Cantaloupe Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe Cantaloupe

It is no wonder that the cantaloupe with its refreshingly rich flavor and aroma and minimal number of calories is the most popular variety of melon in the United States. Although they have become increasingly available throughout the year, their season runs from June through August when they are at their best.

The cantaloupe derives its name from the ltalian papal village of Cantalup, where it was first cultivated around 1700 A.D. It belongs to the same family as the cucumber, squash, pumpkin and gourd, and like many of its relatives, grows on the ground on a trailing vine. Cantaloupe are also referred to as a netted melon because it has a ribless rind with a distinctive netted skin. Inside of the melon there is a hollow cavity that contains seeds encased in a web of netting. Cantaloupe is also known as rockmelon in several parts of the world.

Food Chart
This chart graphically details the %DV that a serving of Cantaloupe provides for each of the nutrients of which it is a good, very good, or excellent source according to our Food Rating System. Additional information about the amount of these nutrients provided by Cantaloupe can be found in the Food Rating System Chart. A link that takes you to the In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Cantaloupe, featuring information over 80 nutrients, can be found under the Food Rating System Chart.

Health Benefits
Description
History
How to Select and Store
How to Enjoy
Individual Concerns
Nutritional Profile
References

Health Benefits

Cantaloupe Gets an A+

Our food ranking system qualified cantaloupe as an excellent source of vitamin A on account of its concentrated beta-carotene content. Once inside the body, beta-carotene can be converted into vitamin A, so when you eat cantaloupe it's like getting both these beneficial nutrients at once. One cup of cantaloupe is just 56 calories, but provides 103.2% of the daily value for vitamin A. Both vitamin A and beta-carotene are important vision nutrients. In a study of over 50,000 women nurses aged 45 to 67, women who consumed the highest dietary amount of vitamin A had a 39% reduced risk of developing cataracts. In another study that looked at the incidence of cataract surgery and diet, researchers found that those people who ate diets that included cantaloupe had half the risk of cataract surgery, while those who ate the highest amounts of butter, salt and total fat had higher risks for cataract surgery. Beta-carotene has also been the subject of extensive research in relationship to cancer prevention and prevention of oxygen-based damage to cells.

Cantaloupe also emerged from our food ranking system as an excellent source of vitamin C. While beta-carotene and vitamin A are fat-soluble antioxidants, vitamin C functions as an antioxidant in the water-soluble areas of the body. So, between its beta-carotene and vitamin C content, cantaloupe has all areas covered against damage from oxygen free radicals. In addition to its antioxidant activity, vitamin C is critical for good immune function. Vitamin C stimulates white cells to fight infection, directly kills many bacteria and viruses, and regenerates Vitamin E after it has been inactivated by disarming free radicals. Owing to the multitude of vitamin C's health benefits, it is not surprising that research has shown that consumption of vegetables and fruits high in this nutrient is associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes including heart disease, stroke and cancer. One cup of cantaloupe contains 112.5% of the daily value for this well-known antioxidant.

In our food ranking system, cantaloupe also qualified as a very good source of potassium and a good source of vitamin B6, dietary fiber, folate, and niacin (vitamin B3). The combination of all these B complex vitamins along with the fiber found in cantaloupe make it an exceptionally good fruit for supporting energy production through good carbohydrate metabolism and blood sugar stability. These B complex vitamins are required in our cells for processing carbohydrates (including sugars), and cantaloupe's fiber helps ensure cantaloupe's sugars are delivered into the bloodstream gradually, keeping blood sugar on an even keel.

Cantaloupe's Pro-vitamin A Promotes Lung Health

If you or someone you love is a smoker, or if you are frequently exposed to secondhand smoke, then making vitamin A-rich foods, such as cantaloupe, part of your healthy way of eating may save your life, suggests research conducted at Kansas State University.

While studying the relationship between vitamin A, lung inflammation, and emphysema, Richard Baybutt, associate professor of nutrition at Kansas State, made a surprising discovery: a common carcinogen in cigarette smoke, benzo(a)pyrene, induces vitamin A deficiency.

