Honeydew (melon)
Smooth-rind melon, pale green flesh, high in vitamin C.
The honeydew melon is a cultivar type within the Cucumis melo Inodorus Group, known for its smooth, often green or yellowish rind and lack of musky odor. It is one of the two main types in this group, alongside the wrinkle-rind casaba melon. The honeydew is widely cultivated and consumed globally, commonly found in supermarkets alongside cantaloupe melons and watermelons.
- type
- Cultivar (Cucumis melo Inodorus Group)
- typical_weight
- 1.8 to 3.6 kg (4.0 to 7.9 lb)
- typical_length
- 15–22 cm (5.9–8.7 in)
- water_content
- 90%
- calories_per_100g
- 36
- primary_nutrient
- Vitamin C (56% daily value per cup)
- season_in_California
- August to October
Lore & Background
The honeydew melon is the American name for the White Antibes cultivar, which has been grown for many years in southern France and Algeria. In China, honeydews are known as Bailan melons, famous locally near Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province. According to Chinese sources, the melons were introduced to China by American Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, who donated melon seeds to the locals while visiting in the 1940s (probably 1944). Wallace served as Secretary of Agriculture and Vice President under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and in 1926 he founded the seed company Pioneer Hi-Bred, popularizing hybridized corn.
Reader's Guide
The honeydew melon holds significance as a widely consumed fruit in the Inodorus Group, distinguished by its smooth rind and lack of musky odor. Its cultivation is best suited to semiarid climates, and harvesting is based on maturity rather than size, judged by rind color shifting from greenish white to creamy yellow, a yielding blossom-end, and pleasant aroma. Quality is assessed by nearly spherical shape, a surface free of scars or defects, a heavy feel for its size, and a waxy rather than fuzzy surface. Nutritionally, the honeydew is 90% water, low in calories at 36 per 100g, and an excellent source of vitamin C, also providing thiamine and potassium. Its introduction to China by Henry A. Wallace in the 1940s led to the local name 'Wallace' (Hualaishi). The fruit is known by various names in different cultures, including 'Melón tuna' in parts of Latin America, and is used for dessert. Its seeds contain high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Did You Know?
- The honeydew is one of the two main cultivar types in the Cucumis melo Inodorus Group, the other being the wrinkle-rind casaba melon.
- In China, the honeydew is sometimes called 'Wallace' (Hualaishi) after American Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, who donated seeds in the 1940s.
- The honeydew is 90% water and contains only 36 calories per 100 grams.
- In parts of Latin America, especially Chile, the honeydew is nicknamed 'Melón tuna' ('prickly pear melon').
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