The pale yellow to pale green honeydew melon is versatile and is one of the popular refreshments, especially in the summer. Practically, the honeydew melon is available in Germany almost all year round and can weigh between 1.5 to 4 kg. Especially as a dessert with yogurt and in fruit salad, but also with ham and as an antipasti platter, it tastes great. The honeydew melon is also healthy, contains many vitamins and hardly any calories.
This is what you should know about the honeydew melon
The pale yellow to pale green honeydew melon can be used in a variety of ways and is one of the most popular refreshments, especially in the summer. Botanically, the honeydew melon is not a fruit but belongs to like pumpkin and cucumber to the cucurbits. However, it belongs to the large group of sugar melons, which, in addition to cantaloupe melons and netted melons, include about 500 varieties. The honeydew melon itself is round to oval with a yellowish skin. The fruits can grow 15 to 30 cm in size and have a yellowish green to white flesh. The seeds are located contiguously in the center of the fruit. More than 4000 years ago, honeydew melons were already cultivated in ancient Egypt, probably originating from West Africa and later spreading to Asia. Spanish seafarers brought the honeydew melon as far as America in the 16th century and it first flourished in California and today in both Brazil and Costa Rica. The melon was also known in ancient Greece at that time, but disappeared again from Europe in the Middle Ages. Today the cultivation takes place in many countries with a moderate climate but also in the dry-hot tropical areas and is mainly grown in the Mediterranean region between Portugal, France, Spain and Italy up to Israel. Depending on the season, the fruits in Germany also come from South Africa or South America. The fruits are imported from countries such as Mexico and Chile as well as from New Zealand. The honeydew melons are easily recognized by their thin smooth skin and are only slightly ribbed or scarred. Compared to other sugar melons such as the galia melon, the skin of the honeydew melon has no net structure. The annual plants of the sugar melon species are one to five meters long and grow similar to pumpkins. Worldwide production of all sugar melons is about 16 million tons, 60% of which is in China alone. The main supplier to Germany from spring to fall, however, is Spain, closely followed by Turkey, France, Italy and Israel. Germany receives just under 15% of its sugar melons in the off-season from Brazil and
Costa Rica, Honduras and South Africa. There are also different types of honeydew melon, for example, the Orange Flesh Honey Dew variety has orange flesh but does not keep very long. In this variety from Brazil, the skin turns slightly pink during ripening and becomes somewhat waxy. In contrast, the Tendral melons from Spain are more reminiscent of rugby balls. They have a green, smooth skin and aromatic, yellow-orange flesh. The flesh of the honeydew melon, however, is usually pale yellow to white and tastes very sweet, with a flavor reminiscent of honey. The flesh tastes best when slightly chilled.
Importance for health
Already 150 grams of honeydew melon completely cover the need for vitamin A for one day, and with the same amount also half the daily need for vitamin C is covered. In addition to various minerals such as potassium and calcium, the honeydew melon contains other elements such as iron and magnesium, as well as sodium and phosphorus. In addition to the aforementioned vitamins, the honeydew melon also contains other vitamins such as B1 and B2. Especially the contained provitamin is very important for cell growth and vision process and is converted to vitamin A in the body.
Ingredients and nutritional values
| Nutritional information | Amount per 100 gram |
| Calories 36 | Fat content 0.1 g |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | Sodium 18 mg |
| Potassium 228 mg | Carbohydrates 9 g |
| Dietary fiber 0.8 g | Protein 0.5 g |
Honeydew melon is among a popular refreshment, especially in summer. With a water content of about 85 to 90 percent, the flesh is very juicy and also pleasantly sweet as well as and good thirst quencher. In addition, honeydew melons with 36 kcal per 100 g have very few calories, only traces of fat and just 9 g of carbohydrates per 100 g, which makes them also very pleasant for a diet.
Intolerances and allergies
Although primary melon allergies are very rare, cross-reactivities to grass and grape weed pollens such as latex, celery and banana, cucumber and carrot are proven intolerances. In addition, consumption of honeydew melons can cause systemic reactions and oral allergy syndromes. The name ragweed-banana-melon syndrome was coined for this in the literature, which can occur in about and in 2.9 to 11 percent. Prick tests have also diagnosed isolated immediate-type allergic reactions to honeydew melons, with swelling of the cheeks and lips and mild difficulty swallowing
Shopping and kitchen tips
Honeydew melons are available in our area almost all year round. A properly ripe honeydew melon is difficult to identify and has no typical characteristics of ripeness. Honeydew melons no longer ripen, an unripe honeydew melon once cut open can then only be used in fruit salad. On the other hand, the fruit can be stored for a longer period of time, but not necessarily in the refrigerator. Honeydew melons can be stored at 10 – 15°C and a humidity of 90 – 95% for up to 3 months. They should also be stored at room temperature for several hours before eating. Once cut, honeydew melons can be stored in the refrigerator for several days wrapped in cling film. The preparation is also very simple, because the seeds are coherent in the center of the melon and can be easily removed with a spoon. To do this, cut the melon in half, remove the seeds and then cut into quarters again. Now the flesh can be cut into slices and then removed from the skin with a knife. Arrange the slices are now either in the melon peel or immediately further processed.
Preparation tips
The honeydew melon can be eaten as a refreshment either pure or further processed into a fruit salad. To do this, prepare the honeydew melon, cut into small pieces and mix with other fruits. Halved grapes, pear pieces, banana slices and a small can of tangerines with juice are suitable for this purpose. Sugar is practically not necessary. If you like, you can add a tablespoon of raisins and sliced almonds. The fruit salad should infuse for about an hour and can then be eaten. Especially in Spain, honeydew melon is also served with Parma ham as an appetizer. To do this, prepare the honeydew melon and cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces. Then loosely roll up small slices of Parma ham and put them with the pulp on small wooden skewers.