Baybutt's earlier research had shown that animals fed a vitamin A-deficient diet developed emphysema. His latest animal studies indicate that not only does the benzo(a)pyrene in cigarette smoke cause vitamin A deficiency, but that a diet rich in vitamin A can help counter this effect, thus greatly reducing emphysema.

Baybutt believes vitamin A's protective effects may help explain why some smokers do not develop emphysema. "There are a lot of people who live to be 90 years old and are smokers," he said. "Why? Probably because of their diet. The implications are that those who start smoking at an early age are more likely to become vitamin A deficient and develop complications associated with cancer and emphysema. And if they have a poor diet, forget it."

If you or someone you love smokes, or if your work necessitates exposure to second hand smoke, protect yourself by making sure that at least one of the World's Healthiest Foods that are rich in vitamin A, such as cantaloupe, is a daily part of your healthy way of eating.

Protect Your Vision with Cantaloupe

Your mother may have told you carrots would keep your eyes bright as a child, but as an adult, it looks like fruit is even more important for keeping your sight. Data reported in a study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.

In this study, which involved over 100,000 women and men, researchers evaluated the effect of study participants' consumption of fruits; vegetables; the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; and carotenoids on the development of early ARMD or neovascular ARMD, a more severe form of the illness associated with vision loss. Food intake information was collected periodically for up to 18 years for women and 12 years for men.

While, surprisingly, intakes of vegetables, antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids were not strongly related to incidence of either form of ARMD, fruit intake was definitely protective against the severe form of this vision-destroying disease.

Three servings of fruit may sound like a lot to eat each day, but by simply slicing some cantaloupe over your morning cereal, topping off a cup of yogurt or green salad with a half cup of berries, and snacking on an apple, plum, nectarine or pear, you've reached this goal.

In summer, what could be a more cooling or delicious lunch than half a cantaloupe filled with cottage cheese and topped with your favorite nuts and a sprig of mint? It's easy to see how fruit, especially cantaloupe, can become a regular part of your healthy way of eating.

Description

The fruit that we call the cantaloupe is, in actuality, really a muskmelon. The true cantaloupe is a different species of melon that is mostly grown in France and rarely found in the United States. It derives its name from the Italian papal village of Cantalup where it was first cultivated around 1700 A.D. From hereon, we will still use the term "cantaloupe" when referring to the muskmelon.

The cantaloupe is a melon that belongs to the same family as the cucumber, squash, pumpkin and gourd, and like many of its relatives, it grows on the ground on a trailing vine. It is round or oval in shape and usually has a ribless rind. Having a distinctive netted skin, it is also referred to as netted melon. Many of the cantaloupes available today are hybrids of muskmelons and true cantaloupes and have qualities that reflect both.

Cantaloupes range in color from orange-yellow to salmon and have a soft and juicy texture with a sweet, musky aroma that emanates through the melon when it is ripe. Cantaloupes feature a hollow cavity that contains their seeds encased in a web of netting.

Cantaloupe is also known as rockmelon in several parts of the world.

The scientific name for cantaloupe is Cucumis melo.

History

The exact origin of melons is unclear, although they are thought to have originated in either India, Africa or ancient Persia and have been cultivated in these lands since ancient times. Historical texts from Greek and Roman times note that these ancient civilizations enjoyed cantaloupes. They were introduced to the United States during colonial times but were not grown commercially until the very late 19th century. Today, major growers of cantaloupe include the United States, Turkey, Iran and many Central American countries.

How to Select and Store

The key to purchasing a good quality melon is to find one that is ripe, which is sometimes a challenge because oftentimes they are picked while still unripe in order to ensure that they make it through the shipping process undamaged. There are many clues that you can look for to find a melon that is ripe. If you tap the melon with the palm of your hand and hear a hollow sound, the melon has passed the first test. Choose a melon that seems heavy for its size, and one that does not have bruises or overly soft spots. The rind, underneath the netting, should have turned to yellow or cream from the green undertones that the unripe fruit has. The "full slip," the area where the stem was attached, should be smooth and slightly indented, free from remnants of the stem. The end opposite the full slip should be slightly soft, and you should be able to smell the fruit's sweetness subtly shining through, although be careful since an overly strong odor may be an indication of an overripe, fermented fruit. Cantaloupe is so fragrant that you will be able to test for its aroma of ripeness even if you purchase already cut cantaloupe, packaged in a plastic container.

