Sunflower market had organic cantaloupes on sale this week. We went there, only to discover they were sold out. I asked for a rain check on the melons at the register, and the cashier reached under her work area and pulled out a cantaloupe. Apparently someone picked up an organic one by mistake, and didn't want it when checking out.
At first I was tempted to turn up my nose to the melon she handed me. It was kind of bumpy with some soft spots, and had I been selecting a melon from the produce section, I would not have selected that one. I might have considered it a reject. But, hey, it was the laaaaaast melon (think Ice Age), so I bought it.
SO GLAD!! What a yummy cantaloupe! Probably the best one we've had this summer. Just goes to show you cannot judge a melon by it's cover.
I bought three melons at the store today: a watermelon, cantaloupe and a weird looking one that I've not tried before. They have been especially good this year! I love to eat mine with a 1/2 cup of fat free cottage cheese. I used to put salt on my melon but don't do that anymore. How do you like to eat yours?
ReplyDeleteSometimes I put salt on my watermelon, if it is not very flavorful, but I haven't had to do that for quite awhile now. I know some people who like pepper on their cantaloupe. I tried that one time...but didn't find it to my liking.When I used to eat refined sugar, I loved to eat cantaloupe with vanilla bean ice cream, but now I love it plain. Or sometimes I drink unsweetened almond milk when I eat cantaloupe to give a similar taste to vanilla bean. (At least in my imagination, it seems similar...so please don't pop that bubble! hahaha)
ReplyDeleteHow to choose a watermelon: Forget thumping. (doesn't work for me; I am tone deaf. I can hear the most random small sounds but I cannot distinguish tones, like hollow thump from solid thump)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I go by weight. I pick up three or four melons of similar size. A nice heavy one is going to be the juiciest, at its peak of ripeness but not overripe and starting to dry out.
Once in a while this method fails me, but not often.
How to choose a cantaloupe: smell the end. It should have a nice cantaloupe smell but not smell moldy.
How to choose lettuce: Scrape the stem with your fingernail and smell it. It should smell like nothing. If it smells bitter , it is. The problem is that most of the stores wrap the lettuce heads thoroughly now!
I have started buying Missouri melons and they are so good!