# Cantelopes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2004, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756 "2004-08-27T06:16:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/1 "2004-08-27T06:16:47Z")
I just ate half one and it was delicious. But kinda tough. Ususally I let them sit for a couple days but this one I didn’t. Question: How does one tell when a melon is ready to eat? My girlfreind told me to “Thump” it. How the hell does that tell you anything? 😕 Confused in NC ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/2 "2004-08-27T06:24:37Z")
You knock on it with your knuckles. When it sounds slightly hollow, it’s ready to it. Hard to explain, but you know it when you know it. Next time you’re at the grocery, knock on a few melons and listen to the different sounds. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/3 "2004-08-27T06:25:38Z")
Damn! Damn! By “ready to it” I of course mean “ready to eat”. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/4 "2004-08-27T06:28:12Z")
When I buy rockmelons (which is what we call canteloupes here), I just make sure that they’re firm and that they smell fresh. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/5 "2004-08-27T07:20:23Z")
The stem scar should smell ripe. ---
**Author:** ![Sharky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Sharky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharky)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/6 "2004-08-27T07:47:55Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > The stem scar should smell ripe. And it should be soft. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/7 "2004-08-27T07:58:02Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > The stem scar should smell ripe. Yeah, sniff a cantalope, thump a watermelon. Also, don’t buy it if it’s “squishy” because it’s too ripe. The stem scar should be soft, but the rest of the melon should be firm. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sharky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Sharky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharky)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/8 "2004-08-27T08:11:58Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > Yeah, sniff a cantalope, thump a watermelon. Also, don’t buy it if it’s “squishy” because it’s too ripe. The stem scar should be soft, but the rest of the melon should be firm. 🙂 That’s what I meant to say - the stem scar, not the melon, should be soft. I should have been more specific. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/9 "2004-08-27T12:28:28Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > The stem scar should smell ripe. If you have a cold you can also look at the stem scar. Dark green = not ripe. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/10 "2004-08-27T13:13:16Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Next time you’re at the grocery, knock on a few melons and listen to the different sounds. So I went to the grocery store and began fiddling with various melons… Sound #1: Shocked women’s shrieks and cries for help. Sound #2: The impact of hands, purses, and other handy items with my head and neck. Sound #3: the pounding feet of clerks, security guards, and other customers. Sound #4: Voices hurling insults, threats, and demands that I never return, as I am “escorted” out of the store. 😃😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/11 "2004-08-27T15:10:48Z")
Eating fruit at various stages of rot is a personal preference. If you like your 'lopes soft, then you want the less firm/solid sounding ones. For example, tap your desk. Hear that firm clear sound? Now tap your seat cushion. See how that softness cuts down on the thud? Tapping melons can yield somewhat similar results. Generally, if you want the meat soft, choose the softest mellon and the stem area should be getting soft, too. Sure, if the 'lope is too soft…it’s too rotted. So, you’ll have to go the trial by error route. (there’s porno in that post somewhere.) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/12 "2004-08-27T15:39:45Z")
The stem on a ripe canteloupe will easily come loose, or **slip.** If the stem slip hole is “clean”, (most of them are) it was ripe when picked. I look for close netting, and if the rind behind the netting is green, I don’t buy that one. The firmness depends mostly on the rainfall where the melon was grown. Lots of rain means more water in the fruit. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/13 "2004-08-27T15:57:56Z")
“At any vegetable market From Borneo to Nome You mustn’t squeeze a melon 'Til you get the melon home.” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/14 "2004-08-27T19:56:58Z")
Ogden Nash - The Cantaloupe “One cantaloupe is ripe and lush, Another’s green, another’s mush. I’d buy a lot more cantaloupe If I possessed a fluoroscope.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/15 "2004-08-28T02:56:11Z")
Heck, Picking out the good cataloupes is very easy. A rind that’s just a smidgen soft and a slightly hollow sound and you can’t go wrong. I’d like some way to know about honeydew. The flesh in those damn things is always white, hard, and lacking flavor, or else it’s an overripe green goo-pile inside. Damn if I can fighure out how to tell from the outside. Suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/16 "2004-08-29T03:38:03Z")
When a honeydew tells you to clean out the garage, it’s ready. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Kegg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Kegg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kegg)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/17 "2004-08-29T10:18:35Z")
A ripe cantalop is yellow under the webbing when ripe. * * * Spelling and grammer subject to change without notice. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantelopes/261756/18 "2004-08-29T21:39:05Z")
Has anybody else tried the [Orange Flesh Honeydew](http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Fruits/OrangeHdew.html)? It looks like a honeydew on the outside, but inside it looks like a cantaloupe. It has the flavor of a cantaloupe, but it is much sweeter. It is a specialty melon so it is kind of hard to find, but if you see them, try it. It’s like a super-sweet cantaloupe.