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An array of melons purchased at the farmers? market at Steele Winery in Kelseyville, Calif., on Saturday, September 11, 2010. The melons were purchased from Full Moon Farms, Sky Hoyt Specialty Grower, Barber?s Country Farm and Seeley?s Farm Stand. Pictured are cantaloupes, Arava melons, a yellow fleshed watermelon, an Eden?s Gem (the smallest one) and a Bella Dulce melon. Photo by Esther Oertel. I was pleased to see that melons of all shapes and sizes were in attendance at yesterday’s farmers’ market at the Steele Winery in Kelseyville. I’ve been waiting all summer for the chance to enjoy local, organic melon, and the time is now! I came home with four types of sweet melons, as well as a watermelon with yellow flesh, and couldn’t resist trying a taste of each one. As expected, all are delicious!
Since they need time to develop in the summer heat, melons tend to arrive late in the season at local markets, but are well worth the wait. Sweet and succulent, their rough outer skin offers no hint of the fresh goodness inside, but their scent – that luscious, flowery, exotic aroma – gives them away.
Melons are members of the Cucurbitaceae family, along with cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins and gourds, all of which grow on trailing vines. They’re divided into three basic categories: bitter melons, sweet melons and watermelon.
Bitter melons (sometimes known as bitter gourds) are native to the tropics and are used throughout the Asian continent in cuisine as varied as Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese.
Because of the bitter flavor for which they’re named, they’re typically cooked, rather than eaten raw, or pickled. They’re valued for their bitter taste, important in Asian cuisine, which stresses balance between the flavor groups of sweet, sour, bitter, salty and the fifth flavor, “umami,” which also can be described as savory.
Of the sweet melons, there are two types: summer (also known as dessert melons) and winter. Those available now are summer melons. Included in this group are melons with netted skin, such as cantaloupe (which Europeans call musk melons), Galia, Ogen and pineapple melons.
Winter melons take longer to ripen and are generally not available until late autumn. They’re elongated in shape, with smooth or ribbed skin. Casaba, Crenshaw and honeydew are in this group.
Sweet melons likely originated in Persia, Afghanistan or Armenia. Cantaloupes have been cultivated in Egypt (as well as India and Iran) since ancient Biblical times, well over 4,000 years ago. Melons are depicted in Egyptian drawings dating back to that period.
Arab settlers introduced melon seeds to Spain. It was from there that Columbus introduced the seeds to the Americas, where melons grew quickly and abundantly.
Because of their sweet flavor, summer or winter melons are often paired with salty foods, such as prosciutto or salty cheeses. The pleasing contrast in flavor and texture of a prosciutto-wrapped honeydew slice makes for a delicious appetizer.
Yellow doll watermelons offered by Seeley?s Farm Stand at the farmers? market at Steele Winery in Kelseyville, Calif., on Saturday, September 11, 2010. Photo by Esther Oertel. If ripe and fresh, there is nothing like a slice of sweet melon served on its own. Even so, there are wonderful ways to enhance their flavor when combined with other foods.
For a simple but elegant dessert, simply cover cubes of sweet melon with a sparkling dessert wine. A non-sparkling wine is nice, too, such as a flowery Muscat. You can choose a single melon for this purpose, one that’s ripe and full of fragrance, or several kinds.
Since melon pairs well with mint, simple syrup flavored with crushed mint makes a nice sauce for melon balls, slices or cubes. One of the recipes I offer below is “Macedonia of Melon in Mint Syrup,” which is a variation on the mint theme. The melon in this case is macerated, which means it’s been allowed to soak in alcohol. (The alcohol burns off in the cooking process, but its flavor remains.)
Melon is full of water – 95 percent of it is made up of it, in fact – and thus is a refreshing and cooling food. When blended with another cooling food, cucumbers, and some sweetener, lime, mint and sparkling water, a drink called “Agua Fresca” is created, meaning “fresh water” in Spanish.
I love cold soups in summertime. To make a delicious one with Thai-inspired flavors, combine pureed sweet melon flesh with coconut milk, fresh lime, minced chiles, grated fresh ginger, Thai basil, mint and a bit of salt. Chill the soup well before enjoying on a warm day.
