Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe
Ripe North American cantaloupes (C. m. reticulatus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Genus:	Cucumis
Species:	C. melo
Subspecies:	C. m. cantalupensis C. m. reticulatus
Trinomial name
Cucumis melo cantalupensis Cucumis melo reticulatus Naudin.

For other uses, see Cantaloupe (disambiguation).

Cantaloupe (also cantaloup) refers to two varieties of muskmelon (Cucumis melo) , which is a species in the family Cucurbitaceae (a family which includes nearly all melons and squashes). Cantaloupes are typically 15–25 cm in length and are somewhat oblong, though not as oblong as watermelons. Like all melons, cantaloupes grow best in sandy, well-aerated, well-watered soil that is free of encroaching weeds.

Macro photo of the skin of a North American Cantaloupe.

• The European cantaloupe is Cucumis melo cantalupensis. Its lightly-ribbed, pale green skin looks quite different from the North American cantaloupe.

• The North American cantaloupe, common in the United States and in some parts of Canada, is Cucumis melo reticulatus (or sometimes C. melo melo var. cantalupensis), a different member of the same muskmelon species. It is named reticulatus due to its net-like (or reticulated) skin covering. In some parts of Australia and New Zealand, it is usually called rockmelon due to the rock-like appearance of the skin of the fruit. It is called a spanspek in South Africa, where it is harvested during the summer months October through February. It is a round melon with firm, orange, moderately-sweet flesh and a thin reticulated light-brown rind. Varieties with redder and yellower flesh exist but are not common, and they are not considered as flavorful as the more common variety.

Origin

The cantaloupe was named after the commune Cantalupo in Sabina, in the Sabine Hills near Tivoli, Italy, a summer residence of the Pope. It was originally cultivated about the year 1700 from seeds brought from Armenia, part of the homeland of melons.

The most widely enjoyed variety of European cantaloupe is the Charentais, cultivated almost exclusively in France. Pope Innocent XIII(1721-1724) is said to have enjoyed sipping Port wine from a partially hollowed melon half as an apéritif.

Cantaloupes were first introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1494. The W. Atlee Burpee Company developed and introduced the "Netted Gem" in 1881 from varieties then growing in North America.

Production and use

Cantaloupes on sale in Japan for 2800 yen each.

For commercial plantings, the United States Department of Agriculture recommends at least one hive of honeybees per acre (4,000 m² per hive) for pollination. Good pollination is essential, not only for the number of fruits produced, but also for the sugar content of these fruits.

A ripe one will have a musky sweet smell at the stem end of the melon. An odorless one is likely to be tasteless, too.

Cantaloupe is normally eaten as a fresh fruit, as a salad, or as a dessert with ice-cream or custard. Melon pieces wrapped in prosciutto are a familiar modern antipasto. Sanjeev Kapoor describes the charentais variety: "the orange, sugary and fragrant flesh makes this fruit popular both as a dessert or main course. These have smooth gray-green rinds and very fragrant orange flesh. It keeps well when stored in a cool, dry place and ripens after several days in a warm room."

Because the surface of a cantaloupe can contain harmful bacteria - in particular, salmonella - it is always a good idea to wash a melon thoroughly before cutting and consumption. Optimum preparation procedures involve disinfection with a fine mist of ethanol on the outside of the fruit, but this is rarely carried out (outside of professional facilities) due to the relative non-availability (to the average consumer) of ethanol that is not mixed with methanol (methylated spirits) or traces of benzene (laboratory grade "100%" ethanol).

A moldy cantaloupe in a Peoria market in 1941 was found to contain the best and highest quality penicillin after a world-wide search.

Food chemistry

Cantaloupe are a source of polyphenol antioxidants, chemicals which are known to provide certain health benefits to the cardiovascular system and immune system. These chemicals are known to up regulate the formation of nitric oxide, a key chemical in promoting health of the endothelium and prevention of heart attacks.

Cantaloupes also are a good source of vitamin C and beta carotene.

Cataloupes come from either male or female plants. The female cantaloupe is said to be sweeter than the male.

Heraldry

The European cantaloupe has been used as a charge in heraldry.

Varieties

• Anaconda
• Ananas (pineapple)
• Archer F1
• Athena
• Charentais
• Charon
• Cruiser F1
• Eastern
• French
• Western
• Western muskmelon
• Sensation
• Sidewinder improved
• Tuscan
• Viper
• WSC-04-13
• WSC-04-14

References

• "Cucumis melo cantalupensis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. September 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)

External links

• Nutritional and Historical Information
• MSNBC Article on Farming of Hybridization That Mentions Cantaloupes
• Sorting Cucumis names – Multilingual multiscript plant name database