Helps you lose weight, prevents wrinkles, facilitates tanning … there are at least 5 good reasons to eat melon in the summer. And there are at least 500 possible gourmet combinations with which to enjoy it, starting with the timeless ham & melon, in an unusual and surprising version.
Usually consumed as a fruit, actually the melon is a vegetable, a close relative of cucumber and courgette, which belong to the same botanical family, that of the Cucurbitaceae. It will be this sort of double identity that makes the melon extremely eclectic, suitable for both fresh and sweet preparations. Starting with the most classic of combinations, the one with the raw ham, with which it shares the destiny of always ending up in slices: sweets for one, sapid for the other, which enhance each other in a great balance of taste.
THE VARIETIES
The netted melon
Among the most common types, netted melon is recognized by the rind covered with lattices, as the name suggests, with or without the typical longitudinal grooves that define the slices. There pulp is orange, generally softer in melons with the signature of the slice and more crunchy in those without. The varieties in fact, cultivated are dozens, especially hybrids derived from Harper (with ribs) and from the Supermarket (without ribs). The haul is cultivated above all in our northern regions and harvested continuously. until the end of September. Its chosen area is the province of Mantua, together with the territories of Cremona and some municipalities in Emilia, where the pride is the Mantuan melon Igp, both in the netted type (80%), and in the type with smooth skin (20%).
The winter melon
The melon "Yellow" or "gialletto" it is also known as winter melon because, despite being harvest in the summer (like the net), it keeps for a long time and is marketed almost until December, without losing color and consistency. Also for this typology the cultivated varieties are different – above all hybrids derived from the Giorillo and the Helios – all characterized by the rind of color intense yellow, more or less wrinkled. There pulp is light (hence the name "white melon") is very sugary, with an almost vanilla aroma. Its area of choice is our South (which prefers it to orange-pulp melons), where it is grown in Sicily (first producing region in Italy, with an area of over 9,000 hectares), in Campania and Puglia.
The green melon
Like the "gialletto", it belongs to the group of so-called "winter" melons due to its excellent shelf life, which can last up to 2-3 months after harvest, and is therefore available on the market until November-December. Originally from Spain, belongs to the type "Piel de sapo" (literally "toad skin"), Due to the wrinkled rind, of an intense green color and furrowed by light streaks, also this starting point for the selection of different hybrids. There pulp is white to greenish, juicy and very sweet. In Italy it is grown in Sardinia, but due to limited quantities, the product on the market is mainly imported from Spain, Brazil and other South American countries.
How to choose and keep them
At the time of purchase, apart from choose firm melons and without dents, other special measures are not essential, because generally the products on the market are ready for consumption and with one shelf-life (ie, shelf life) of 7-10 days. However, in the case of the netted melons with ribbing, the yellowish color means a greater degree of maturation. The melons with white pulp, in particular, they remain in fridge even up to 10 days, in the lowest department, with the foresight of do not keep them with vegetables, because the ethylene emission could deteriorate. Tspray them out of the fridge about an hour before to taste them: they give the best of themselves at room temperature. If you don't eat it all, wrap it in film, keep it in the fridge and consume it within a short time.
Paola Mancuso
July 2016
updated by Aurora Quinto
June 2019
DISCOVER THE COOKING COURSES OF SALT & PEPE
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