All About Canary Melon

If you love cantaloupe and honeydew melon, just wait until you get your hands on a canary melon. Also known as Juan Canary melons and Cucumis melo, These show-stopping melons offer a truly special fruit experience! Their pale, peachy white flesh has texture similar to a cross between a cantaloupe and an Asian pear, with similar hints of flavor. Canary melon tastes faintly musky and sweet like its cantaloupe cousin, with the tangy essence of pineapple.

Canary melons, like many melons, are harvested when ripe. However, they keep maturing a bit after harvesting, at which time they become softer and sweeter. Ripe canary melons will have bright yellow, taught, waxy rinds that are free of blemishes. Inside, the flesh is the whitish color of an asian pear, with a similar texture. At the very center, the flesh around the seed cavity is peachy pink around its hard, brown seeds. For a week or two after harvesting, the skin will take on a slightly wrinkled texture (often referred to as corrugation), which is a sign that they’re ripe and juicy!

Canary melons can be prepared in many different ways for countless foods and drinks. Enjoy raw chunks of tangy canary melon, either plain or zhuzhed up with honey, cheese, charcuterie or seasonings. They can be frozen into sorbets, granitas or fruit pops. Grill them to bring out natural sugars for your next warm fruit salad, cook canary melon into sweet confections or use their juice in flavorful beverages.

Native to regions around the Mediterranean and Middle East, canary melon is believed to have originated in Iran. Today, canary melons grow throughout Asia in Japan and South Korea, North Africa in Algeria and Morocco, Mexico and the United States. Canary melons grow low to the ground on thick, trailing vines.

Native to regions around the Mediterranean and Middle East, canary melon is believed to have originated in Iran. Today, canary melons grow throughout Asia in Japan and South Korea, North Africa in Algeria and Morocco, Mexico and the United States. Canary melons grow low to the ground on thick, trailing vines.

Even though they’re known as a “winter melon”, canary melons are in season from the spring through the fall. Follow us on Instagram @FruitStandCom to learn when we’re shipping fresh canary melon harvests to directly you from our specialty farms partners!

Canary melons and cantaloupe are two kinds of muskmelons that have lots in common. In fact, they’re often used in the same kinds of dishes and eaten in similar ways. Both fruits have hard rinds protecting soft flesh inside, with a generous collection of seeds in the center.

One bite and the difference between canary melon and cantaloupe becomes clear. If you’re familiar with the taste of cantaloupe, canary melon is more delicate with a pineapple like zing to it. Canary melon flesh is softer, too, resembling that of a pear (and just as sweet).

Side by side it’s easy to tell these two botanical berries apart, too. The canary melon is named because the bright yellow rind is reminiscent of its namesake bird. The bright rind is much smoother, more similar in texture to a honeydew than cantaloupe. As the fruit ripens, the rind takes on a slightly wrinkled texture that’s often referred to as corrugation.

Whether a canary melon is certified organic or not will depend on the farm where it was grown. At FruitStand, we only partner with the best specialty farms for exceptional quality of produce. When each harvest is available, we'll tell you whether the fruit is considered organic or conventional.

Can’t wait to sink your teeth into this soft, sweet melon? We’ve got great news for you! FruitStand is proud to partner with small, specialty farmers to bring you exceptional quality canary melon direct to your doorstep. To be the first to know when FruitStand is shipping fresh canary melon harvests, join our email newsletter!

Still curious about canary melons? Send us your canary melon questions on Instagram @Fruitstandcom!