Muskmelon or cantalope

Tastes about the same but oh, so different.

Cantalope has a smoother, leathery looking skin while muskmelon has a deeply segmented skin. Muskmelons are the larger of the two and when it comes to eating, the muskmelon is miles ahead of the cantalope.

I’ve had the occasion to shop at the farmer’s market in the Iowa side of the Quad cities and found Muscatine muskmelons grown not far from there and they were field fresh. And out of this world delicious. Why Muscatine Iowa lays claim to these I haven’t a clue, but they grow tons of the things in the immediate area and if you’re going to that farmer’s market to buy one you’d best get there early. I was told that the melons are the first thing to sell out in the late summer/early fall and I can see why.

We found a different breed of the muskmelon here in town called an Athena muskmelon and like the Muscatine it has been a super sweet, juicy, melon with tender, but not mushy, flesh. I just finished it up for my lunch. What a treat on such a warm noon hour.

I know people have had issues with gardens this summer what with the dry and the heat. I’ve managed to keep mine in decent shape and producing but now this second shot of hot is starting to show up in the plants and their output. I’m going to yank the beans and the cukes as both are yielding just stubby little stuff now and its not worth the water. I don’t know how they keep the muskmelons coming but I am certainly thankful for them doing so. Canalope they can keep.

i thought they one and the same???????

glenn57 wrote:

i thought they one and the same???????

Nada. Side by side there’s a huge difference.

I love both. Its far easier for me to pick a ripe Cantalope than a ripe Muskmelon for some reason. Often end up with unripe Muskmelons so often go with the Cantalope.

Eat a lot of both.
I press on the end that was NOT the vine end. Should be ever so “soft” and push in just a little. Then smell that spot. It should smell like the sweet ripe melon you are looking forward to eating. No smell – ? move on to another. Too soft and mushy, Over ripe.

One of the few if not only fruits I have disliked my whole life.
And I came from a melon centric family. My father used to force me to eat some (and liver) in hopes I would “develop” a taste. It only made me hate those items more.

Love them both ?? Are they both light orange in color ? What’s the green one ?

Green one is honeydew melon. I’ll take cantaloupe, honey dew or musk melon over watermelon every time. I picked up a hillbilly habit of sprinkling a tiny bit of salt on melon every few bites. It really amps up the sweetness. Same logic as putting a pinch of salt in most baked goods. I only say it’s a hillbilly habit because I learned it from relatives in Kentucky.

This could have piggie backed on the “stay hydrated thread” as these ‘wet” melons and super good snack foods when its hot and deliver a ton of essential nutrients as well as the wet factor. I love all melons but feel that watermelon is pretty far down on the list anymore because so many are shipped up from the deep south in a half-green state and are force-ripened. When local watermelons become available they can be good but watermelons don’t tolerate a ton of heat and got to pot pretty quick from the ripe and ready to eat stage.

Feel sorry for you Suzuki, about the melons. No much on the liver though and share your sentiments on it.

I live near the Quad Cities. Musk melon is widely grown in thousands of acres near Muscatine, Iowa whickh is not far. So Musk melon for me! Not sure if they call Musk Melon by that moniker because of Muscatine, Iowa, but is a local story.

robby wrote:

I live near the Quad Cities. Musk melon is widely grown in thousands of acres near Muscatine, Iowa whickh is not far. So Musk melon for me!

I sort of thought you’d pitch in. I have family in the Quads and get there every once in a while.

From a quick search: Cantaloupe is a specific variety of muskmelon.

Umy wrote:

I press on the end that was NOT the vine end. Should be ever so “soft” and push in just a little. Then smell that spot. It should smell like the sweet ripe melon you are looking forward to eating. No smell – ? move on to another. Too soft and mushy, Over ripe.

A chef told me this also but to sniff the stem end. Either way it should smell like the flesh of a ripe melon.

Sorry Robby!

“The term musk comes from a Persian word for perfume, and melon is a French word derived from the Latin melopepo, which means ‘apple-shaped melon’.”

I was rooting for MUSCatine.

I saw that, too, Brian. I don’t know why, but was surprised that they are native to Iran.

I live in Muscatine and can vouch that the melons grown here are amazing. Locals would say a true Muscatine Melon is grown just south of town on Muscatine Island, where the sandy soil conditions are perfect for growing melons. Iowa State University has a research station on the island to study melon production. As stated above, Musk melons are not named after Muscatine just a fitting coincidence.

picklerick wrote:

I saw that, too, Brian. I don’t know why, but was surprised that they are native to Iran.

Can you legally bring melons in to MN?
Sounds like it is an invasive species.

I think it’s only illegal if they’re on a boat trailer that hasn’t been out of the water for 21 days. This can be waived if you pay an exorbitant fee for an online invasive species course and pass a quiz at the end.

Is that an open book quiz pr?

Vanilla ice cream and cantaloupe is a very good desserts.

I grew up near Howell Mi. Look up Howell melons. Family loved them. Not me.

Jimmy Jones wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>robby wrote:</div>
I live near the Quad Cities. Musk melon is widely grown in thousands of acres near Muscatine, Iowa whickh is not far. So Musk melon for me!

I sort of thought you’d pitch in. I have family in the Quads and get there every once in a while.

LOL. Because of where I live or because I am a fat kid? lol.