Cantaloupe
From Freepedia
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| Image:Cantaloupes.jpg Ripe cantaloupes | ||||||||||||||||
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| Cucumis melo cantalupensis Naudin. ITIS 22362 2002-09-03 |
- For the record label, see Cantaloupe Music.
Cantaloupe (or "cantaloup") is the name of two different types of fruit: one, common in the United States and in some parts of Canada, is also called a muskmelon; its scientific name is Cucumis melo cantalupensis. A different melon is referred to as cantaloupe by Europeans.
This North American cantaloupe, developed by the W. Atlee Burpee Company and introduced in 1881 as the "Netted Gem", is a round melon with firm, orange, moderately sweet flesh and a thin, reticulated, beige to light-brown rind. Varieties with redder and yellower flesh exist, but are not common, and are not considered to be as flavorful as the more common orange variety. Cantaloupes belong to family Cucurbitaceae, which includes nearly all melons and squashes. Cantaloupes are typically 15–25 cm in length and are almost perfectly spherical. Like all melons, cantaloupes grow best in sandy, well-aerated, well-watered soil that is free of encroaching weeds.
For commercial plantings, one hive per acre (4,000 m² per hive) is the minimum recommendation by the United States Department of Agriculture for pollination. Good pollination is important, not only for the number of fruits produced, but also for the sugar content of these fruits.
Origin
Cantaloupe was named after the commune Cantalupo in Sabina, in the Sabine 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 North American muskmelon (or cantaloupe) is a variety of muskmelon that Christopher Columbus is believed to have brought to with him on his second voyage to the New World in 1494.
The most widely enjoyed variety of true cantaloupe is the Charentais, cultivated almost exclusively in France. Its lightly ribbed, pale green skin looks quite different from the North American muskmelon. Pope Innocent XIII(1721-1724) is said to have enjoyed sipping Port wine from a partially hollowed melon half as an apéritif.
Melon pieces wrapped in prosciutto are a familiar modern antipasto.
Heraldry
The true cantaloupe, as opposed to the muskmelon, has been used as a charge in heraldry.
External link
- Vegetarians in Paradise: Cantaloupe (offers some general melon history)
