HARVESTING IN THE MARKET

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Contrary to popular belief, it's easy to recognize ripe melons. A prime cantaloupe will be round, with no broken stem present. Its straw-colored, high netting will have no smooth patches. If you can hear the seeds rattle, or if there are hollows on the surface, the melon is overripe. Summer is cantaloupe season. Don't bother to buy them in spring or fall.

When choosing a honeydew, find one with a yellowish, slightly sticky rind. The whitish, smooth melons are green — and they won't ripen. Prime honeydews are usually available only in late August and September. Ask your grocer to help you learn the ripeness criteria of other specialty melons from your own region.

Citrus fruits are so familiar that you probably know a lot about them already. But don't forget that superior specimens are always heavy for their size. You can eliminate dry, overripe citrus by leaving the lighter fruits in the bin. The flavor of grapefruit depends upon the climate where it is grown. Those from Florida, Texas and Arizona are sweetest, and the new crops from these states mature in fall. By late spring the tart fruits from California fill the bins. Wide, flat grapefruits tend to have the larger segments.

It's best to select pineapples that are yellowish with no dark blemishes. At home, cut off the leaves without slicing into the fruit, and keep the pineapple in the refrigerator.

Only bright red, plump pomegranates contain premium dark, juicy seeds. To harvest the seeds without staining your clothing, put the fruit in a bowl of cold water. Beneath the surface, break the fruit and pull out the seeds. These will sink while the pulp will float. The seeds can be frozen dry for future use or whirled in the blender and strained to either make juice or be combined with sugar to make grenadine syrup.

Cherries are the least reliable of the nonclimacteric fruits. Unfortunately, the dark red color of market cherries often hides an insipid immaturity. Only the luscious treeripened cherries from your own garden, or those picked locally, will have the real cherry flavor that you want.

An Arizona study recently reported that 17% of the fruits purchased by the average household were thrown out in the garbage. If you follow a few simple selection and storage rules, however, you can eliminate that kind of waste from your kitchen, while you celebrate the rounding of the seasons with a constant variety of delicious ripe fruits.

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