The Delectable Charentais Melon Is Revered By A Small French Town
If you come across a giant sculpture of a melon on the A7 highway in the south of France, you've likely found the hometown of the Charentais melon. The fruit is a regional specialty, grown and beloved in the French town of Cavaillon.
The oval-shaped melon is a little smaller than the standard cantaloupe — it's only about the size of a softball and weighs two to three pounds. The exterior looks pretty similar to the familiar melons, featuring a textured grey-green rind broken up by 10 darker green stripes.
Inside, the bright orange flesh of the melon is simultaneously firm and tender and features a pretty strong smell. The melons belong to the muskmelon variety, known for their powerful fragrances. The smell is just a preview of the flavor of the melon, which tastes mildly acidic, super sweet, and just a little bit floral. Its flavor is similar to that of the cantaloupe, just a little sweeter. Because of the melon's delicious flavor, some have dubbed it "the greatest melon in the world," according to Atlas Obscura.
The fruit is most popular in one French town
Although the melon can be grown anywhere in the world that has rich, sandy soil, it's most often produced in Cavaillon, France. The town began producing the fruit prior to the 14th century, but its renown really began in the mid-1800s, thanks to trains distributing the fruit around the country. By the 1950s, Cavaillon's Charentais melons made up 64% of all melon production in France. Today, production is around 130,000 tones of melons per year, and Cavaillon is still France's top producer. And, of course, the melon sculpture welcomes guests to the town.
The melon holds such high importance amongst the people of Cavaillon that it even has its own Brotherhood of Knights, called the Confrérie des Chevaliers de l'Ordre du Melon de Cavaillon. These knights ensure that every melon harvested is of the highest quality, and they oversee a weekend festival dedicated to the fruit: Feria du Melon. The July festival features farm tours, dances, and art galleries full of melon-inspired pieces. It concludes with 100 horses running through the streets of Cavaillon.
If you come across a Charentais melon at your local farmer's market, try swapping the sweet fruit into your next fruit salad — or just biting in to enjoy the flavor all on its own.
The sweet melon can be enjoyed a few different ways
Because the melons — which typically ripen mid-summer — feature a flavor similar to that of the cantaloupe, the Charentais melon can easily be swapped into recipes that call for the more common fruit — just make sure you're cutting into it correctly. The melon can simply be sliced up and enjoyed on its own, or it can be cut into cubes and tossed into a fruit salad, perfect for a summertime snack. You can even use it as a sweet and fruity edible garnish on top of a cake.
The melon may be sweet enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, but it can also provide some key nutrients. It's packed full of vitamin C, which has been shown to improve immune system function, according to WebMD. The melons also contain fiber, which the Mayo Clinic states can help with the digestive process, maintaining your weight, and controlling cholesterol and blood sugar levels. The fruit is also a good source of vitamins A and B, potassium, and smaller amounts of various other vitamins.