermelons for the past 40 years, placing the ovaries on their mother plants in cuboid guards.
Outside the human gastrointestinal tract, nitrates are not dangerous. Once inside the stomach, they are transformed into salts of nitric acid (nitrites), which are poison for the human body. The result of the presence of nitrites in the body is oxygen starvation of tissues, a decrease in the intake of vitamins from food, and the occurrence of thyroid disease.
Both nitrates and nitrites have a very unpleasant property, they can accumulate in the body, which enhances poisoning. Products with nitrates cannot be eaten, for an adult, the threshold for a safe dose of nitrates ends at 150-200 mg, a dose of 600 mg of this substance causes irreparable harm to health. For young children (up to 7 years old), a portion of products containing from 10 mg of nitrates is already threatening their health.
Symptoms of nitrate poisoning:
- indigestion, diarrhea;
- blue skin;
- cold sweat;
- low temperature;
- rapid and labored breathing.
Important! If a watermelon bought in winter is bitter, then the cause of bitterness is most likely ethylene gas, which is used for long-term storage of fruits grown in distant tropical countries. A watermelon with hard fibers and a cotton, loose, and even bitter core should not be eaten.
Other differences of unusable watermelon
Under the influence of nitrates, as well as other reasons, watermelons become unfit for human consumption. Coarse, inedible veins of white or yellow color appear among their flesh, or the inside of the fetus becomes white, loose or even bitter. Sometimes customers are disappointed with the bitter taste, tasting a red and juicy watermelon slice in the summer.
There may be several reasons:
- Consumers come across long-lying fruits that have lost their taste for natural reasons (fermentation, souring).
- Also, the taste of the middle of the fetus can be affected by a high nitrate content. Nitrate “spurred” the rapid development of the fetal mass, sometimes up to 10–20 kg. Striped fruits were allowed to lie in the sun for a week so that the fruits turned red inside, but since they did not ripen, their flesh did not acquire a sweet taste. As a result, fructose and glucose (5–6%) contained in melons and gourds quickly ferment into sucrose, after which the inside of the fruit begins to sour, and the taste changes to acidic or bitter.
- Also, the bitterness of unripe watermelon pumped with nitrates can give a large amount of cucurbitacin, which is practically not found in ripe melons. In green fruits, the content of cucurbitacin increases significantly.
Coarse Streaks
Nitrates provoke not only rapid fruit growth, but also rapid aging. In ripe fruits, white sinew blotches in the flesh become yellow, their structure coarsens and becomes stiff.
Did you know? In China, the skin of watermelons is often fried, stewed or pickled. And in the Middle East and in the Kalahari desert, black seeds are used to produce vegetable oil, which has easy digestibility and excellent skin moisturizer properties.
Sluggish, loose interior
The process, which began in the watermelon pulp simultaneously with the penetration of nitrates, continues after the crop is harvested. Chemicals no longer affect the growth of melons, but the effects on the tissue continue. This is used by unscrupulous melon growers to obtain fabulous profits from the sale of early watermelons. When the melons grown on saltpeter get the right size, they are torn off and driven immature over long distances.
During the time required for delivery, the flesh artificially ripens under the influence of nitrates. White nitrate vessels inside the pulp acquire a rough structure and yellow color. At this time, they are trying to sell them, since about a month after the watermelons were picked from the mother plants, the inside of the fetus changes and acquires a loose, dry and crumbly or slightly slippery, watery structure.
Also, cotton and not tasty watermelon pulp may indicate improper storage of the crop. If the fruit has long been plucked, but continues to lie in a place open to the sun (watermelon collapses, field), then after a short time it begins to dry out, lose juice, as evidenced by the appearance of dry white or pale brown grains in its pulp. Changes begin with the area around the seeds, gradually increasing the affected area.
Important! Since watermelons are an independent dish, doctors recommend eating sweet pulp no earlier than two hours before lunch or dinner, or two hours after eating.
Uneven coloring of pulp
Sometimes you can observe, especially on the first watermelons that were on sale, yellow seals or pale, white spots among the juicy, red pulp. This is a direct consequence of the fact that the culture was grown on nitrate, and the content of nitrates in the fetus exceeds the norm recommended by doctors several times. Randomly arranged, yellow or very pale pink dense areas of pulp can reach a diameter of 2 to 50 mm. The presence of spots in the pulp means that it is impossible to eat such a product as it contains a lot of extraneous chemicals.
