Thursday, July 12, 2012

Thursday's Side Dish: Cantabella Melons


A hybrid variety

This rare and gentically engineered melon possesses crisp and refreshing qualities in flavor and texture. It's so new that we can't find a thorough and detaled write-up anywhere on the internet. Look for light yellow and orange flesh that's really sweet in a typical ripe cantabella melon. These melons are a hybrid cross between charente melons and cantaloupes. They're in season right now through the hot summer months. Substitute one for your usual the grapefruit or banana at breakfast time.

2 comments:

  1. How can you tell when they are ripe enough to buy and eat? They are cheap in N. TX right now and I want to start using them.

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    1. From my limited experience, a ripe Cantabella melon has the dark green stripes as in the above photo but the rind between the stripes changes from a lime green to yellowish-orange as it ripens. Also, where the vine attaches to the melon seems to have a somewhat peppery odor when ripe. The rind itself is fairly thin but tough; so be careful when cutting.

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