Sometimes I will buy a food just because it looks pretty. Such was the case with the grapefruit sized charentais melon. I have seen it once before on a Rick Stein show. Stein was definitely impressed by the flavour, and I must admit I was intrigued, but I had never seen one in my foodie travels. Shortly after, the charentais escaped my little pea brain, and it was long forgotten.
This week, however, when Hubby and I were shopping at our local Tesco, I actually came across one. After unpacking all the groceries, I left it on the kitchen counter by the fruit bowl. The next day, as I walked into the kitchen, I could actually smell it standing a couple feet away! It smelled like a cantaloupe, but a bit stronger and sweeter. I decided I would definitely have it the next day, in fear that it would become over-ripe.
Upon tasting the melon, I have come to the following conclusion. This is what a cantaloupe should taste like. It is so often that I buy some fruit (especially strawberries) that really taste of nothing. The charentais tastes a magnified version of cantaloupe at its best, despite its smaller size. It also has a pretty high water content, which makes it very juicy. The best and easiest way to eat it, once you discard the seeds in the middle, is to just scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Its a little more yielding than other melons, so this is very easy to do.
After doing a little research I discovered that the reason you don’t really see these in the supermarket is that they are very delicate and often get ruined in transport. Maybe Tesco is carrying them because we are not that far from France (the main exporters of the charentais). Whatever the case, I hope they will be a regular fixture, because they are yummy 
. If you come across this darling creature in your travels, give it a try, I think you will like it!
. If you come across this darling creature in your travels, give it a try, I think you will like it!p.s. If you like seeing unusual fruits, veggies and other edibles (and psuedo edibles–you won’t believe some of the stuff that my friend Phyllis eats LOL). If you haven’t already, you must check out Wierd Food Wednesdays at Me Hungry! Its a hoot.
(I could stick in a melon joke here, actually I was dying to, but I won’t. I am just going to be ladylike about the whole thing.)
