We all know I have a strange and deep love affair with melon and love discovering new varieties. Well, I’m BACK with another wonderful summertime discovery: the Santa Claus melon.
What? Santa? In June? Yep. Apparently it’s also called a Christmas melon because it lasts forever, from when it’s ripe in the summer “until Christmastime” according to produce lore (yes, “produce lore”—although I’d love to see if that statement is actually true given our sizzling hot Texas summers). It did keep in the fridge for about a month, I’ll give it that much – we found this guy at our local Central Market several weeks ago and them forgot about him until the other night, when I was digging through the bottom of a drawer in the fridge.
Anyway, this Santa can’t tell if you’ve been naughty or nice, but it can delight your tastebuds. While it kinda looks like a watermelon on the outside, it’s actually from the cantaloupe family and has a similar texture and goopy center of seed pods. I would kind of call it… a honeydew plus cantaloupe combo, super juicy and soft (but not in a gross, mealy way).
If you see a Santa Claus melon at your grocery store or farmers market, don’t be intimidated. Take it home and get into the holiday spirit. I just ate it plain but it would be great with some prosciutto and feta, maybe a little mint… okay, too many good ideas, I need to pick up another one!