It would be foolish to think of the melon as one fruit, we all know that there are many melons in the melon family! Water, Cantaloupe and honeydew are the main ones that most of are using on a day to day basis, these can be subcategorised further but I’m not going to bore you with semantics.
Melons grow in nasty weedy looking places which are well watered and have plenty of fresh air.
The Watermelon
Guess what? The water melon is made of…. Count it…. 92% water, the wateriest of all fruit. Although some would argue that it’s not actually a melon, for our purposes it’s a melon (if you don’t like the incorrectness then you may call it what you want, Ian likes to call his ‘Dorris’)
Watermelon can be cooked, both flesh and rind in many ways which I think is cool! The seeds can be preserved for a long time and eaten very much like pumpkin seeds. The seeds are also pressed to obtain oil. And watermelon can be used in drinks and smoothies, woooooooo!
Watermelons are packed full Vits C, A, B1 and B6 and also contain a good amount of potassium and magnesium. Pink watermelons also have a powerful antioxidant. But best of all they are packed of…. Again…. Water!
The watermelon can range from flavourless to very sweet to tangy! So always check your melon before smoothing to make sure it’s the flavour you want!
The Cantaloupe
Bees are key to these sweeties, the bees help to pollinate the fruit and the more bees the sweeter, I wonder if the bees are happy that we steal their produce, maybe they’ll plot against us humans and sting us all! Or then again maybe not! Who knows? Do you? If so please tell us what the sly stingers are planning on doing!
Due to their wonderful aroma and sweetness the cantaloupe is normally served straight up or with ice cream, custard, cream and the usual compliments to sweets and deserts.
Cantaloupes are a good source of Vit C and beta-carotene, they also work wonders for your circulatory and immune systems, that’s always good!
These melons are always very sweet; they are brilliant for lifting out other flavours in a smoothie and add irreplaceable aromas!
The Honeydew
Nice and sweet like the cantaloupe, in fact some can’t tell the difference. They generally have a more subtle flavour with fewer aromas but a longer lasting taste.
The Honeydew and Cantaloupe can be cross-bred to create the popular Galia/Gala melon.
Honeydews contain a good amount of Sodium and Vit C.
Preparation
Wash all melons thoroughly, especially cantaloupes! Cut into segments and remove seeds as best you can, this is hard with watermelons (although you can buy seedless ones!) but don’t sweat it too much. Remove rind and skin, cut into chunks. You’re ready to smooth away.
Jakes tips: Use watermelon as a sweet base for stronger flavours, other melons can be used to add sweetness, lift other dominant flavours to their potential and add aromas, melons work very well together! Try out our some of our melon smoothies!
See all smoothie recipes with melon
