The reasons why watermelon is bitter and is it possible to eat such a fruit
On a hot summer day, the juicy pulp of a watermelon is pleasantly refreshing. Both adults and children love this berry. But it happens that a beautiful, good-looking fruit turns out to be completely tasteless or even bitter. Why watermelon is bitter and whether it is dangerous to eat - let's figure it out in this article.
The content of the article
Reasons for the bitterness of watermelon
The bitter pulp of a watermelon is not only disappointment and spoiled mood. Such a product can cause serious health problems. The main reasons for the spoiled taste are improper fertilization, violation of storage and transportation rules.
Chemicals
Most of all taste striped berries suffer from treatment with harmful substances during cultivation - saltpeter, nitrates, pesticides. Unscrupulous farmers use chemical additives to accelerate the ripening of fruits, improve their appearance and resistance to transportation. Melon lovers know that in August-September they are safer and tastier. During this period, the likelihood of encountering a nitrate specimen decreases.
To detect the presence of chemicals, you need to inspect the watermelon. Specks on the skin are signs of an injection and should alert you. Hollows, purple veins in the pulp of the fruit indicate nitrate damage, white or yellow veins in the section of the berry indicate nitrate poisoning.
Attention! You can check for the presence of nitrates without a special device. Mash a piece of pulp in a glass of water. If the liquid turns pink, then the fruit has been treated with chemicals.
Growing errors
The taste and quality of the fruit is seriously affected by the cultivation technology. With an insufficient number of pollinating insects, incomplete fertilization of flowers occurs. The fruits start to rot.
The aromatic and tasty pulp of the berry can only please if you follow agricultural techniques. The defeat of watermelons with powdery mildew and various types of rot causes great damage to the crop. To avoid problems, when growing this plant, it is necessary to take into account the temperature regime, choose fertile soils, and carry out timely watering.
Varietal features
Bitterness can also be caused by a special type of watermelon. An example of this is colocynth. It is called a bitter cucumber, a bitter apple. This perennial, climbing plant belongs to the Pumpkin family, and outwardly resembles the sweet varieties of watermelon. It grows mainly in Arabia, North Africa and India.
Important! Colocynth fruit should not be eaten, as they contain glycosides and can cause severe diarrhea.
Storage errors
Failure to comply with storage rules also negatively affects the taste of watermelon. A watermelon can lie for 3-4 months at a temperature of + 2 ... + 8 ° C in an unlit room. If the necessary conditions are not maintained during storage and delivery, bacteria begin to enter the fetus through microcracks in the crust. In a humid and warm environment, they actively multiply, which leads to berry spoilage and provokes a bitter, sour taste.
Watermelon loses its original qualities and begins to taste bitter even if stored for too long.
Cutting a watermelon before selling
You cannot buy cut watermelons, since the cut site becomes an object of accumulation of harmful microorganisms. The pulp of the fruit is an excellent medium for their reproduction and nutrition. When buying half a berry, you may find that its taste is much worse, and the core is very bitter.
Attention! Rospotrebnadzor forbids selling watermelons cut into pieces. The use of such fruits in food often leads to poisoning.
Is it okay to eat bitter watermelon
Regardless of why the berry turned out to be bitter, it is better to refrain from eating it. If the cause of bitterness is chemicals, it is quite possible that the content of nitrates exceeds the permissible values, which means that the pulp contains a substance that is toxic to humans - cucurbitacin.
If the growing and storage conditions have been violated, the purchased copy will be damaged inside. You should not risk your health and consume fruits that are in doubt.
How to choose a watermelon without bitterness
Choose a sweet, ripe berry will be helped by knowing some rules:
- you should not buy melons before August;
- naturally ripened watermelons weigh 5-7 kg;
- a good specimen is slightly elongated or spherical;
- the peel of the fruit should be smooth, glossy, without visible damage;
- if you run your fingernail over the peel, it begins to exude a pleasant, fresh aroma;
- the pattern on the bark in the form of stripes should be clear;
- when tapping on the surface, a ripe berry makes a sonorous sound, and when squeezed with the palms it crunches a little;
- a small yellow or orange spot on the side of the fruit indicates its natural ripening;
- the stalk must be dry.
Don't shop near highways. Watermelons absorb exhaust fumes and quickly deteriorate in the sun.
Why there is bitterness in the mouth after watermelon
Watermelons are very beneficial for the body. They contain many vitamins and minerals, improve digestion, and remove toxins. Low-calorie juicy pulp. But if a copy of inadequate quality gets on the table, the consequences may not be the most unpleasant.
The first signs of poisoning appear after 1-5 hours and are accompanied by intestinal discomfort, nausea and dizziness. This suggests that this has got into the body with the pulp amount of nitrates and pathogens, which he is not able to neutralize on his own.
A bitter taste in the mouth after eating a watermelon is a dangerous symptom... Unpleasant sensations after a meal can be a sign of liver damage. Watermelon increases the secretion of bile, and it does not have time to be excreted from the body. Anxiety cannot be ignored, urgent measures must be taken.
To find out the cause of bile stagnation and start treatment, you should contact a therapist for a comprehensive examination, which includes palpation of the liver area, biochemical blood test, liver function tests, urinalysis, ultrasound of the abdominal organs.
It is worth noting the choleretic effect of striped berries, which can provoke a bitter aftertaste if a person has pancreatic diseases.
It is interesting:
We buy harmless vegetables: how to test potatoes for nitrates.
Conclusion
When purchasing a watermelon, it is important to remember that only a high-quality product grown in compliance with all technologies brings benefits to the body. Therefore, its choice must be taken seriously, because the use of berries with bitterness is dangerous to health.
The simple recommendations outlined in the article will help prevent the purchase of harmful and bitter copies and protect yourself from poisoning.