Fruit – When should I pick elderberries

I don't believe there is a fool-proof way to determine 'ripeness' without taking a slice out of it. The best you can do is look for certain signs:

• Ripe melons have a hollow sound when you tap or slap the outside
• Look for the patch where the melon would have been on the ground (called the field spot). If it's a yellow colour its probably ripe, if it's white, it's probably not.
• It should feel relatively heavy when lifted
• Weird areas on the skin aren't necessarily bad. insects may have tried to start eating the fruit because it is ripe, but have only marred the surface.

Unfortunately, melons don't continue to ripen once picked, unlike fruits such as apples, bananas etc. which contain ethylene. As a tip don't store melons with these kinds of fruit, they may well go 'soggy'.

Extra: NYtimes video on picking the right watermelon.

In the case of most bush berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) depth of color and ease of picking are the most indicative signs of ripeness. The berries that are on the sunniest side of the bushes will ripen first. The greater more sun exposure they receive the quicker they ripen, thus the reason that a grouping of berries even in one area will ripen at different rates.

Many people say that the larger berries are sweeter but my experience is that is more anecdotal than preciese. Most fruits will be more plump with access to more water during the growing season but that doesn't necessarily make them sweeter. Grapes that have to struggle generally tend to produce better wines with more concentrated flavor because the natural sugars aren't watered down by high quantities of water.

To reiterate, look for deep dark color and ease of picking.