EASTERN CANTALOUPES

Eastern cantaloupes are a naturally low-calorie food with a high water content to fend off dehydration. One cup of eastern cantaloupes has about 50 calories and is packed with nutritional goodness! A 1 cup serving yields a 100% of the recommended daily dose of Vitamin A, more than 50% of the recommended Vitamin C intake and a host of electrolytes and healthy minerals. Eastern cantaloupe is a great recovery food for athletes, a healthy sweet snack for kids and a chef’s delight and flavor enhancer (see our delicious recipes).

Summer is the season for the most flavorful cantaloupes. Check your local grocery produce section for Athena or Eastern Cantaloupes and enjoy the Flavor of Sunshine! Grown locally, vine ripened, shipped straight to your grocer, nothing says “summer” like sweet, eastern cantaloupe.

What about Western or Winter Cantaloupes?

All cantaloupes are a healthy, nutritious fruit for your family, but not all cantaloupes feature the exceptional flavor and aroma of eastern cantaloupes. Many cantaloupes that grow in drier climates or that are available in other seasons are shipped from other areas of the globe where the focus is on varieties that ship well and last a long time on the shelf – these attributes come at the expense of flavor!

On the Farm:
Eastern cantaloupe growers adhere to the strictest food safety standards in the industry. We follow specific guidelines for the growth, harvesting and handling of our cantaloupes. Best practices benchmarks, rigorous environmental standards and testing—including unannounced audits—provides consumers with the confidence they are buying healthy fruit for their families.

Storage at Home:
– Refrigerate ripe, uncut melons dry and away from other foods.
– Do not cut the melon until you are ready to eat it.
– Do not store cut cantaloupe at room temperature for any length of time. Cut melon should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and put back in the refrigerator immediately.

Safe Preparation:
– Food preparers should wash their hands, utensils, countertops and cutting boards thoroughly.
– Wash the melon under running water before cutting.
– If desired, scrub down the melon rind.

IDENTIFYING EASTERN CANTALOUPE

During the summer months, grocery stores and local farmers markets might identify their cantaloupe as either Athena (a specific variety), eastern cantaloupe or just cantaloupe. Sometimes other varieties will even be in the same bin as eastern. But just know that if it’s summertime, and you’re east of the Rocky Mountains, and find cantaloupe with an even, straw color, that smells sweet when you pick it up, it’s an eastern cantaloupe. Eastern cantaloupes thrive in a wetter climate, which contributes to the richer flavor and sweeter taste. Because they are grown at a farm near you and are ripened on the vine, they skip traveling the country and are ready to eat when you pick them up at a grocer near you!