Top Tips for Picking the Perfect Melon
From Monroe Organic Farm
Monroe Organic Farms is legendary around Denver/Boulder for a handful of reasons, but one major reason local chefs flock to the market… melons. I assure you, if you have not yet tried one from Monroe, then you have yet to experience the juiciness, sweetness, and depth of flavor of a perfectly ripe melon. It's about time (mid-July) when Monroe lays tarps on the ground at the market and covers them with their beautiful fruit - one of my absolute favorite scenes at the market!
Kyle Monroe is an expert when it comes to growing melons because his family has been growing them on the farm for over four generations. The Greely Wonder muskmelon in particular is their most famous and unique varietal - they brought it back from extinction after seeding and then planting some fifty-year-old seeds they found in the barn!
What’s the difference between a muskmelon and a cantaloupe? Cantaloupe is actually just a variety of muskmelon! But the type of muskmelon that we commonly call cantaloupe has been “designed” for grocery stores because they can be shipped well. The muskmelons that Monroe grows look similar to a cantaloupe, but they are stronger and sweeter in taste. Because of their high sugar content, these varieties of melons are almost never seen on grocery store shelves (the higher the sugar content, the sooner the melon needs to be eaten, so they are difficult to distribute).
Muskmelons were originally grown in Egypt along the Nile River. They love sandy soil, hot days, cool nights and loads of water. Monroe Organic Farms is very sandy, and they often find fossilized mollusks in the rocks there making this farm the ideal growing conditions for these melons. Now, that certainly does not mean growing melons is easy! It’s been a process to work and re-work the farming methodology.
When melon growing has been in your family for over four generations, it goes without saying that you become the ultimate authority on picking out the ideal melon - a question many of us ask ourselves this time of year. Sam Caplan and Kyle Monroe helped us answer this question by breaking down melon selection into a few simple tips:
How to Choose the Perfect Melon in 5 Simple Tips
1. Choose when you want to eat your melon! Today, tomorrow, or in a few days?
Melon tips (Everything but watermelon):
Immediate eating/ or immediate prep: smell the melon where it was pulled from the vine. Is it fragrant? is the rind more orange colored than green or is it totally orange? that's the one.
A few days away: choose a less fragrant melon that has a little more green coloring than orange on the rind. Store it on your counter for quicker ripening or in your fridge for prolonged ripening.
Watermelon Tips:
Look for the "field spot" which is usually a yellow or creamy spot which means the melon was allowed to ripen on the vine
2. Look for sugar scars created by the bees! The more scars, the sweeter the watermelon.
3. Knock on the watermelon! Do you hear a dull sound? Pick another melon as this one won’t have the best texture. Do you hear a nice echoey, resounding knock? That's the perfect texture!
4. For all Melons: Never choose a melon with soft spots! It will be over-ripe and on its way to the compost bin.
Other Notes On Picking/Consuming Melons:
Honey dew is a little more challenging in terms of choosing the perfect one. Push on the rind, if you find resistance and the skin feels waxy, that's a winner! If the skin is super hard, the melon needs to ripen more. green spots usually mean the honeydew is under ripe.
For Muskmelons: Cut them open and let them sit for ten minutes. Like a fine wine, they need to breathe to enhance their flavor. Chilling them is optional.
For Preparation/Storing: The Monroe’s like to freeze any melon in chunks and then grate them to make shaved ice! “There's nothing like sitting down at the table on a hot day with half-a-melon and a spoon.” The Monroe’s take great delight watching their young daughter eat a watermelon with her grandpa, who dedicated his life's work to growing this magical fruit!
Sources (Other than the Monroe family!)