For the most antioxidants, choose fully ripened melon:

Research conducted at the University of Innsbruck in Austria suggests that as fruits fully ripen, almost to the point of spoilage, their antioxidant levels actually increase.

Key to the process is the change in color that occurs as fruits ripen, a similar process to that seen in the fall when leaves turn from green to red to yellow to brown—a color change caused by the breakdown and disappearance of chlorophyll, which gives leaves and fruits their green color.

Until now, no one really knew what happened to chlorophyll during this process, but lead researcher, Bernard Krutler, and his team, working together with botanists over the past several years, has identified the first decomposition products in leaves: colorless, polar NCCs (nonfluorescing chlorophyll catabolytes), that contain four pyrrole rings - like chlorophyll and heme.

After examining apples and pears, the scientists discovered that NCCs replace the chlorophyll not only in the leaves of fruit trees, but in their very ripe fruits, especially in the peel and flesh immediately below it.

"When chlorophyll is released from its protein complexes in the decomposition process, it has a phototoxic effect: when irradiated with light, it absorbs energy and can transfer it to other substances. For example, it can transform oxygen into a highly reactive, destructive form," report the researchers. However, NCCs have just the opposite effect. Extremely powerful antioxidants, they play an important protective role for the plant, and when consumed as part of the human diet, NCCs deliver the same potent antioxidant protection within our bodies. . Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2007 Nov 19;46(45):8699-8702.

Leaving a firm cantaloupe at room temperature for several days will allow the texture of its flesh to become softer and juicier. Please note that cantaloupe can be left at room temperature only if it is whole, intact, and not yet to the stage of full ripeness. Once the cantaloupe has reached its peak ripeness, place it in the refrigerator to store. Melon that has been cut should be stored in the refrigerator as well and should be wrapped so as to ensure that the ethylene gas that it emits does not affect the taste or texture of other fruits and vegetables. Public health organizations like the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) do make allowances for cut cantaloupe to be kept at room temperature for a short period of time (between 2-4 hours). However, if left at room temperature for 2-4 hours and not eaten, this sliced cantaloupe is considered no longer safe for consumption and must be discarded. A primary risk here involves Salmonella contamination. To widen the safety margin for cantaloupe even further, we recommend that all cut cantaloupe be refrigerated at all times.

How to Enjoy

For some of our favorite recipes, click Recipes.

Tips for Preparing Cantaloupe:

Since bacteria can grow on the surface of most melons, it is important to wash the outside of the cantaloupe before cutting into it. After washing, simply slice the melon into pieces of desired thickness and scoop out the seeds and netting. Remember to refrigerate your sliced cantaloupe if you are not going to consume it immediately.

No time to prepare your fruit salad right before serving? You can prepare it several hours ahead or even the day before and still have fresh, flavorful cantaloupe. Simply cut up the fruit while holding it under water. Once again, be sure to refrigerated your cantaloupe immediately after cutting. Looking for a way to keep pre-sliced ready-to-eat cantaloupe fresh longer, USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists found that slicing the fruit when it's held under water short-circuits the signals plant cells send to each other when they detect an injury, such as being sliced.

Cut fruit, if chilled, retains its almost all its nutrients for at least 6 days

Everyone loves colorful, delicious fresh fruit salad, plus it's a perfect addition to any meal and makes a great snack or dessert. So why don't we enjoy fresh fruit salad more? Simply because it's been thought that cut fruit rapidly degrades, so fruit salad, which can take 15 minutes to prepare, would have to be freshly prepared to be good.

Now, a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has found that minimal processing of fruit—cutting, packaging and chilling—does not significantly affect its nutritional content even after 6, and up to 9, days.

