Find All Kinds of Summer Melons at East Bay Farmers Markets
You have just found a new variety of melon at the farmers market, not the usual watermelon or cantaloupe, but a beautiful yellow melon with wavy skin. Or there is one that is small, oval, and green with white flesh. You’ve just discovered one of the many reasons to shop at your local Certified Farmers Market: variety!
We will celebrate Certified Farmers Markets August 7-13 and the value they bring to their local community during National Farmers Market Week. In fact, we are celebrating the entire month of August!
The unique varieties of melons and other fruits and vegetables you buy stimulate local economies, help preserve farmland, and increase access to healthy, nutritious food. Farmers’ markets play an essential role in their communities by creating a space for community connection and actively fostering more resilient and equitable local food systems.
What does it mean to be a Certified Farmers Market and why is it so important that I buy “Certified”? In short, it means that the product is delivered to the market directly from the farm and the producers themselves. In California, only produce grown in California can be certified for sale at farmers’ markets. When you find that one-of-a-kind melon at your certified farmers market, you know it’s grown locally in California and is of high quality.
Fortunately, there are many varieties of melons that are grown in California. The most readily available are honeydew melon, watermelon and cantaloupe, but within these common melons there are variations. For example, watermelon may come in a “refrigerator” size (small and round) or with flesh that is bright yellow, rather than red.
Many specialty melons can only be found at certified local farmers’ markets and offer remarkable flavor, texture, and color, including Crenshaw, Persian, Sharlyn, Santa Claus, Casaba, and the Bitter Melon, an Asian variety. A myriad of other varieties are also available this summer. Each one has slightly different colors, sizes, and sweetness in the rind and flesh. Try them all! Now that you’ve brought your melon home, we have some great ways to serve it:
- The ever-popular prosciutto-wrapped melon, a sweet and savory bite that’s been a longtime favorite. Or make a salad with melon chunks, prosciutto, and mozzarella balls.
- Melon ball salad and feta cheese. Get yourself a melon ball, or just dice melons, toss with crumbled feta cheese, pickled red onion, olive oil, and lemon juice.
- Mix melon and rosé wine to obtain a melon ice cream.
- Make a fruity pizza with your favorite melon and ricotta cheese and top with fresh arugula.
- Watermelon popsicles can be made by mixing the pulp and honey or sugar, water and lemon juice, a really tasty treat on a hot summer day.
- Make a cold melon soup, refreshing and sweet.
- Whip up a molasses shake for the kids after school or make a drink for the grown-ups with a little gin, rum, or vodka.
- Molasses and cucumber go well together, so mix them with red onion and feta or another salty cheese for a quick salad.
- Another sweet/savory appetizer is honeydew melon or casaba wrapped in thinly sliced smoked salmon.
- Bitter melon is often overlooked for being too bitter, but in many cultures it is used in stews, stir-fries, or soups. Talk to your farmer for some great recipes.
There are many other ways to enjoy summer melons, but sometimes the easiest is the best, especially when cutting up a perfectly chilled melon fresh from the farmers market. Visit Hughson’s J&J Ramos Farms and Resendiz Farms to shop for freshly picked and ripe melons at their East Bay Farmers Market.
Debra Morris is promotions coordinator for the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association and writes the Time Is Ripe column. Contact her at [email protected]
Recipe: Watermelon Feta Salad
ingredients
- 6 cups cubed seedless watermelon
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbled
- ¼ cup pickled red onion rings
- 12 mint leaves stacked, rolled and thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
instructions
Cut the melon into bite-size cubes. Toss with onion, cheese, sliced mint, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil. Taste before salting. The amount of salt you want will vary depending on how salty the feta is.
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