Cantaloupe FAQs

The cantaloupe (C. melo var. reticulatus) is a sweet, soft and incredibly delicious muskmelon. When it comes to hard to find specialty fruits, cantaloupe may not be the first fruit to come to mind. But if you’ve never had cantaloupes from small, specialty farm partners like ours at FruitStand, you’re in for a whole new cantaloupe experience!

Cantaloupes are easy to prepare for all kinds of snacks, meals, treats and drinks. They’re suitable for raw and cooked preparations, in sweet and savory meals, soft drinks and cocktails. Eat raw slices of cantaloupe, or enjoy it in fruit and vegetable salads. Turn up the heat and cantaloupe caramelizes beautifully. Enjoy it frozen in smoothies, shakes and sorbets. The only limit to culinary cantaloupe creativity is your imagination!

The beloved cantaloupe is believed to have originated in Armenia, and is grown throughout the world today in China, South Asia, Europe, Africa and North America, including Canada, the United States and Mexico. Cantaloupes are botanical berries that grow on low, thick vines. Cantaloupes are a classic summertime fruit, peaking between June and August. They can be found in some markets year round.

On the outside, ripe cantaloupe melons have a smooth, tan rind with a dry, slightly netted texture. When immature, cantaloupe will still have blushes of green on its skin. Inside, the flesh is peachy orange with a soft cucumber texture. At the center of the fruit is a seed cavity that contains hundreds of tan, oblong seeds with a point at one end.

With a few tips and a little practice, it’s easy to tell when a cantaloupe is ripe. First, pick up the whole fruit and give it a good whiff. You’ll know it’s ripe by the heady fragrance of sweet musk. The whole fruit should feel heavy for its size in your hands, and the faintly netted rind should be free of blemishes. Press gently into the melon with your thumb and feel it yield gently. If it’s still very hard, let the melon sit for another day or two. Now, look at the colors of the rind. On cantaloupes, green coloring indicates there’s still more ripening to do. Even tan coloring throughout the rind tells you it’s ready to slice!

Cantaloupes are easy to prepare for all kinds of snacks, meals, treats and drinks. They’re suitable for raw and cooked preparations, in sweet and savory meals, soft drinks and cocktails. Eat raw slices of cantaloupe, or enjoy it in fruit and vegetable salads. Turn up the heat and cantaloupe caramelizes beautifully. Enjoy it frozen in smoothies, shakes and sorbets. The only limit to culinary cantaloupe creativity is your imagination!

Yes! Did you know cantaloupe’s crunchy seeds are edible, whether raw or roasted? For the best flavor, dry the cantaloupe seeds first, then roast them with salt, pepper and other seasonings. Try adding cantaloupe raw seeds to blended drinks like smoothies for added crunch and nutrition.

The beloved cantaloupe is believed to have originated in Armenia, and is grown throughout the world today in China, South Asia, Europe, Africa and the United States. Cantaloupes are botanical berries that grow on low, thick vines. Cantaloupes are a classic summertime fruit, peaking between June and August. They can be found in some markets year round.

Packed with nutrients and fresh, sweet flavor, cantaloupes are a great choice for health conscious fruit fans. Their rich color is an indicator of their beta carotene content. Cantaloupe is known to also contain vitamin C, folate and fiber and potassium.

Cantaloupe Nutrition (100g)

• Calories: 37
• Carbohydrates: 9g
• Calcium: 15g
• Sodium: 19mg
• Vitamin C: 36mg

Read more about the nutrition of cantaloupe on the USDA website.

Cantaloupes are a classic summertime fruit, peaking between June and August. They can be found in some markets year round.

Cantaloupe is a melon that’s incredibly versatile and a beloved ingredient in recipes around the world. From fruit salads to spiced chutneys, juice to aguas frescas, wrapped in prosciutto or covered in cream, cantaloupe is a fantastic canvas for culinary creativity. They can be prepared in both sweet and savory recipes, and in drinks for every age!

Perhaps one of the most famous melons, cantaloupe has a very sweet, musky flavor with soft, dense flesh that is quite juicy when ripe. It has a refreshing sweetness that is enhanced by chilling or high heat.

Cantaloupe is loved by people of all ages around the globe. These botanical berries can be eaten raw, grilled, candied, baked and frozen into flavorful snacks. Heat makes the natural sugars of cantaloupe even more pronounced, which is why so many varieties are used in grilling, roasting, baking and candy making. The seeds can be dried and roasted as a crunchy snack.

Cantaloupe makes drinks taste and feel fancier. They bring fresh, musky sweetness to juices, enhanced water, cocktails, batch drinks, smoothies and liqueurs. To make delicious alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, use your cantaloupes to make a basic syrup, and stir into your everyday beverages.

Cantaloupes have a generous shelf life and can be stored whole on the countertop for over a week to sweeten up. Those who live in warmer or more humid climates may find better cantaloupe storage success by keeping them in the fridge. Sliced and very ripe cantaloupes should be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.

To freeze cantaloupe best, wait until they are fully ripened. Then, slice the cantaloupe and  remove seeds and rind. Freeze sliced melon on a cookie sheet with space between each piece. Once frozen, store the fruit in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.

Yes! Good doggos love a fresh hunk of melon as a treat every once in a while. Be sure to avoid giving your dog the seeds or rinds of melon as they could cause gnarly tummy pains (and a trip to the vet). Got a teething puppy? Freeze thick chunks of cantaloupe as a soothing treat for their sore gums!

Over at FruitStand, we love sharing fruit with our wet-nosed friends, so we encourage you to clear the safety of any new fruits or veggies with your veterinarian before offering them your pooch.

The soft, orange flesh and nectarous cantaloupe juice can leave a stain on certain fabrics. If you drop some on your clothing, table cloth or napkins, treat the spot with a dab of dish soap or stain remover that’s safe for that particular fabric to prevent the spot from setting. Pop the item into the washer as soon as you can!

Ripe cantaloupe can be deliciously messy with nectarous juice. If some of the fruit drops on your clothing, table cloth or napkins, treat the spot with a dab of dish soap or stain remover that’s safe for that particular fabric. Follow the directions on the product to prevent the spot from setting, and pop the item into the washer as soon as you can.

Perhaps two of the most common melons found on fruit platters across America, cantaloupe and honeydew are both sweet, delicious varieties of melons. From the inside out, both have seeds at the center of the fruit, surrounded by firm yet fleshy fruit and a thin, tough rind covering the round melon.

However, these are totally different melon experiences, in flavor, color and aroma. Cantaloupe is more musky and less sweet than its honeydew relative. Side by side, it’s easy to see that cantaloupe is smaller with a rough, tan rind rather than a honeydew’s smooth, pale green exterior. Inside, the cantaloupe’s flesh is rich, peachy orange rather than the pale, cucumber-green flesh of the honeydew.

Have your once sweet-smelling cantaloupe melons gone from pleasant to pungent? Don’t worry, it’s easy to get bad smells from melons out of your house in a few simple steps.

First, discard any spoiled melon. Then, thoroughly clean the area where melons were stored with hot, soapy water or home cleaning spray. Let it dry completely before storing new fruit in the area.

If you’ve ever wondered where to buy the absolute best cantaloupe, we’ve got great news for you! FruitStand is proud to partner with small, specialty farmers to bring you exceptional quality cantaloupe. To be the first to know when FruitStand is shipping cantaloupe harvests, join our email newsletter!