Melon Varieties

Melons fall into 2 main categories - Summer Fruits and Winter Melons

Summer fruits include all the varieties with netted rinds and are also known as dessert melons. They include:

Cantaloupe

Named after the Italian town of Cantaloupe, near Rome. An elongated shape with pale green or golden rinds marked into segments.

Galia

A relation of the Ogen melon. A round shape with a raised pattern of fine netting on the skin. As it ripens the flesh becomes green, juicy and fragrant, while the skin turns from green to golden.

Ogen

Developed and grown in Israel. It has a smooth pale green to yellow skin, marked with green or orange lines which turn golden when ripened.

Charentais

Grown predominately around Cavaillon in France and are sometimes called Cavaillon. This melon has smooth greenish rinds and a very fragrant orange flesh.

Pineapple or Khoob melons

These melons are large and oval in shape. They have an orange – yellow netted skin and juicy orange flesh. There is a slight aroma of pineapple from this melon; hence the name.

Winter Melons include all varieties that are elongated, with smooth or ribbed skins. They are called Winter Melons because they ripen slowly and are not ready until late autumn. They include:

Piel de Sapo (Toad’s Skin)

Has a rough – ridged dark green skin resembling that of a toad and green to orange flesh.

Honeydew (Spanish Melon)

The Honeydew is the most common of the Winter Melons. The flesh is a pale green and usually sweet and juicy.

Casaba

A Casaba is a walnut-shaped melon with pale creamy flesh and a ridged, deep yellow skin.

Crenshaws

The Crenshaws are a round melon with pointed ends and are smooth with a dark green rind that turns golden when ripe. The juicy flesh is salmon pink with a beautiful aroma. They have the best flavour of all the winter melons. Tendral melon

The tendral melon is a new and improved version of Spanish melons. Similar in shape to a Crenshaw they have a heavily ridged exterior. There is a super sweet flavour to this melon.

Amarillo Oro Melon

Grown along the Mediterranean coast northeast of Gibraltar, this melon is similar to a Spanish Canary type. It is a bright yellow melon with a creamy-white flesh.

Watermelons

It is thought that watermelons are originally from India or Africa. They were not introduced in Europe until after the 13th century, where they became a symbol of the martyrdom of San Lorenzo in Italy obviously influenced by their bright red flesh; every year on August 10th in Florence, the patron saint of cooks is celebrated with a festival of watermelon-eating. Watermelons have their seeds scattered throughout their flesh and in recent times some breeding programmes have concentrated on reducing seed volume to make the flesh easier to eat. There are many varieties of watermelons which come in all shapes and sizes.