Cantaloupe

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Cantaloupe
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Cucurbitales Family: Cucurbitaceae Genus: Cucumis Species: C. melo Subspecies: C. m. cantalupensis C. m. reticulatus
Trinomial name
Cucumis melo cantalupensis Cucumis melo reticulatus Naudin.

Cantaloupe (also cantaloup) refers to two varieties of muskmelon (Cucumis melo) ^[1], which is a species in the family Cucurbitaceae (a family which includes nearly all melons and squashes). Cantaloupes are typically 15–25 cm in length and are somewhat oblong, though not as oblong as watermelons. Like all melons, cantaloupes grow best in sandy, well-aerated, well-watered soil that is free of encroaching weeds.

• The European cantaloupe is Cucumis melo cantalupensis. Its lightly-ribbed, pale green skin looks quite different from the North American cantaloupe.

• The North American cantaloupe, common in the United States and in some parts of Canada, is Cucumis melo reticulatus (or sometimes C. melo melo var. cantalupensis), a different member of the same muskmelon species. It is named reticulatus due to its net-like (or reticulated) skin covering. In Australia and New Zealand, it is called rockmelon due to the rock-like appearance of the skin of the fruit. It is called a spanspek or sweet melon in South Africa, where it is harvested during the summer months October through February. It is a round melon with firm, orange, moderately-sweet flesh and a thin reticulated light-brown rind. Varieties with redder and yellower flesh exist but are not common, and they are not considered as flavorsome as the more common variety.

Contents 1 Origin 2 Production and use 3 Food chemistry 4 Varieties 5 References 6 External links 7 Footnotes

[edit] Origin

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The cantaloupe originated in India and Africa.^[2]

The cantaloupe was named after the comune Cantalupo in Sabina, in the Sabine Hills near Tivoli, Italy, a summer residence of the Pope. It was originally cultivated about the year 1700 from seeds brought from Armenia, part of the homeland of melons.

The most widely enjoyed variety of European cantaloupe is the Charentais, cultivated almost exclusively in France. Pope Innocent XIII(1721-1724) is said to have enjoyed sipping Port wine from a partially hollowed melon half as an apéritif.

Cantaloupes were first introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1494. The W. Atlee Burpee Company developed and introduced the "Netted Gem" in 1881 from varieties then growing in North America.

[edit] Production and use

For commercial plantings, the United States Department of Agriculture recommends at least one hive of honeybees per acre (4,000 m² per hive) for pollination. Good pollination is essential, not only for the number of fruits produced, but also for the sugar content of these fruits.

A ripe one will have a musky sweet smell at the stem end of the melon. An odorless one is likely to be tasteless, too.

Cantaloupe is normally eaten as a fresh fruit, as a salad, or as a dessert with ice-cream or custard. Melon pieces wrapped in prosciutto are a familiar modern antipasto. Sanjeev Kapoor describes the charentais variety: "the orange, sugary and fragrant flesh makes this fruit popular both as a dessert or main course. These have smooth gray-green rinds and very fragrant orange flesh. It keeps well when stored in a cool, dry place and ripens after several days in a warm room."

Because the surface of a cantaloupe can contain harmful bacteria - in particular, salmonella ^[3] - it is always a good idea to wash a melon thoroughly before cutting and consumption. Optimum preparation procedures involve disinfection with a fine mist of ethanol on the outside of the fruit, but this is rarely carried out (outside of professional facilities) due to the relative non-availability (to the average consumer) of ethanol that is not mixed with methanol (methylated spirits) or traces of benzene (laboratory grade "100%" ethanol).

A moldy cantaloupe in a Peoria IL market in 1941 was found to contain the best and highest quality penicillin after a world-wide search.^[4]

Cantaloupe can also be extracted to isolate an enzyme known as superoxide dismutase (SOD), essential for maintaining strong antioxidant defenses in the human body. When paired with a wheat gliadin delivery system to protect it from other more destructive enzymes (a complex known as glisodin), cantaloupe extract has clinically-proven benefits for a variety of health applications.

[edit] Food chemistry

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Cantaloupe melon Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 10 kcal   30 kJ
Carbohydrates     8.16 g - Sugars  7.86 g - Dietary fiber  0.9 g   Fat 0.19 g Protein 0.84 g Water 90.15 g Alcohol 0 mg Caffeine 0 mg Vitamin A equiv.  169 μg  19% - β-carotene  2020 μg  19% Thiamin (Vit. B1)  0.041 mg   3% Riboflavin (Vit. B2)  0.019 mg   1% Niacin (Vit. B3)  0.734 mg   5% Pantothenic acid (B5)  0.105 mg  2% Vitamin B6  0.072 mg 6% Folate (Vit. B9)  21 μg  5% Vitamin B12  0.00 μg   0% Vitamin C  36.7 mg 61% Vitamin E  0.05 mg 0% Vitamin K  2.5 μg 2% Calcium  9 mg 1% Iron  0.21 mg 2% Magnesium  12 mg 3%  Phosphorus  15 mg 2% Zinc  0.18 mg 2%
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient database

Cantaloupe are a source of polyphenol antioxidants, chemicals which are known to provide certain health benefits to the cardiovascular system and immune system. These chemicals are known to up regulate the formation of nitric oxide, a key chemical in promoting health of the endothelium and prevention of heart attacks.It is good for the liver.

Cantaloupes also are an excellent source of vitamin C and beta carotene.

[edit] Varieties

• Anaconda
• Ananas (pineapple)
• Archer F1
• Athena
• Charentais
• Charon
• Cruiser F1
• Eastern
• French
• Western
• Western muskmelon
• Sensation
• Sidewinder improved
• Tuscan
• Viper
• WSC-04-13
• WSC-04-14

[edit] References

• Cucumis melo cantelupensis (TSN 22362). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on September 3, 2002.
• Ensminger, Audrey H (1995). The Concise Encyclopedia of Foods & Nutrition. CRC Press: ISBN 0849344557.

[edit] External links

• Nutritional and Historical Information
• MSNBC Article on Farming of Hybridization That Mentions Cantaloupes
• Sorting Cucumis names – Multilingual multiscript plant name database

[edit] Footnotes