Appearance & Taste

A honeydew melon has a round to slightly oval shape and is usually 15-22 cm long. In weight, it generally ranges from 1.8kg to 3.6 kg. The outside has a smooth, waxy texture to it and range from yellow to green in colour.

On the inside, the flesh of the honeydew is thick, sweet and juicy which is a pale greenish-white. Like most fruit, it does contain seeds.

Looking at taste, the honeydew has fragrant, sweet, refreshing and light flavour.

Where It Comes From

Honeydew melons are grown commercially in the likes of south-western United States, South America, Turkey, China and New Zealand to name a few.

Health Benefits

The honeydew melon is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium plus high in vitamin C, Vitamin B6, folate and potassium. Hence the nutritional values make it an excellent choice for both weight control and general health.

Uses

Apart from being eaten fresh:

• The flesh of the fruit can be dried, ground into a powder and used with cereals when making bread, biscuits etc
• Can be used as a cooling light cleanser or moisturiser for the skin.
• Used sometimes as a first aid treatment for burns and abrasions.
• Edible oil is obtained from some of the seeds, which has a nutty flavour.
• To make honeydew melon wine.
  

Fruit Facts

• Honeydews are harvested by maturity and not by size. Maturity is difficult to judge because no clear separation from the vine occurs.
• The honeydew melon is part of the Inodorus variety of melon (Cucumis melo) which also includes casaba, crenshaw, persian and santa claus melons. These melons are all categorized as winter melons since they mature later in the summer compared to melons such as cantaloupe.
• The melons are planted during the early summer months and take about two to three months to produce ripe fruit

How to prepare to eat

1. Take a sharp knife and cut a little a little off the top of the melon
2. Then place the large part of the melon remaining on your cutting board with the pulp facing upward, and then cut through the middle of this length wise to make two equal halves.
3. Hold one of melon pieces upright (i.e. do not lie them down onto the oval part of the melon). Slice downward again through the center to create two elongated pieces. Repeat this with the other piece. This will leave you with 4 long elongated quarter slices.
4. Repeat the same onwards till you the slices as thin as you want.
5. Then with a knife cut out the seeds. This will leave you with a number of melon slices ready to eat. If you want to make cubes, just simply take the slices, cut away the skin and slice the pulp into cubes