Q&A for How to Buy a Cantaloupe

Have you tried it? It may be true; I test cantaloupe by smelling the bottom of the melon. If it smells like melon, it's ripe.

If the cantaloupe has not yet been cut, it will continue to ripen if left unrefrigerated. However, if your cantaloupe is cut and left out, it has a higher chance of mold growth and overripeness.

The smell of alcohol in fruit means the melon is fermented, which may be bad for you (depending on the type of fruit and how long it has been fermenting).

If it's a farm, you will probably be told to pick it too green. Ripe means a nice smell on the blossom end and a depression on the stem end because the stem is about to let go. It should pull off easily without being cut.

A few dimples indicates the fruit is ripening. I watch for several to appear before I cut into mine.

It has either begun to ferment or it was grown with insufficient water, minerals or light, or maybe it's not a cantaloupe.

It probably wasn't ripe or you just got a bad one. When you get a ripe one, the taste is entirely different from a cucumber.

It is not recommended to eat it, as the mold spores will spread through the entire fruit and it will not be safe for you to consume.

Cantaloupe does not need to be refrigerated prior to eating.