Sweet melons vary in their nutritional content. Generally, those with deeper colored orange flesh contain more beta carotene. Because of their high water content, they’re low in calories.
A quarter of a cantaloupe contains about 80 percent of our requirement for vitamins A and C, as well as a moderate amount of B vitamins, iron, calcium and folic acid.
Last but not least, watermelon is undoubtedly the most commonly enjoyed melon in the U.S. It originated in tropical Africa, and there is evidence it was cultivated in the Nile Valley as early as 2,000 B.C. By the 10th century it was cultivated in China, which remains the largest producer of watermelon today.
Moorish invaders introduced the watermelon to Europe, and by the 16th century it was introduced to American Indians. Early French explorers discovered that watermelon was being cultivated by Indians in Mississippi.
Watermelon, a natural diuretic, is 92 percent water and 6 percent sugar by weight. It’s high in vitamin C and beta carotene. Watermelon flesh can be red or yellow, and if a red-fleshed variety, it’s a significant source of lycopine, which has been found to be an effective cancer preventative.
The rind of the watermelon is edible as well as the flesh and contains an array of hidden nutrients. It’s used as a vegetable in China in stir-fries and stews, and is pickled both in China and here in the U.S.
The rind may be juiced along with the flesh for a refreshing drink, especially when combined with cucumber and celery. I recommend watermelon grown organically if using the rind in cuisine.
Feta cheese is a delicious, if unexpected, pairing for watermelon. Its salty taste and crumbly texture contrasts with the sweet crispness of the melon for an exotic flavor combination.
One of the recipes offered below is a salad made with these ingredients as well as mint and olives. It may sound unusual, but it was a favorite with the students in my culinary class featuring olives. Try it and see what you think!
In addition to melons, there is a beautiful array of local produce available now at farmers’ markets. I hope you’ll enjoy this beautiful “peak of season” time of year when fresh food is in such abundance.
If you’d like the specifics for making Agua Fresca with melon or the melon-coconut soup, please email me and I’ll send you the recipes.
I’ll be doing free culinary demos – complete with tastes! – at two upcoming farmers’ markets (Sept. 17 in Clearlake and Sept. 18 in Kelseyville), so please feel free to email me for details about that, too.
In closing, I’ll leave you with a Middle Eastern proverb about melon: "He who fills his stomach with melons is like he who fills it with light – there is a blessing in them." Bon appétit!
Melons offered by Full Moon Farms at the farmers? market at Steele Winery in Kelseyville, Calif., on Saturday, September 11, 2010. Photo by Esther Oertel. Macedonia of melon in mint syrup
½ cup water
½ cup dry white wine or sherry
¼ cup sugar
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
½ teaspoon chopped dried orange peel
¼ cup fresh orange juice
4 cups mixed cantaloupe and honeydew melon (about 1½ lbs.), balls or cut into 1-inch chunks
Fresh whole mint leaves for garnish (optional)
In a small nonreactive saucepan, bring the first five ingredients to a brisk boil over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is reduced to about ¾ cup, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Strain the mixture into a small bowl, discarding the solids. Cool to room temperature. Add orange juice to cooled syrup, stirring well to combine.
Pour the syrup over melon; turn the fruit gently to combine. Serve at room temperature or chill for at least an hour and serve cold. Garnish with mint leaves, if desired. (The mint syrup, without the orange juice, can be prepared in advance and refrigerated for up to three days.)
Mediterranean salad with watermelon, Feta cheese and kalamata olives
8 cups watermelon balls or cubes (approximately ½ of a 10 to 12 pound melon)
½ cup Feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup pitted kalamata olives, cut in half (about 24 olives)
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup mint leaves, chopped
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from approximately two limes)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Squeeze lime juice into small bowl. Slowly drizzle olive oil in while whisking to blend. Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl and pour the dressing over, tossing gently to coat.
Allow salad to sit for 20 minutes so flavors may blend.
Esther Oertel, the "Veggie Girl," is a personal chef and culinary coach and is passionate about local produce. Oertel owns The SageCoach Personal Chef Service and teaches culinary classes at Chic Le Chef in Hidden Valley Lake. She welcomes your questions and comments; e-mail her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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