 Honeydew |
Cantaloupe, Muskmelon, and Honeydew
Scientific Name: Cucumis melo
Family Name:
Honeydew |
Nothing is positively established on the origin of the Muskmelon and Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo), although some authorities believe them to be native to Asia, while others claim to have found a wild plant in the Sudan, producing rather small fruits, which could be the melon's ancestor. It is certain, however, that they were cultivated in very ancient times. Examination of records from the first century A.D., found in Alexandria and now in the Louvre, seem to show that melons were represented together with other fruits, in a cornucopia on a vase-painting. They are also depicted on bas-reliefs and etchings, proving that they were undoubtedly grown in the Nile Valley at the time of the Pharaohs. It seems, however, that they were not cultivated in Europe until the Middle Ages, except perhaps in southern Spain which was occupied by the Morrs. Introduced from the Orient via Armenia, the melon appeared in the fifteenth century, brought by Charles VIII to France from Naples in 1495. The name "cantaloupe" is quite recent, dating back to the middle of the eighteenth century. It is thought to be derived from Cantalupo, a district near Rome where the Pope had a villa. Melons are produced by annual, herbaceous plants, of modest size and similar to the watermelon except for the leaves, entire, with rounded or fan-shaped margins. Commercially, they are divided into two categories: netted or nutmeg melons (the common muskmelon) with the rinds covered by a densely meshed net, and cantaloupes with deeply grooved rinds. Among the great number of cultivars of netted melons, which are constantly evolving for reasons of plant health and increased immunity to disease, some important species are Farmers Netted with round fruit and sweet yellow flesh, and Golden Delight, oblong, slightly ribbed, with crispy salmon-tinted pulp. Within the cantaloupes are found Fordhook Gem, a climbing variety with fragrant soft greenish flesh; the Charentais with yellowish green, slightly ribbed skin, and orange, sugary, fragrant flesh; the Bellegarde with green skin and orange-red pulp. Some botanists also include as cantaloupes the winter melons, which could be classified separately. They have sweet, white flesh, and smooth rind irregularly striped with faint lines. They are harvested while still unripe and stored in cool, dry, airy places where they will keep until Christmas or later. In southern Italy it is the custom to keep them hanging on walls protected by a roof-gutter. Other excellent melon cultivars are Delicious, Saticoy, Hearts of Gold, Honey Rock, Crenshaw, and Gold Star. In addition, there are several other melon cultivars with pale yellow skin (honeydews) and ribbed yellow skin (the casabas). Honey Mist, Honey Dew Green and Tam-Dew are selected honeydew cultivars while Golden Beauty and Sungold are casaba cultivars. In the United States melons are commonly eaten for breakfast, or for dessert. In other parts of the world they are eaten as a dessert, or as an hors-d'oeuvre; either alone or with the thinly sliced Italian smoked ham, known in all countries as "prosciutto." Charentais melons are often filled with a sweet wine such as Barsac, Marsala, Port or Madeira. Winter melons can be sprinkled with a little ginger and sugar. Choosing a perfect melon requires a certain degree of skill. The smell of the fruit must be right; by tapping the rind one can tell whether it is well-fleshed or hollow. There should be a "crown" around the stem indicating that the melon is ripe and sweet. Their nutritional qualities are similar to those of the watermelon. [Bianchini, Francesco, Corbetta, Francesco, Pistoia, Marilena, The Complete Book of Fruits and Vegetables, United States Translation: Crown Publishers, New York, 1976; Originally published in Italy as I Frutti della Terra, Arnoldo Mondadori Publisher, Italy, 1973]