Sweet Summer Melons

To keep the flavors of summer alive throughout the year, we pickle cucumbers and onions, make fruit jams and vegetable chutneys, dry herbs, peppers and garlic, and turn tomatoes and apples into sauces. There are however a few fruits and vegetables that don't lend themselves to preservation; melons are a prime example. So in July, when the greenmarket is full of them, you've just got to eat as much melon as you can hold.

Melons are divided into two families: muskmelons and watermelons. Muskmelons include the melons that in the US are commonly known as cantaloupes (even though they aren't real cantaloupes), honeydew melons, casaba and snake melons among many others. Watermelons run the gamut from the traditional oblong, red-fleshed melons present at every Fourth of July picnic to round varieties with yellow or orange flesh. While most melons are sweet, there are some, such as the snake melon that taste more like a cucumber and are used more often in savory dishes.

Summer melons don't just taste good, they're also packed with vitamins A and C. A one-cup serving of cantaloupe contains 120 percent of the vitamin A and 108 percent of the vitamin C that we require each day, it also provides potassium, folate, some fiber, magnesium and even a bit of calcium. While honeydew and watermelon don't contain as much vitamin A and C as their orange cousins, they still contain a respectable amount. Honeydew contains over 50 percent of the daily recommend value (DRV) of vitamin C and 2 percent of the DRV of vitamin A and watermelon, 18 percent of the DRV for vitamin A and 21 percent of the DRV for vitamin C.

Choosing the Right Melon

When you purchase melons, there are a few things to keep in mind. Unlike many other types of fruit, melons don't continue to sweeten once they are picked. If the farmer picked them at the wrong time, they won't get any more flavorful. All melons should be heavy for their size. Smooth-skinned melons, such as honeydew and watermelon should be free of blemishes and soft spots. Common wisdom holds that ripe watermelons should give a nice hollow thump when tapped, but discerning the difference between the way one melon thumps and another is impossible for many of us. While fragrance won't help you pick a ripe honeydew or watermelon, it will help you when choosing muskmelons. So pick them up and smell the end where the melon was attached to the stalk.

When you buy locally-grown melons at the market, you will be able to store them at home for about two weeks. Melons from farther away won't last as long since they have probably been in transit for a week or so already. Muskmelons do best when stored in the refrigerator, while watermelons are happiest at room temperature, provided that your house is cool. If it's very hot, put them in the fridge, too.