How to check watermelon for nitrates at home?
Not everyone knows if early watermelons can be eaten. This is not worth doing, usually there is an increased dose of nitrates in them and, accordingly, the middle is penetrated by rigid veins. Fruits naturally grown in fields in the southern regions have been on sale since about mid-July. Late watermelons bought in October, even without the presence of nitrates, are likely to have flesh like cotton wool.
Did you know? Seedless watermelons are not the result of genetic modification. These are hybrids created by crossing a variety with 22 chromosomes with a variety having 44 chromosomes.
This is due to the fact that, after harvesting, gourds are not stored without loss of taste and consistency for more than two months. Testing the watermelon for nitrates should be carried out by a special laboratory, but there are some indirect signs indicating an increased content of nitric acid salt. Such a test can be carried out at home, independently, without resorting to laboratory tests.
How to check watermelon pulp for nitrates:
- Dip in a deep basin or bucket of water. A good watermelon will stay on the surface of the water, a drowned fruit is dangerous for health, as it contains a large amount of nitrates.
- Carefully inspect the watermelon pulp, the presence of whitish and yellow veins in it, indicates the presence of nitrates.
- Cut a small soft slice of watermelon pulp, place in a cup, and then knead with a teaspoon. The fruit mass is poured with a small amount of clean water and left to infuse for 15 minutes. The pulp that does not contain hazardous substances will give the water a pink tint and a slight turbidity. Nitrate pulp will color the water red, purple or poisonous pink. Such a fruit is dangerous; it must not be eaten by adults or children.
Video: how to check watermelon pulp for nitrates
How to choose a good watermelon?
Often in the market you can see such a picture, people, when choosing a watermelon, evaluate the sound coming from the fetus when tapped or look for other signs of ripeness. Indeed, there are methods for assessing watermelon ripeness, without violating the integrity of the fetus. Often such an assessment is necessary, since the mass of any watermelon is quite large, and the amount that you have to pay for it is also not small. Unripe watermelon has hard and not sweet flesh. In watermelons with a thick crust, the weight of the fetal shell is about 40 percent of the total mass.
Did you know? Watermelon contains lycopene, which is an antioxidant that reduces the risk of certain types of cancer.
In appearance
First you need to visually evaluate the fruits presented on the window. They should be well formed and not have mechanical damage or rotten areas on the shell.
The size and color of the earth spot
Particular attention should be paid to the yellow spot in the place where the fetus came into contact with the ground. It can be used to determine whether a melon crop was harvested at the right time or whether harvesting started too early. The brighter and more saturated the yellowness of the spot, the higher the watermelon maturity. If the entire shell is plain and does not have a yellow spot, the fruit was torn still green.
Dry stalk
The stem of a ripe watermelon will always be dry. If the stalk is green, strong and juicy - this is an indirect sign that the striped fruit is not ripe, and its taste will be better. Also, fans of this culture have long noticed that a dry brown spot, in the opposite part from the stem, should be extensive. Such fruits are called "watermelon". A small and small dry spot in this area by connoisseurs automatically classifies the fetus as a male, and they are skeptical of its palatability.
By weight
When choosing to compare, you can also raise several pieces of fruit and compare their weight with other samples of about the same size. The heavier and denser the watermelon, the more ripe and sweet it is. If, on the other hand, there are noticeable soft patches on the crust, then it is overripe and begins to deteriorate.
By sound
People who are experienced in melon breeding, by ear can assess the degree of watermelon ripeness. The ripened one responds with a drier and more booming sound than an immature specimen. A dull and fuzzy sound can be heard knocking on the bark of immature watermelons. To understand which striped fruit makes a clearer sound, you need to knock on several fruits, holding them in your hands and bringing them to your ear.
In order not to be disappointed, buying a watermelon on a hot summer day, you can apply the whole set of tricks: knock the fruit, squeeze it to a crunch or carefully examine the stalk. But the most reliable way to buy sweet striped fruit is to ask the seller to chop it and try a slice.
