For those who like their melons ‘crisp’
Hami variety has refreshing, sweet taste, but its crunch may come as a surprise
The temperature climbed over 45 C last week in Arizona and Southern California, where hami melons turn golden under the desert sun.
With its attractive netting, blushing orange flesh and honeyed sweetness, this refreshing melon was given to Qing emperors for centuries by the people in its hometown of Hami, in northwestern China.
If you’ve never handled a hami, be warned, this fabled melon has crunch!
“Before adding the word ‘crisp’ to the label we’d get calls and emails if it had the slightest bite saying we’d harvested it too green,” says Milas Russell III, president of Savor Fresh Farms in Yuma, which supplies Loblaws’ PC Honey Kiss hami in a red mesh bag.
Russell, who tests his melons for flavour all day, every day, says sales to non-Asian retailers have “spiked tremendously” this year as more consumers discover Savor’s proprietary variety.
Traditional hami melons, also found in Toronto stores, are even crunchier, he says, with a speckled green rather than uniform golden skin.
Local importer Randy Weinstein, of Canadian Fruit & Produce at the Ontario Food Terminal, agrees the torpedo-shaped melons are gaining a wide swath of fans in this country.
“They’re definitely becoming mainstream,” says Weinstein, who sells the Golden Hami from California’s Fisher Ranch to local independents and Chinese stores from May until October. Ranch manager Andrew Fisher says his family is shipping up to 25,000 Golden Hami a week to Canada, each weighing about 2.2 kilograms.
Fisher notes that there’s no genetic modification involved in these sweet new melon varieties, they’re all created by old-fashioned crossbreeding.
They’re also picked ready to eat, Weinstein says, “so buy them and enjoy.” Buy and store
Look for a heavy melon with a slight aroma.
When you press the blossom end, it should give slightly.
Hamis are sweet no matter what size you buy. They’re also low in calories.
Melons do not ripen off the vine but the flesh will get softer.
Leave on the counter three to four days or refrigerate for a week.
Remove seeds only from the part you’re eating right away. This keeps unused portions moist and fresh.
Wrap a cut melon tightly or refrigerate in a sealed container and consume within four days. Prep Wash all melons before cutting. Cut in half lengthwise. Scrape out seeds and discard.
For a fancy presentation, cut into balls with a melon scoop.
Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Cut in cubes and freeze to use for smoothies. Serve
Balls or chunks of orange hami and green honeydew melon make a festive fruit salad.
Serve chilled wedges plain with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.
For breakfast, serve melon slices with honeyed yogurt.
Drape a wedge of hami melon with a thin slice of prosciutto.
Add melon cubes to a grilled chicken or shrimp salad dressed with yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice and finely chopped mint.
Pair hami’s juicy sweetness with thinly sliced fennel and Kalamata olives.
Remove skin and overlap thin slices of hami on a plate. Drizzle with a lime-ginger dressing.
Make a smoothie with frozen melon cubes and coconut milk.
Add chunks of sweet hami to a fruit punch or daiquiri.
Melon Prosciutto Salad
The saltiness of the prosciutto complements the sweetness of the melon in this fresh, colourful salad adapted from Savor Fresh Farms.
Star Tested Vinaigrette: 1/4 cup (60 mL) balsamic vinegar 1/2 tsp (2 mL) Dijon mustard 2 tsp (10 mL) honey 1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt, freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Salad: 1 head romaine lettuce, washed, dried, torn into bite-size pieces 2 cups (500 mL) hami melon cubes (1/2 inch/1 cm thick) 1-1/4 cups (310 mL) chopped English cucumber 200 g tub bocconcini cheese, quartered 8 slices thinly sliced prosciutto, cut in bite-size pieces 4 green onions, thinly sliced 1/2 cup (125 mL) loosely packed basil leaves, roughly chopped In a large salad bowl, whisk vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Gradually add olive oil, whisking until thickened.
Add romaine, melon, cucumber, cheese, prosciutto and green onions to bowl. Toss to combine well with dressing. Sprinkle with basil. Makes 4 servings. Cynthia David is a Toronto-based food and travel writer who blogs at cynthia-david.com.