cutting; it’s now recommended that melons be thoroughly washed in hot soapy water before preparing them Food Words: Melon In Greek, melon meant “apple,” but also other fruits containing seeds The Greeks called our melon melopepon, or “applegourd,” and this became shortened to melon Melon Families and Qualities The most common Western melons fall into two families: Summer melons are highly aromatic and perishable, and usually have rough rinds They include true cantaloupes and muskmelons Winter melons are less aromatic and less perishable, and usually have smooth or wrinkled rinds They include honeydews, casabas, and canaries The differences between the two melon families are caused by differences in their physiology The aromatic summer melons are generally climacteric fruits that (with the exception of cantaloupes) separate from their stems when ripe; and they contain active enzymes that generate more than 200 different esters from amino acid precursors, and thus help create their characteristically rich aroma The winter melons are generally nonclimacteric fruit like their relatives the cucumbers and squashes, and have low esterenzyme activities and therefore a milder flavor Vine-ripening is important for all melons because they don’t store starch and so get no sweeter after harvest A remnant of the stem on an aromatic melon indicates that it was harvested before becoming fully ripe, while all winter melons (and true cantaloupes), even ripe ones, carry a piece of stem The aroma of melons may continue to develop off the vine, ... harvested before becoming fully ripe, while all winter melons (and true cantaloupes), even ripe ones, carry a piece of stem The aroma of melons may continue to develop off the vine, .. .The differences between the two melon families are caused by differences in their physiology The aromatic summer melons are generally climacteric fruits that (with the exception of cantaloupes)... flavor Vine-ripening is important for all melons because they don’t store starch and so get no sweeter after harvest A remnant of the stem on an aromatic melon indicates that it was harvested before becoming fully ripe, while