# Honeydew or Cantaloupe Melon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661 "2017-01-31T14:15:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/1 "2017-01-31T14:15:04Z")
It’s close here, but I’m going with cantaloupe melon. It has a more complex earthy flavor. I hope there’s some salt to sprinkle on it. You? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/2 "2017-01-31T14:20:57Z")
Are we talking about European “true” cantaloupe, or North American muskmelon? ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/3 "2017-01-31T14:23:10Z")
Cantaloupe, for sure. We called it muskmelon when I was a kid. More flavorful, usually softer. Just melts in your mouth. I do enjoy Honeydew, but given the choice I take the cantaloupe. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/4 "2017-01-31T14:30:29Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I hope there’s some salt to sprinkle on it. Never! That’s like putting sugar on a steak. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/5 "2017-01-31T14:34:29Z")
Definitely rockmelon. (What is this ‘cantaloupe’ of which you speak?) Looks like a rock, tastes like a melon. Honeydew just seems like it can’t decide what kind of melon it wants to be, and gives up when it gets to choko. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/6 "2017-01-31T14:44:09Z")
Salt??? 😛 I liked honeydew as a kid, but now I prefer cantaloupe. But the trick is to get them when their ripe; most melons are served underripe. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/7 "2017-01-31T14:55:40Z")
Cantaloupe has a wider range of ripeness where it’s pleasant to eat. Honeydew is much narrower but when it is ripe, it blows cantaloupe out of the water. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/8 "2017-01-31T15:14:44Z")
I grew up eating sweet sweet cantaloupe (upon which I sometimes sprinkled salt). We’re talking, every day when it was in season. For whatever reason honeydew wasn’t as readily available so when we did have it, it was almost “exotic”. Now some weird, unfair thing has happened to my digestive system and cantaloupe gives me a terrible bellyache. Not so with honeydew. So I _can’t_aloupe anymore but I’ll honey_do_. :o 😃 Seriously, though, anyone know why one would make me sick and the other not? Are they that far apart chemically (or whatever the right word is)? ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/9 "2017-01-31T15:42:04Z")
I don’t think I have ever had Honeydew that was properly ripe for eating. In my experience, it is always served “green” and flavorless. I keep trying, but it is never something I enjoy eating. I wish I knew what the attraction was. > **[That Honeydew Melon Looks Good, but Does Anyone Eat It? (Published 2014)](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/upshot/that-honeydew-melon-looks-good-but-does-anyone-eat-it.html?_r=0)** > > Call it a bifurcated market in melon: People rarely buy it for themselves but often serve it to others, ideally at a hotel breakfast buffet. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/10 "2017-01-31T15:45:15Z")
Salt goes on watermelons. Pepper goes on muskmelons. End of debate. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/11 "2017-01-31T16:11:08Z")
I like honeydew a lot. I like cantaloupes a whole lot less. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/12 "2017-01-31T16:15:11Z")
Honeydew is the money melon. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/13 "2017-01-31T16:46:39Z")
Cantaloupe for sure, but it has be dead ripe. Barring picking your own from your garden at the peak of ripeness, allow a store-bought cantaloupe(that you have THOROUGHLY washed and rinsed) to sit at room temperature for several days so it begins to dehydrate and there are a few “sunken” spots. Light pressure at the blossom end and a big sniff will let you know it’s time to cut it. At this point you have a day or two to enjoy it if you keep it unrefrigerated, or, several days in the fridge. I know conventional wisdom says room temp gives you more flavor, but I think it is best chilled. Peel it, chunk it and refrigerate, enjoy at your leisure, but at this stage they’re so good that it’s difficult not to finish one in a sitting or two. For long-term keeping crush a vitamin C tablet in some water and add it to the bowl or bag of chunked melon, being careful to distribute it throughout(I’ve been able to keep chunked cantaloupe about a week using this method. For you honeydew lovers, wash and store as above. Palm it, if the rind feels a bit tacky/sticky, it’s time to cut it. With some varieties, the rind will take on a yellowish color, another indication that it’s time to enjoy a fruit that rarely gets appreciated because it’s cut too soon. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/14 "2017-01-31T17:15:22Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Cantaloupe has a wider range of ripeness where it’s pleasant to eat. Honeydew is much narrower but when it is ripe, it blows cantaloupe out of the water. Yes; well put. I’ve only had good honeydew a few times but I’ve had hours of cantaloupe enjoyment. Salt is required with either… just a slight dusting, though. Oh, or a little wrap of prosciutto, yum. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/15 "2017-01-31T17:37:55Z")
I’m not a picky eater, and to this day I still try it every once in a while, but cantaloupe is one of the worst things I have ever put in my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/16 "2017-01-31T17:45:52Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I like honeydew a lot. I like cantaloupes a whole lot less. I concur. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/17 "2017-01-31T18:40:54Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I like honeydew a lot. I like cantaloupes a whole lot less. Same. But the real queen of the musk melons is the [Casaba](https://www.google.com/search?q=casaba+melon&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjthunvg-3RAhUIULwKHVKvAWsQ_AUICCgB&biw=1216&bih=675). ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/18 "2017-01-31T18:48:13Z")
“Jesus, why does Cantaloupe think every time it gets invited to a party it can bring along its dumb friend Honeydew? You don’t get a plus one Cantaloupe.” - Bojack Horseman ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/19 "2017-01-31T18:48:34Z")
A ripe honeydew, there’s little better. But finding one is basically impossible; supermarket honeydew are awful without exception. In order to get them to the store in a marketable time frame melons are always picked unripe, and they will not ripen off the vine. They will get softer, but they will never get sweeter. The only way to get a genuinely ripe honeydew is to grow your own or get one from a farmer’s market where they picked it ripe, yesterday or today. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661/20 "2017-01-31T19:10:57Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > A ripe honeydew, there’s little better. > > But finding one is basically impossible; supermarket honeydew are awful without exception. In order to get them to the store in a marketable time frame melons are always picked unripe, and they will not ripen off the vine. They will get softer, but they will never get sweeter. The only way to get a genuinely ripe honeydew is to grow your own or get one from a farmer’s market where they picked it ripe, yesterday or today. As I said earlier, I will keep trying with Honeydew, so I will keep that in mind. But I see it as an ongoing investment with very little return. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeydew-or-cantaloupe-melon/778661.md?page=2)