Melons
Partially adapted from: The Cook's Thesaurus
Would you believe that melons, squash, and cucumbers are all members of the same botanical family? Well, they are, and as members of the Cucurbitaceae,or gourd family, they all grow on vines.
Melons are great all by themselves, though some people like to perk up their flavor by sprinkling lemon juice, salt, or liqueur on them. Look for three things when selecting a melon: (1) Was it picked too soon? Each variety turns a certain color at maturity. If your melon isn't the right color, reject it. (2) Is it damaged? If it has soft spots, cracks, or mold, reject it. (3) Is it ripe? Even mature melons may need a few days to ripen fully.
If a melon flunks either of the first two tests, don't buy it. If it passes those tests, but isn't ripe, just leave it on your kitchen counter for a few days until it reaches full flavor. All melons should also be heavy for their size.
It is very important to always wash the exterior surface of melons with soap and water before cutting.
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This looks and tastes like a cantaloupe, but the flesh is a brighter orange. Ambrosia melons have an elongated shape, softer flesh and luscious and aromatic flavor. |
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Canaries should, at a minimum, have bright yellow rinds. Juan Canary is another yellow melon that is oval and smooth, almost like yellow honeydew. The pale green flesh is sweet and fragrant. |
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The American cantaloupe is the most nutritious melon of all and is related to the squash family. Cantaloupes have the high water content and low calorie count of the summer squash and the high levels of beta-carotene, potassium and Vitamin C found in winter squash like pumpkins and butternut squash. It has light beige skin and firm orange flesh. |
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This bright yellow melon has a ribbed, wrinkled rind. The flesh is pale and sweet, but does not have a lot of flavor. Casaba are a somewhat round melon with a ridged skin that is bright yellow with a greenish cast. The flesh is green, juicy, and lightly sweet. |
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Grown mainly in France, this is another melon in the cantaloupe group. The skin is rough like a cantaloupe, except it also has shallow segments on the outside. |
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This melon-cantaloupe cross is exceptionally juicy and flavorful, but it's hard to find outside of Sonoma County, California. |
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| Cranshaw or Crenshaw Melon |
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This is a cross between a Casaba and a Persian melon. Smooth yellow-green rind with shallow grooves. The rind color changes from predominantly green to a yellow-gold tint when it is ripe, with an aromatic flesh that is sweet, juicy, and lightly spiced.The rinds come in two colors: yellow and creamy white. The yellow ones taste better. |
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This sweet, juicy melon is a honeydew-cantaloupe cross. Its biggest drawback is its relatively high price. |
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These large, choice melons have either green or orange flesh. As honeydews ripen, they turn from green to creamy white to yellow. A perfectly ripe honeydew will yield just a bit to pressure at the blossom end and have a sticky, velvety rind. |
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This is a very crunchy, mildly sweet melon. |
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This melon has a gorgeous orange rind with spikes--poke a stick in it The yellow-green flesh has the consistency of jello, and tastes a bit like cucumbers.The spiny fruits have a bland citrus or banana-like flavor. The fruit pulp can be strained to make a juice. The fruit turns bright orange when it is ripe. The ripe interior has a lime green jelly-like flesh with large seeds. |
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This melon hails from Israel, and it's very highly regarded by melon fans. |
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These are large, round melons. Avoid Persian melons that have green backgrounds below the netting--they were picked too early. When ripe melons are picked, the stem falls off easily, leaving a small, clean depression. |
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This is distinguished mostly by its long shelf life--you can store an uncut Santa Claus melon for several months. They have thick rinds, so don't bother smelling them for ripeness--they don't give off much of an aroma. |
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When ripe, this has an orange background with green netting. It's very perishable, so don't wait more than two days after getting it home to eat it. |
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In seedless watermelons (genetic triploids), rudimentary seed structures form but remain small, soft, white, tasteless and undeveloped tiny seedcoats that are eaten virtually undetected along with the flesh of the melon.Watermelon is also high in Vitamin C and Vitamin A, Watermelons are low in calories and very nutritious. |
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| Yellow Melon or Dua Gan or Korean Melon |
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These melons are small, about the size of medium papaya. They taste like cantaloupe, but with firmer flesh. |
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