Cantaloupe
The cantaloupe was named after the commune Cantalupo in Sabina, in the Sabina Hills near Tivoli, Italy, a summer residence of the Pope. It was originally cultivated about the year 1700 from seeds brought from Armenia, part of the homeland of melons.
The most widely enjoyed variety of European cantaloupe is the Charentais, cultivated almost exclusively in France. Pope Innocent XIII (1721-1724) is said to have enjoyed sipping Port wine from a partially hollowed melon half as an Aperitif.
Cantaloupes were first introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1494. The W.Atlee Burpee Company developed and introduced the "Netted Gem" in 1881 from varieties then growing in North America.
Cantaloupe (also cantalop and cantalope) is the common name used for two varieties of muskmelon (cultivars of Cucumis melo), which is a species in the flowering plant family Cucurbitaceae ( a family that includes nearly all melons and squashes). The two varieties called cantaloupe are Cucumis melo var. reticulus (the variety mainly used in the United States), and Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis (the variety mainly grown in Europe and Asia)
Cantaloupes are typically 15-25 centimeters in length and are somewhat oblong, though not as oblong as watermelons. Like all melons, cantaloupes grow best in sandy, well-aerated, well-watered soil that is free of encroachig weeds.
The European cantaloupe, Cucumis melo cantalupensis, has lightly-ribbed, pale green skin that looks quite different from the North American cantaloupe. It has a harder rind and deep vein tracts.
The North American Cantaloupe, Cucumis melo reticulatus (or C.melo melo var. cantalupensis), is common in the United States and in some parts of Canada. It's named reticulatus due to its net-like (or reticulated) skin covering. In some parts of Australia and New Zealand, it's usually called rockmelon due to the rock-like appearance of the skin of the fruit. It's a round melon with firm, orange, moderately-sweet flesh and at maturity a thin reticulated light-brown or tan rind (immature is green). Varieties with redder and yellower flesh exist but are not common, and they are not considered as flavorful as the more common variety.
Cantaloupe are a good source of vitamin C, potassium, and beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A.
Cantaloupes also are a source of polyphenol antioxidants, chemicals which are known to provide certain health benefits to the cardiovascular system and immune system. These chemicals are known to up regulate the formation of nitric oxide, a key chemical in promoting health of the endothelium and prevention of heart attacks.
How to Grow
Space plants 36 to 42 inches apart. Or, to save space, plantmelons 12 inches apart at the base of a trellis. When trellising melons, tie vines to the trellis daily, using soft plant ties that won't crush stems. A trellis for cantaloupe should be large : up to 8 feet tall and 20 feet wide in warmest climates.
For commercial plantings of cucumis melo reticulatus, the United States Departement of Agriculture recommends at least one hive of honeybees per acre (4,000 m² per hive) for pollination. Good pollination is essential, not only for the number of fruits produced, but also for the sugar content of these fruits.
A ripe orth American cantaloupe will have a musky sweet smell at the stem end of the melon. An odorless one is likely to be tasteless, too. The pale orange flesh is extremely sweet and juicy.
Cantaloupe is normally eaten as a fresh fruit, as a salad, or as a dessert with ice cream or custard. Melon pieces wrapped in prosciutto are a familiar modern antipasto.
The surface of a cantaloupe can contain harmful bacteria in oarticular, salmonella it is always a good idea to wash a melon thoroughly before cutting and consumption. Optimum preparation procedures involve disinfection with a fine mist of ethanol on the outside of the fruit, but this is rarely carried out (outside of professional facilities) due to the relative non-availability (to the avarage consumer) of ethanol that is not mixed with methanol (methylated spirits) or traces of benzene (laboratory grade "100 %" ethanol).
How to Cook
Cantaloupe is can be eat raw, but make sure you washed it first because the surface of these fruit can contain harmful bacteria. Cantaloupe usually cook being roasted until caramelize and can be make as smoothie.
The center of a cantaloupe contains a cavity in which the seeds and fibers are located. Both the seeds and the fiber are safe to eat. However, make sure that you use seeds taken from a cantaloupe that you have cut open. Don't eat seeds from a seed packet or seeds that have germinated, which may not be safe, depending on what treatments the seeds have had.
The raw seeds are hard and aren't very tasty. Roasting the seeds with vegetable oil and spices imroves the texture and produces a delicious taste. You may have to save washed and dried cantaloupe seeds in a refrigerator until you have enough to roast. The seeds can be cooked in oil in a frying pan until they turn light brown. They need about ten minutes in the pan.
Some people use both the cantaloupe fruit and the raw seeds to make a milk by placing them in a blender with water and then filtering the mixture after blending. The seeds reportedly contain protein and fat as well as some carbohydrate.
Sources @ http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Cantaloupe
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