Knock test When is the pumpkin edible?

Pumpkin: Knock and taste test for the right maturity

21/10/2013

Whether from the store, from the market or fresh from the garden. Fall is pumpkin high season. A ripe and edible copy is best recognized by doing knock and taste tests.

If it is a mature specimen, you hear a hollow, dull sound when you knock on the shell. The absence of the stalk could be an indication that putrefactive bacteria have already entered the pumpkin, or the fruit has dried out, explains the consumer information service aid in Bonn. Smaller pumpkins usually have more flavor, fewer fibers and thus firmer pulp. If the pumpkin has a woody stalk, this also speaks for a purchase. If the pumpkin comes from its own garden, the consumer can also make a taste test and try a small piece of raw. It should be with a bitter taste to dispose of the vegetables, because the bitter substances can lead to mucous membrane irritation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

These so-called Cucurbitacine arise from unintentional crosses, which are also found in edible gourds. According to the aid, they are usually stuck only in ornamental gourds. You can usually recognize these by pointing out that they should not be eaten. (Fr)

Picture: Joujou