8 Cantaloupe Varieties That You Can Grow At Home
Cantaloupe is the king of melons. Whether you actually believe that or just treat cantaloupe as another juicy fruit, there's no denying that this fruit has a lot going for it.
Packed with vitamins K and C and plenty phosphorus to brand a issues glow at night, cantaloupe is a succulent melon in its own right.
What'southward even more interesting than the sense of taste, flavors and nutritional values is that yous take many varieties to try out and experiment with. Some varieties are big and juicy while others are small but deliver actress sweetness.
And if you prefer, you can even plant more than one variety in the garden and have enough fruits for your fruit salads and smoothies all summer long.
Muskmelons vs. Cantaloupes
Before we venture any farther, nosotros need to clear out the ambiguity surrounding cantaloupes and muskmelons one time and for all. For the untrained center, they both look the same and have similar colors and shapes. But a closer wait volition uncover many differences and distinctions between the ii melons.
Technically, cantaloupe is a blazon of muskmelon. Simply the opposite is not true. Every bit for the "cantaloupes" that you run into in your grocery store in North America, these are really muskmelons.
And then how tin you tell which is which? The rind is a dead giveaway. While cantaloupes have rough and heavily patterned rinds, the muskmelon is smooth and has ane uniform color without any patterns.
Some connoisseurs likewise consider cantaloupes of a college full-blooded than muskmelons. That's debatable although cantaloupes tend to accept richer flavors and more layered tones that tickle your taste buds than muskmelons.
Merely every type of melon has its fans and you can establish whatever diversity of species yous like equally long equally you have the right hardiness zone.
Cantaloupe Varieties
As yous'll presently detect out, not all cantaloupe varieties are created equal. Each variety has a singled-out ready of qualities that was lovingly enhanced with cultivation over the years. And then fifty-fifty if they look identical on the exterior, under the skin, cantaloupe varieties offer unlike colors, textures, and tastes. So which one should yous grow? Here's the lowdown of the well-nigh pop cantaloupe varieties for your garden.
European Cantaloupe
The thick rind of the European cantaloupe (Cucumis Melo Cantalupensis) is the beginning telltale sign that tells you lot that y'all're looking at a real cantaloupe and not just a muskmelon. This variety has heavy patterns covering every inch of the yellow-dark-green pare. Dark-green ribs cutting through the rind and divide it into perfect segments. It'southward no wonder that many experts consider this the "real cantaloupe".
Cutting through the thick and netted rind and you'll be greeted with smooth and orange flesh with an overwhelming musky aroma. This is just a prelude to the exquisite taste of this diversity. Once you have removed the seeds and taken your first seize with teeth, the smoothness of the melon forth with the richness of the taste can be overpowering.
If y'all only take to grow 1 cantaloupe variety in your garden for reasons to exercise with space limitations, so I recommend y'all give the European cantaloupe a try. It's a rewarding experience that you're bound to repeat over the years.
N American Cantaloupe
Whether yous consider Northward American cantaloupe (Cucumis melo reticulatus) to be a real cantaloupe or non is beside the bespeak. Since all cantaloupes are muskmelons anyway, then we might be splitting hairs hither. What really matters to yous as a gardener and cantaloupe lover is how easy it is to grow the vines and whether the fruits are worth the trouble or non.
The reply to those unposed questions is yep it'south easy to grow it and it definitely is worth whatsoever endeavor you put into growing and caring for information technology. With a thick and yellow rind, yous know right away yous got a promising melon in your easily. The patterns are heavy and no odour escapes the fruit to tell you lot what's inside this mysterious earth.
And although the rind is thick, the ripe fruit is large enough to offer plenty of flesh for the hungry foodie. The mankind is deeper orange than the European cantaloupe and the texture is exquisite and frail. This is the kind of cantaloupe that could melt on your natural language with little provocation.
The juices are sweet with plenty of flavors to continue your listen buzzing for a while. It's no wonder this not-real-cantaloupe has go popular all over North America. Add information technology to your smoothies or eat it raw with a spoon survivor-style.
Asian Cantaloupe
Not to exist outdone the Asian cantaloupe (Cucumis melo reticulatus) tries something different. It does away with the flashy warm colors and netted rinds. When it's ripe, the fruit goes from deep greenish to light yellow or green-xanthous. With a bulky shape and smooth thin rind, information technology tempts you to take a deep dive and discover its rich tastes.
The flesh within is not unlike from the pare outside. It's too a little greenish with a watery texture that is a far cry from the dense and smooth textures of the European and Due north American counterparts.
Also, the core of the cantaloupe is taken over by the seeds. This lives in a relatively thin orb of flesh to set your teeth into. But the musky and sweet gustatory modality of the fresh cantaloupe makes up for the small content. Originally from Persia, this diverseness became the most widely cultivated cantaloupe all over Asia. But a new competitor is challenge a bigger chunk of the Asian marketplace and information technology comes from Nippon.
