Andy wrote on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:04:20 -0500:

>> Wayne wrote on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:32:22 GMT:
>>
>>>> Andy wrote on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:31:38 -0500:
>>>>
>>>>> Who shops using grocery delivery?
>>>>
>>>>> I saw a grocery delivery truck pull into my neighbor's
>>>>> driveway a couple weeks ago.
>>>>
>>>>> I'm good at on-line shopping my ACME supermarket for
>>>>> ideas. Also have a few other local market "coupon" pages
>>>>> out of curiosity.
>>>>
>>>>> I've never bought food over www but that IS an interesting
>>>>> option.
>>>>
>>>>> I don't think I want an ACME anybody employee picking out
>>>>> my steak.
>>>>
>>>>> You?
>>>>
>>>> It's hard to imagine being so busy that I would have
>>>> someone else select meat or vegetable produce for me. A
>>>> particular example is bananas where I select 4 or 5 with
>>>> colors ranging from completely green to nearly complete
>>>> yellow to allow ripening. I'd never buy melons, pears or
>>>> kiwis without prodding them.
>>>>
>>> So *you're* the one whose been prodding those melons! :-)
>>
>> LOL, but what's your advice on melon selection? Mine is not
>> completely infallible but the melon should give slightly if
>> pushed at the stem end. I've seen people shaking them and
>> listening to the sound made when tapping with knuckles but
>> those don't give *me* any useful information.

> James,

> I have heard of the "thumping" method but don't know the
> science behind that..

> I seem to recall smelling the rear end of the melon for
> fragrance was a way to judge melons. Or was that pineapples?

A ripe melon does have a faint pleasant smell as does a ripe pineapple.
Most satisfactory pineapples that I have bought have had an overall
yellow tint. The old trick whereby if you can lift it by one top leaf,
it is not ripe, usually works but last week some guests gave me a
perfectly good pineapple with firmly attached leaves.


--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not