They bruise easily and decay rapidly. Firm-ripe peaches may be kept at room temperature for a few days to fully ripen. Refrigerate fully ripe peaches until ready to use. Pears are ripe when they yield to gentle thumb pressure at the neck. Honeydew and cantaloupe are ripe when the ends of the melon yield slightly to pressure and they have a distinctly sweet fragrance.
Ripe cantaloupe is uniformly flesh-colored on the outside, with little or no green.
Honeydew has a velvety feel and a yellowish white to creamy rind. If the stem is still attached, the melon was picked before it was ripe. This is true for peaches, oranges and nectarines, too. Melons can be stored for several days in a cool place away from sunlight. For greater variety of color in your fruit and vegetable selections, try eggplant, red cabbage, raspberries, cherries and blueberries.