Japanese Cantaloupe
The Japanese cantaloupe (Cucumis melo 50. var. reticulatus) lives up to the hype and that country's reputation for refined quality. Whether information technology's cars, electronics, beef, or cantaloupe, Japan has always been a leader in innovation and taste. The Japanese cantaloupe is known for ii things: high quality and loftier toll tag. We're talking about a cantaloupe that could gear up you back $200 or more apiece.
Still, if you lot can get your hands on the seeds, you tin can have a bunch of cantaloupes a year for next to goose egg. And so why is it and so expensive? Well, for one thing, it grows in one modest town in Nihon called Yaburi. And the cantaloupe is this town's claim to fame. In Japan, if you want to buy someone a gift that says how much y'all cherish and appreciate them in your life, you lot'd give them a Yaburi cantaloupe.
This is why the seeds of this cantaloupe are so rare. Also, it doesn't grow in the aforementioned hardiness zones equally the other cantaloupe varieties we have covered so far. If you have a Japanese pen pal, you might enquire them to transport you some seeds. Just be forewarned, this cantaloupe is finicky and demanding. Also, it requires manual pollination.
Charentais Cantaloupe
Another regional cantaloupe that puts a certain part of France on the map is Charentais cantaloupe (Cucumis melo cantalupensis). Originally from Poitou-Charentes, France, it expanded south of the Mediterranean and became the favorite cantaloupe variety across North Africa.
Gray-green on the exterior with thick light-green ribs outlining the contours of the cantaloupe, the flesh within is dazzling salmon color. It's bright and aromatic with a small cadre that's filled mostly with large seeds. It slides smoothly on your tongue but overall it's less juicy than the Asian or North American varieties.
The Charentais cantaloupe is also smaller in size compared to other cantaloupe varieties and the average fruit weighs no more than than 2 pounds at most. Loftier in fiber and beta-carotene, this cantaloupe is the favorite summer fruit in many North African countries. Its rich flavors, aromas, and high sugar content make it the ideal snack in the hot summer months.
Honeydew Melon
There'due south a debate going on whether honeydew melon should be considered cantaloupe or not. With smooth cyberspace-free peel, the melon has little in mutual with the cantaloupe. Moreover, the mankind is a petty too watery and soft for true cantaloupe aficionados' taste. And since it doesn't take a strong scent that makes you salivate even earlier you accept tasted the succulent flesh, many people pass up to acquaintance it with cantaloupe.
To be fair this is a cultivar that was first developed in France and later migrated to Algiers in North Africa. And it has more similarities to gourds than cantaloupes or melons for that affair. Just don't let that sway yous from trying it in your garden. The ripe honeydew melon is ninety percent water and makes an excellent smoothie or fruit juice. Among its many nutritional values, it has a loftier content of vitamin C. And although it doesn't have the aforementioned sweetness or rich aromas of other cantaloupe varieties, it's still a good add-on to any melon garden.
Canary Melon
If the proper name doesn't tip you off to the fact that this is a cultivar, then the brilliant yellow and elongated fruit would. And taking a bite out of a ripe canary melon would almost certainly force you to brand a face. It has a tangy taste which is non anybody'south cup of tea.
But visually, this is a melon to crave and go to smashing lengths to have it growing in your garden. The ripe fruit is larger than the average cantaloupe. As it ripens, it acquires vivid xanthous colors with polish and unblemished pare.
It'southward thin skin too. Under information technology, the flesh is pure white or sometimes off-white depending on the light. The core is relatively pocket-sized and packed with minor and off-orange seeds. The flesh itself is firm, juicy, and slightly aromatic. As we mentioned, it's far from sweet but in one case you get used to its tanginess, you won't get enough of it.
Athena Cantaloupe
This is another hybrid that is closer to cantaloupe than Canary melon. Originally from the southeastern parts of Europe, it was named afterwards the Greek goddess of war and wisdom. Merely like many cultivars, this one could be a striking or miss. If y'all establish information technology in your garden, you could accept a good yield or end upwardly with a single scrawny fruit no larger than a tennis ball. The Athena cultivar is a crapshoot gardening-wise.
True to its cantaloupe origins, the fruit is relatively large with a thick rind covered with thick netting. However, the absence of ribs is rather conspicuous. In the right growing weather, yous could have the ripe fruits fix to harvest within 75 days. The average ripe fruit could weigh annihilation between v to 6 pounds.
As for the flesh, it's lite orange taking after the European cantaloupe, and has a decent sweetness gustation. It's non the juiciest cantaloupe past a long shot. Nonetheless, the faintly aromatic mankind is a good improver to any fruit salad dish you make.
One other reason you'd want to grow the Athena cantaloupe in your garden is its high resistance to fusarium wilt, featherlike mildew, and powdery mildew.
Source: https://www.diys.com/cantaloupe-varieties-to-grow/
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