The benefits of melon
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What melon does
What this vegetable does
Held to clear excess heat and settle the balance of water in the body, which helps in managing how you feel through the summer.
How to eat it
As well as cutting it and eating it as it is, it is good in a smoothie or a chilled soup.
A yakuzen note
Melon is said to clear heat from the body and ease a dry throat, a fruit exactly right for summer.
Melon is a sweet fruit, cold in nature, held to settle excess heat trapped in the body and moisten a dry throat. Its appeal is juicy flesh and a rich sweetness, and it suits daily care when the heat leaves you with heat trapped inside, or when you want something for summer. As well as eating it as it is, this member of the gourd family, which stands for summer, is easy to use in smoothies and cold desserts.
TOC
When melons are in season, the kinds, and how to choose
If you want to bring in what melons do, deliciously, knowing the season, the kinds and how to choose makes them easier to use. Their appeal is netted skin and juicy flesh, and they are a gourd-family fruit in season in summer.
In season from early summer into summer, a gourd-family fruit
Melon is a gourd-family plant like cucumber and watermelon, and the fruit on the vine is eaten. Greenhouse melons appear from early summer, and open-field melons are in season in summer, roughly June to August. Melon in season is finely aromatic, with soft flesh and good sweetness. Freshly picked, the flesh is often firm, so it is a fruit left at room temperature for a few days to ripen before eating. How to tell when it is ready is covered under choosing, below.
Netted and unnetted, and flesh colour
Melon can be chosen by the pattern on the skin and by flesh colour.
| kinds | What stands out |
|---|---|
| Netted | Netted skin. Musk melon, Andes and the like. Finely aromatic |
| Unnetted | Varieties with smooth skin. Prince melon and the like. Reasonably priced and sweet |
| Orange- and green-fleshed | Orange flesh or green flesh. The colour changes the impression of the flavour |
For aroma and for gifts, netted melon suits. For everyday use, reasonably priced unnetted melon is handy. Orange flesh gives a rounded, rich sweetness and green flesh a cleaner one, so the colour changes the impression of the flavour. Choosing by use and by taste brings out what melon has.
How to choose them and when they are ready
When choosing a good melon, these points make it easier to tell.
- Netted: a fine net, evenly raised
- Even in shape on both sides, with a good weight
- A base that is not too firm, with a sweet aroma rising (ready to eat)
Melon is often firm when you buy it, so ripen it at room temperature before eating. Once the base has a little give and a sweet aroma rises, it is ready. Then move it to the fridge, and chilling it two or three hours before eating brings the sweetness forward. Over-chilling makes the sweetness hard to taste, so chill it only just before eating. Once cut, remove the seeds and pith and cut the flesh into easy pieces.
How to eat melon
Melon works as it is, of course, and in cold desserts and cooking, drawing on its juicy flesh and rich sweetness. Here are the standard ways.
As it is, and with cured ham
What brings out the most in melon is eating it well chilled, as it is. Cut into wedges and scooped with a spoon, its juicy sweetness is a pleasure. Sliced thin and wrapped in cured ham, it makes a starter where salt and sweetness play off one another. The soft flesh around the seeds can be scooped with a spoon so nothing is wasted. A ripe melon is a feast in itself, so start by enjoying it as it is.
In smoothies and cold desserts
Melon goes well in cold desserts too. Blended with yoghurt or milk it makes a smooth smoothie. Crushed and frozen, it makes a sorbet, exactly right as a snack on a hot day. Cut into bite-sized pieces with other fruit in a fruit punch, or used in a chilled soup, it makes a showy dish. A melon that has over-ripened and lost its texture works in a smoothie or a sorbet, where its sweetness can be used with nothing wasted.
How to keep melons
The basic rule is to ripen melon at room temperature until it is ready. The fridge stops it ripening, so leave it out while firm. Once ready, move it to the fridge and eat it soon. Cut melon spoils easily, so remove the seeds and pith, wrap it tightly in cling film or put it in an airtight container in the fridge and eat it the same day. If you cannot eat it all, cut it into bite-sized pieces and freeze it, ready for smoothies and sorbets.
Alongside this, it is worth knowing about The benefits of watermelon and a fruit likewise held to bring moisture, The benefits of pear as a guide when building a summer table.
Melon, in season from early summer into summer, is a fruit whose juicy sweetness you can enjoy as it is, with cured ham, in a smoothie or in a cold dessert. Aromatic netted melon, reasonably priced unnetted melon, orange and green flesh: choosing by taste and by use brings out what each has. For daily care in the season when heat builds up inside, bring melon to your table.
