Valley home to many tasty melon varieties
The Imperial Valley growing season for fruits and vegetables continues with the harvest of the various melon crops.
You don’t have to be a sorcerer to experience the magic in the cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon being harvested right now in the Imperial Valley. Just chill, cut and bite into one of those sweet, juicy globes and — no wand or hocus pocus about it — a hot, hectic summer day turns into a tropical taste paradise.
The real alchemy happens when melons carefully planted and cultivated in fields around the Valley are pushed to the peak of perfection by the warm, dry summer temperatures needed to anoint them. A lot of hard work and a little luck helps the process, too.
Melons are sweet edible fruits that belong to the gourd family and are divided into two categories: muskmelon and watermelon. We will provide some information on the types grown here a bit later.
Melons originated in Northeastern Africa and the Middle East, and they gradually began to appear in Europe toward the end of the Western Roman Empire. Melons are known to have been grown by the ancient Egyptians. However, recent discoveries of melon seeds dated between 1350 and 1120 B.C. in Nuragic sacred wells have shown that melons were first brought to Europe by the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia during the Bronze Age. Melons were among the earliest plants to be domesticated in both the Old World and among the first crop species brought by Westerners to the New World.
Early European settlers in the New World are recorded as growing honeydew and casaba melons as early as the 1600s. A number of Native American tribes in New Mexico, including Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Navajo, Santo Domingo and San Felipe, maintain a tradition of growing their own characteristic melon cultivars, derived from melons originally introduced by the Spanish. So, melons are a natural for us in Imperial Valley.
Muskmelons have either netted skin, like cantaloupes and Christmas melons, or smooth skin, like honeydew and casabas. Other varieties include Spanish, Persian, winter, and Crenshaws. All contain seeds and have a hollow center with fibrous material. They vary in color, including shades of yellow, pale green, and orange. One variety or another is available year-round, but they are most plentiful in late summer and early fall.
To determine whether a muskmelon is ripe, people should look for a slight softness at the blossom end and check for a sweet scent. To ripen a melon, it should be stored at room temperature and then keep cool until ready to use. When ready to enjoy a
melon, simply cut it in half and remove the seeds.
Honeydew melons are popular for use in salads, soups, desserts and garnishes and are rich in vitamin C. This type is smooth and oval in shape and has a pale white-yellow rind and a sweet taste. Shoppers should choose a honeydew that is heavy for its size, normally weighing from 4 to 8 pounds. To determine if a honeydew is ripe, an individual should touch it to see if the skin feels slightly wrinkled. The true form of a cantaloupe is grown primarily in Europe. American cantaloupes are actually muskmelons with a gray skin and juicy, orange, sweet flesh. Avoid cutting a cantaloupe until ready to serve it.
A Persian melon has a pale green netted skin and a sweet taste. The Crenshaw, or Cranshaw, is a sweet hybrid that has a goldgreen rind and light orange flesh. Spanish melons are egg shaped, green, and ribbed, and taste similar to Crenshaws.
The varieties in the watermelon category generally have less flavor than muskmelons, and a watery consistency. They contain vitamins A and C and are eaten alone or in fruit dishes or salads. Watermelons are heavier than muskmelons, with an average weight of 15 to 35 pounds and are native to Africa. Some varieties are much smaller, similar in size to a cantaloupe.
The most popular choice of watermelon is green or greenish-gray and striped, with shiny black seeds. The flesh can range from white or yellow to pink or red. The seeds may also vary in color. Those referred to as seedless often contain a few small, soft seeds that are edible.
When selecting a watermelon, shoppers should look for a smooth, uniform rind and a hollow sound when slapped. The rind should be dull, rather than shiny. Store uncut fruit in the refrigerator or other cool place. Once cut, any leftovers should be snugly wrapped in plastic and used within one day.
While several Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers include melons in their seasonal crop rotation, the Mainas family was featured in an Alive magazine article last year, and I am including parts of that story with permission of the Alive publishers.
Jimmy Mainas, IVVGA board member, said his family’s farm grows and ships both conventional and organic cantaloupes, fullsize watermelons, mini or personal size watermelons and yellow flesh watermelon under the Mainas Farms and various other labels. Elsewhere in the facility onions were being packed for shipping.
Despite the numerous varieties, sizes and shapes of melons moving through the Mainas facility, the overarching priority for Valley vegetable and melon growers is food safety. In fact, all cantaloupe producers in California are part of the state Cantaloupe Advisory Board, which maintains a mandatory food safety program that invites government auditors to inspect all aspects of cantaloupe operations.
California’s importance as a cantaloupe producer cannot be overestimated. The state produces about 75 percent of the nation’s cantaloupes, and Imperial County was the state’s second largest cantaloupe-producing county, based on the more recent figures. The county is also of California’s top 5 watermelon-producing regions. In addition to being sweet treats, melons pack a powerful nutritional punch. A 6-ounce serving, about a quarter of a cantaloupe, provides 100 percent, or more, of the U.S. recommended daily allowances of vitamin A and C. They are also high in fiber and folacin, a nutrient needed for growth and the development of hemoglobin. Watermelon contains higher levels of lycopene, an important antioxidant, than any other fresh fruit or vegetable. It also contains healthy doses of vitamin A, C, B6 and potassium.
When it comes to melons, the Valley has a lot going for it. Both cantaloupe and watermelon originated in Africa, and they thrive on hot, dry weather. Thanks to the Valley’s year-round growing season, melons are usually planted here about February, after lettuce, broccoli and other vegetable crop harvests. That has the melon crop maturing as temperatures are peaking in order to ripen fully.
The other thing that benefits melons is that Valley growers have perfected a carefully choreographed planting, cultivation and harvesting process for the crop. And, they keep honing the art and science of agriculture to increase water efficiency, enhance yields and improve the product that goes to market. That may be why so many varieties of melons are being grown, including some new long shelf-life varieties.
Mainas said, “You’re always looking at what’s new. There are tons of varieties and it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what’s best. When you find a winner, you don’t want to change.”
Yet the process of improving is never-ending. At the cooling and packing, Mainas points out processes used to maintain the melons’ perfection. Cantaloupes are pre-cooled to 34 degrees in a quick-cooling tunnel prior to packing in cartons. Watermelon, thanks to its thicker rind, does not need pre-cooling. But cartons of both cantaloupes and watermelons rest in a chilly shed awaiting trucks that will deliver them to stores and distribution centers throughout California.
Mainas Farms started by Jimmy’s father, George, in 1985. Today the whole family is involved in the operation. “My dad started me on a tractor when I was 13,” said Jimmy Mainas. “I’ve pretty much stayed with it since then.”
Family and tradition are important to the Mainas’ family. One of the affiliates they grow and ship for is the Sweet Treats label owned by the Pappas family, which is based in Mendota. Interestingly, both families are Greek and come from the same region in Greece.
While customs and tradition are important to the Mainas’ family, Jimmy is skeptical about the merit of thumping, sniffing or checking a melon’s skin for markings to see if it’s ripe.
We applaud the Mainas family for providing us with safe quality melons to enjoy. Others who produce this summer delight include Five Crowns Marketing under the Majesty label, Lawrence Cox Ranches and LaBrucherie Produce.
As a Southern woman, I cannot imagine a 4th of July without a watermelon. And I will not wait until then to relish … and Nick might even get some watermelon rind jelly.