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Ripe & Ready As Cantaloupe Season Hits Its Peak, Here’s How To Pick Some Winners

Cathy Thomas Orange County Register

Cantaloupe season is in full swing and supermarkets have mountains of melons.

At first glance, cantaloupes may look alike. So how do you single out the sweet ones? The ones that are ready to eat? The ones with vivid orange flesh and lots of juice?

Cantaloupe customers have several approaches. There are thumpers, shakers and sniffers. Pokers, too. Put them all together, and you could have a cantaloupe calypso band.

The thumpers and shakers are having fun, but they may not end up with the best cantaloupes. According to the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board, the sniffers and pokers will have more success - especially if they use their eyes, too.

Look for melons with stem ends that are smooth and well-rounded. The stem end should yield to light pressure when given a gentle poke. Avoid melons with bruises and discolorations (although it’s perfectly all right for one side to be “bleached” where the melon touched ground).

Choose cantaloupes that are slightly golden - not a dull green - under their netting. The netting should cover the whole rind. They should feel heavy; the heavier the melon, the juicier the flesh.

But most of all, a sure sign of a tasty cantaloupe is a sweet, musty aroma. You even can smell it through the plastic wrapper on ripe, market-cut melons (as long as they’re not too cold).

If you end up with a less-than-perfect selection that needs additional ripening, you can improve the flavor of uncut melons by leaving them at room temperature for two to four days. The fruit will not become sweeter, but it will turn softer and juicier.

Once ripened or cut, cantaloupes should be refrigerated, but don’t remove the seeds until just before you’re ready to serve the melon; the seeds keep the flesh from drying out.

Serve cantaloupes just slightly chilled for the most flavor and fragrance. Here are some suggestions:

Appetizers and First Courses

Slice cantaloupe and wrap with prosciutto (dry-cured Italian ham); serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Cut in half and fill cavity with chilled wine sauce, made by combining 2-1/2 cups full-bodied red wine (such as zinfandel or shiraz), 1/2 cup sugar and a cinnamon stick in a heavy-bottom large saucepan; boil until reduced to about 1 cup. Strain and chill. Pour into chilled melon halves; serve.

Breakfasts

Prepare a Cantaloupe and Strawberry Streusel (see recipe below). Cantaloupe is seldom cooked, but in this recipe it’s combined with strawberries, slathered with yogurt, covered with a luscious streusel topping and heated slightly. The results are delicious. Accompany with frozen yogurt and this dish becomes a dessert.

Salads

Use cantaloupe halves as a bowl for cold summer salads, such as chicken salad tossed with curry mayonnaise, grapes and toasted pecans - or tuna salad with basil-scented mayonnaise (stirred with a little Dijon mustard), capers, celery and finely minced red onion.

Use slivers of cantaloupe as a garnish for crisp green salads. Grilled Portobello Mushroom and Cantaloupe Salad (see recipe below) can be a first course or main dish. A simple green salad matched with a balsamic vinaigrette is topped with slices of cantaloupe and grilled portobello mushrooms; crumbled feta cheese flavored with basil and sun-dried tomato is sprinkled over the top.

Desserts

Fill small cantaloupe halves with port or dry white wine. Or slice and cover with a syrup made by boiling 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup lime juice, 1/3 cup water and 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom for 2 minutes; chill. If desired, serve with Cantaloupe Sorbet.

Cantaloupe Sorbet

1 cup sugar (see note)

1 cup water

1 large, lushly ripe cantaloupe, about 20 ounces

1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Optional garnish: sprigs of fresh mint

Combine sugar and water in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. When sugar dissolves, reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 6 minutes. Remove from heat; cool.

Remove rind and seed cantaloupe; cut into 2-inch chunks. Place chunks in food processor fitted with metal blade; add lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar syrup. Process until smooth. Pour into canister of ice-cream maker. Process according to manufacturer’s directions.

Scoop sorbet into chilled bowls or goblets or onto a wedge of melon of a contrasting color, such as honeydew. Garnish with fresh mint and pass an assortment of cookies. This sorbet also may be served between courses as a palate cleanser.

Yield: About 3 cups, or 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 66 calories, 0.3 grams fat (4 percent fat calories), no cholesterol, 9 milligrams sodium.

Note: This recipe makes a great deal more sugar syrup than the cantaloupe sorbet requires. Leftover syrup can be covered and refrigerated and used throughout the summer to create various kinds of fruit sorbets. If desired, you can make less, using only cup sugar and cup water.

If you wish to make sorbet richer and silkier, you can add 2 tablespoons half-and-half or whipping cream.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom and Cantaloupe Salad

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Splash of cider vinegar

Garlic salt to taste

3 large shallots, minced

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Black pepper to taste

6 medium portobello mushrooms

6 large handfuls of mixed salad greens

2 small cantaloupes, peeled and seeded, cut into slender, lengthwise slices

4 ounces crumbled feta cheese with herbs and sun-dried tomatoes (or herbs and garlic)

Prepare grill. If using charcoal, allow coals to burn to medium-low heat or use indirect grilling method. If using gas, use low setting.

Prepare vinaigrette by combining vinegars, garlic salt, shallots, olive oil and pepper.

Wipe mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Brush both sides with vinaigrette. Place rounded-side down on grill. Cook 2 to 3 minutes. Lift with tongs and rotate 1/4 turn. Grill 1 to 2 minutes; watch carefully to prevent burning. Turn mushrooms and brush lightly with vinaigrette. Grill 2 to 4 minutes.

Place mushrooms on cutting board and drizzle with a little vinaigrette; allow to rest for 10 minutes. Cut into slices on the diagonal. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Toss salad greens with enough vinaigrette to barely coat the leaves. Refrigerate leftover vinaigrette; it will keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Divide greens among 6 plates. Alternate slices of mushrooms with slices of cantaloupe. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrition information per serving: 307 calories, 23 grams fat (67 percent fat calories), 17 milligrams cholesterol, 262 milligrams sodium.

Cantaloupe and Strawberry Streusel

4 cups cubed cantaloupe, room temperature

2-1/2 cups halved strawberries, room temperature

1 tablespoon orange juice

8 ounces plain or vanilla yogurt, drained

Topping:

1/2 cup graham-cracker crumbs

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup ( stick) butter, cut into 4 pieces

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Adjust oven rack 8 to 10 inches below broiler element. Preheat broiler.

Spread fruit in bottom of a 2-quart gratin pan (shallow, oval baking dish) and sprinkle with orange juice. Spread yogurt evenly over fruit in a thin layer.

In a food processor fitted with metal blade add crumbs, sugar and flour. Pulse 2-3 times. Add butter and pulse until the consistency of coarse meal. Add nuts and pulse once. Sprinkle over yogurt.

Place under broiler for about 2-3 minutes or until browned (watch carefully, because topping burns easily). Serve immediately, with ice cream or frozen yogurt if desired.

Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 264 calories, 12.4 grams fat (42 percent fat calories), 17 milligrams cholesterol, 128 milligrams sodium.