The melon

“Melon” or cantaloupes started hitting the local markets almost a month ago, slightly earlier than usual, and many of them sweeter and more flavorful. It must have been the monthlong spell of hot dry weather that preceded their harvest. The early indicators were promising for a summer filled with juicy and delicious melon. But it isn’t always that way.  

Some years the cantaloupes are less than appealing – watery, flavorless and lacking sweetness. I don’t know for sure, but I think weather plays a particularly important role in the resulting quality of cantaloupes in a given year. They need lots of moisture to thrive and grow, but a final month of intense summer heat to ensure that they are packed with flavor, meaty and sweet. These are the same kind of conditions that seem to favor good tomato harvests as well.

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago after purchasing half a dozen cantaloupes that all tasted pretty good. I fear that the early storm the other week that brought a lot of moisture and rain to the Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon region may have an adverse impact (or hopefully not) on the cantaloupes later this summer.

Many folks have asked me how to pick a good melon, and honestly, I can’t say I have a foolproof methodology, but try to do the following the next time purchase a cantaloupe. First, go to a vendor who stocks a LOT of cantaloupes, hopefully purchased directly from the farmers. If he knows the source, he won’t continue to buy from them if the melons aren’t good. If you want to buy several cantaloupes, ask for a free taste, but bring along your own pocket knife to carve off a small piece to test.

Second, look for melon that are heavy for their size. Lots of folks tell you to do that, and it seems imprecise, but all you have to do is pick up a few melon of roughly the same size and you will see that one out of say five fruit seem heavier and denser. You want that one. Third, look for melon with a nice webbing or pattern all over the fruit. I am not sure what the scientific explanation for that is, but I find it works for me. Check the melon for any holes that bugs may have drilled in while it was sitting on the soil/fields. Finally, a word on buying with or without the stems still attached to the melon. There are two schools of thought on this. First, those who insist you buy with the stems still on, because you can see how fresh the stem is indicating a recent harvest, but more importantly, removing the stem often opens up an easy path for bugs to get into the fruit from the tender area under the stem.

Others say that the best way to test a “ripened on the vine” melon is to gently apply pressure on the stem and if it easily lifts up, the fruit is ripe, hence it would then be okay to buy melon without their stems as they were picked when ripe…

Cantaloupes harvested from the vine do not get any riper or sweeter over time, but they do get juicier. Therefore, fruit picked too early will result in a substandard eating experience, period. Melon are usually served simply chilled and sliced. But try them paired with prosciutto as an appetizer. Or carve them into melon balls and dress them lightly with lime juice and sugar, and garnished with mint. Finally, you can easily make a melon granita by blitzing some melon juice and flesh with some sugar or simple syrup and a slight squeeze of citrus, then stick it in your freezer and scrape it with a fork every hour or so until you have a nice, flakey and refreshing dessert!