Does any fruit say “summer” quite the way melon does? New Jersey growers offer an enormous variety of melons, including classics such as watermelon, honeydew, Crenshaw, and cantaloupe. For a real treat, look for intensely flavored—and often evocatively named—heirloom melons at your farmers’ market. Then, on a syrupy evening, take a big, luscious bite and taste the season.
season:
The first melons appear at farmers’ markets in mid-summer and are available through mid-fall.
at the market:
Seek out specimens that are heavy for their size and smell sweet at the flat (blossom) end. Thumping on a melon to test for ripeness can bruise the fruit.
store:
Enjoy a deeply fragrant, ripe melon on the same day it is purchased. Otherwise, store whole and ripen further in a paper bag on the counter. After cutting, melons can be refrigerated for up to 1–2 days.
wash:
Rinse off any dirt or dust from a melon before cutting it.
cook:
Melon is best eaten raw, though watermelon-rind preserves are one delicious way to enjoy it beyond summer.
history:
Melons have been grown for millennia in both tropical and temperate zones, and settlers brought melon seeds to the New World in the 17th century.
fun fact:
Melons are a member of the prolific Cucurbit (or gourd) family, along with favorites like cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, and pumpkins. This is one of the largest plant families, offering the most numerous species that we humans eat.
DO YOU KNOW?
- The leaves of various members of the melon family look and behave similarly—they are wide, lobed, and deep green—and the vines need a great deal of space, as they spread liberally across the ground.
- Melons contain over 90 percent water, and the remainder is sugar.
- A truly ripe farm-fresh melon will split itself open with just a light prick from a sharp knife.
