Rockmelon

In Australia, Rockmelons (or cantaloupe) is the name given to any melon with orange flesh. The skin is sometimes puckered and can be scaly or smooth. In Europe, for example, cantaloupes have smooth skin, whereas the muskmelon, also orange flesh, is the rough skinned variety. These melons are best in late summer when they are at their peak in their season, but can be available all year round because of parts of Australia having a year round ‘summer’.

Being a melon, they have an extraordinary sweet flavour, but with a more dense texture when compared to watermelon. When buying a rockmelon there are ways to tell if it is ready. Look to the part where the stem was attached to the melon, check if that has browned a little. If it is bright green, then the rockmelon was not ready to be picked and therefore not ripe. A good fruity smell from its base can indicate a good melon as can a heavy weight.

There is always a mark on the melon. This is the place where it sits on the ground and does not indicate spoilage inside the fruit. But if this spot, and any other spots, was sunken, it means the fruit is spoiled. Rockmelons are an eating fruit. They are fantastic to add to fruit salads or on top of vanilla ice-cream.