Cantaloupes are a favorite summer fruit - pungent and fragrant when ripe, and full of deep, sweet goodness. If you have one in your CSA box, lucky you.
Cantaloupes are a type of muskmelon. In Europe you find a different breed of cantaloupe - smooth and green, while in the States they are usually light brown with lightly webbed rind. Hopefully yours smells good - sniffing the stalk end of a cantaloupe is a good way to determine if it's ripe or not. If it doesn't smell like anything at all, good chance that it's going to be tasteless too. Leave it out at room temperature for a few days until it starts to give off a sweet scent.
What do you like to do with cantaloupe, other than slice and eat?
Cantaloupe gelato? Oh, curse you, internet, now I won't be satisfied until I've had it. I better hurry and get that ice cream maker! Cantaloupe has long been my favorite melon. All the recipes are nice, but in my opinion "slice and eat" remains the ideal use of these things.
view Jim of ChewOnThat's profile
I was once served a wonderful cold cantaloupe soup.
view vera in dc's profile
Cantaloupe juice! You scoop out the center with the seeds, squeeze the juice out of it with a strainer, pour some cold water with ice, and add lots and lots of sugar. Then use a grater to make fine strips out of the fruit. A refeshing, traditional Filipino drink!
view sspros's profile
I just had cut up canteloupe with strawberries and mint. yum.
view Gaia's profile
Before I discovered my dairy allergies I loved a half melon filled with cold cottage cheese and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
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My favorite sandwich is the #5 from Stonemill Bakers, and is made as follows: soft jalapeno cornbread, mayo, lettuce, roasted turkey (not lunchmeat) and very thin slices of cantaloupe. When I first discovered it I wanted to eat it for every meal. My husband calls it the crack sandwich. :-)
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Yes cold cantaloupe soup with mint on a hot summer day - heavenly!
view robyn's profile
On a trip to Bologna I had cantaloupe ice cream I agree its the best.
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
Here's an extremely non-gourmet way to eat cantaloupe--my grandmother used to scoop out a little of the melon, fill the hole with vanilla ice cream, pour 7-Up over the ice cream and serve with the extra cantaloupe on the side. When it was very, very hot, we would get this for lunch.
I eat this at least once every summer. Try it. It's best if you pronounce it a musk-muh-lun using her accent.
view A Nony Mous's profile
I had the most delicious lunch at a fromagerie in Paris. I have recreated this dish at home many times. It was a halved melon (charentais I think, but I've used cantaloupe too) with the seeds removed and a mixture of feta, mint and a little olive oil in the center. The combination of sweet and salty with the firm flesh and crumbly cheese is divine, and perfectly offset by the mint. I might have to make it this weekend!
view nylondiner's profile
Cantaloupe pie! Must dig out recipe...
view BonivaGScott's profile
try the cantaloupe sorbet at Cones (on bleecker st in nyc), it gets close to some of that italian gelato you are talking about!
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