Cantaloupe.

[Mr.Bill]

My favorite melon if not one of my favorite foods period. For the last three to five years here (Northern California) the cantaloupes have been terrible. Dry, very little flavor and if there is flavor it's somewhat bitter. I just figured it was the drought and that's the way it was going to be.

This year, like usual I bought one as soon as the season started with low expectations. To make a long story short, they are fantastic. I've eaten about 15-20 of them from different sources, supermarket, roadside produce stands, even the food banks. They have all been great. Good prices, too. How are they where you live?

[elleng]

1. Not great, in southern MD, but haven't tried many.

[MLAA]

2. Very good this year in southern Az, when I manage to buy a ripe one 😬

[SheltieLover]

3. I share your sentiment!

Have had a dozen or so. 2 were ripe.

Did you know they do not ripen once picked?

[Mr.Bill]

4. Pretty much.

My wife taught me years ago how to pick a good one. You smell right where the stem was. It should have a strong cantaloupe aroma.

However, even that trick didn't work in recent years, and I've had a few this year that had no smell at all, but were still very good.

[enough]

5. The same here in SE PA. Every one superb!

[Emile]

6. We had one last week from the grocery store and

though it was good, it was not as sweet as the ones I grow. I have them growing in the garden, but with the heat and drought I don't think they'll produce much.

[lillypaddle]

7. I don't know

but your post made me want to remedy that. Cantaloupe is now on my grocery list!

[trof]

8. I'm in coastal Alabama.

The melons have been sweet, but who knows where they come from?
Mexico?

[Mr.Bill]

9. I don't know, but I think at this time of the year

they would be domestic. Where I live a lot comes from Mexico in the winter.

[hippywife]

10. After we ate the three small ones we were able to grow...

from seeds from the library, I picked up one at the grocery the other day. The label says Sugar Kiss, Product of U.S., but not where. Google says it's grown in AZ. (Usually, the best melons we get around here each year are trucked in from Rocky Ford, CO, which is also unfortunately home to large cattle feedlots.)

It was still really hard so I left it to sit. Just now cut it open and it has to be the sweetest melon I've ever tasted, cloyingly so, almost to the point of being too sweet. Super juicy and sticky. We'll see how it is once it's chilled.

Saving some of the seeds so, if husband likes it, he can try planting it next year.

[Backseat Driver]

11. Question: Is a cantalope the same as an Indiana Melon?

I have problems determining post-purchase which day brings the sweet flavor peak without mushiness of the outer rind. Refrigerate before slicing/cubing? Love them in large cubes with small curd cottage cheese and a pink of salt or with biscotti/bakery for breakfast.

[Mr.Bill]

12. I had never heard of an Indiana Melon.

A little googling tells me it is indeed a cantaloupe. Like most fruits and vegetables, there are many breeds of Cantaloupe. Indiana melons are one of them.

[amerikat]

13. I am fortunate to live near world famous Hand Mellon Farm.

Best Cantaloupes around. Sweeter and tastier than a traditional Cantaloupe.

https://westchestermagazine.com/food/hand-melons-the-best-melons-on-earth/

https://www.handmelonfarm.com/

Non GMO. seeds are viable. Tried to grow some this year but the critter ate them. I'll Try again next year after fence improvements.

Have a friend growing them successfully in Phoenix.