If you’ve ever been to a restaurant and ordered fresh fruit, you’ve most likely received some sort of melon. Up until recently, I didn’t go out of my way to buy melon, primarily because I’d had more than my fair share of bland, uninteresting bites. However, when you start to expand your melon horizon to new varieties and freshly grown melons, there’s a whole new world of summer beauty to be eaten.
There are quite a few melon varieties, well beyond the honeydew and muskmelon stocked in stores. Melons are technically a vegetable, related to winter squash. This particular page is for the Cucumis melon, which excludes the watermelon. Melons are high in water content and best when sliced up fresh for a sweet summer snack. Occasionally, I puree melons and make a refreshing sorbet.
Summer
Melons are typically consumed as a snack in my house, but ripe melon is beautiful(and delicious in summer salads, in cocktails, or as a chilled summer soup.
Look for melons that feel heavy and void of soft spots, dents, or cuts. To tell if a melon is ripe, press on the end that connected the melon to the vine. If it gives a bit, the melon is ripe. You can also smell this area, and if it’s fragrant, it’s ripe.
Despite their hard exterior, melons can become over ripe quickly. If you purchase an unripe melon, leave it on the counter for a few days, up to a week. For ripe melons, either purchased or ripened on the counter, cut and transfer to the refrigerator in an airtight container. Prepared melon with last for a couple of days.
Cantaloupe
Casaba
Crenshaw
Honeydew
Netted (muskmelon)
Persian
Sprite