In practical terms, this means that you can prepare a large bowl of fruit salad on the weekend, store it in the refrigerator, and enjoy it all week, receiving almost all the nutritional benefits of just prepared fruit salad.

Researchers cut up cantaloupes, pineapples, mangoes, watermelons, strawberries and kiwi fruit. The freshly cut fruits were then rinsed in water, dried, packaged in clamshells (not gastight) and stored at 41 degrees Fahrenheit.

After 6 days, losses in vitamin C were less than 5% in mango, strawberry, and watermelon pieces, 10% in pineapple pieces, 12% in kiwifruit slices, and 25% in cantaloupe cubes.

No losses in carotenoids were found in kiwifruit slices and watermelon cubes. Pineapples lost 25%, followed by 10-15% in cantaloupe, mango, and strawberry pieces.

No significant losses in phenolic phytonutrients were found in any of the fresh-cut fruit products. "Contrary to expectations, it was clear that minimal processing had almost no effect on the main antioxidant constituents. The changes in nutrient antioxidants observed during nine days at five degrees Celsius would not significantly affect the nutrient quality of fresh cut fruit. In general, fresh-cut fruits visually spoil before any significant nutrient loss occurs," wrote lead researcher Maria Gil.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

Add some sparkling water to fresh squeezed cantaloupe juice for a delightfully refreshing drink in the warm months of the year.

In a blender or food processor, purée cantaloupe and peeled soft peaches to make delicious cold soup. Add lemon juice and honey to taste.

Top cantaloupe slices with yogurt and chopped mint.

Slice melons in half horizontally, scoop out seeds and use each half as a basket in which to serve fruit salad.

Individual Concerns

Cantaloupe is not a commonly allergenic food, is not known to contain measurable amounts of oxalates or purines, and is also not included in the Environmental Working Group's 2010 report "Shopper's Guide to Pesticides" as one of the 12 foods most frequently containing pesticide residues.

Nutritional Profile

Cantaloupe is an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin C. It is also a very good source of potassium and a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B6 and folate.

For an in-depth nutritional profile click here:Cantaloupe.

In-Depth Nutritional Profile
In addition to the nutrients highlighted in our ratings chart, an in-depth nutritional profile for Cantaloupe is also available. This profile includes information on a full array of nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.

Introduction to Food Rating System Chart
In order to better help you identify foods that feature a high concentration of nutrients for the calories they contain, we created a Food Rating System. This system allows us to highlight the foods that are especially rich in particular nutrients. The following chart shows the nutrients for which this food is either an excellent, very good, or good source (below the chart you will find a table that explains these qualifications). If a nutrient is not listed in the chart, it does not necessarily mean that the food doesn't contain it. It simply means that the nutrient is not provided in a sufficient amount or concentration to meet our rating criteria. (To view this food's in-depth nutritional profile that includes values for dozens of nutrients - not just the ones rated as excellent, very good, or good - please use the link below the chart.) To read this chart accurately, you'll need to glance up in the top left corner where you will find the name of the food and the serving size we used to calculate the food's nutrient composition. This serving size will tell you how much of the food you need to eat to obtain the amount of nutrients found in the chart. Now, returning to the chart itself, you can look next to the nutrient name in order to find the nutrient amount it offers, the percent Daily Value (DV%) that this amount represents, the nutrient density that we calculated for this food and nutrient, and the rating we established in our rating system. For most of our nutrient ratings, we adopted the government standards for food labeling that are found in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "Reference Values for Nutrition Labeling." Read more background information and details of our rating system.

Cantaloupe, cubes
1.00 cup
160.00 grams
56.00 calories
Nutrient Amount DV
(%) Nutrient
Density World's Healthiest
Foods Rating
vitamin C 67.52 mg 112.5 36.2 excellent
vitamin A 5158.40 IU 103.2 33.2 excellent
potassium 494.40 mg 14.1 4.5 very good
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) 0.18 mg 9.0 2.9 good
folate 27.20 mcg 6.8 2.2 good
dietary fiber 1.28 g 5.1 1.6 good
vitamin B3 (niacin) 0.92 mg 4.6 1.5 good
World's Healthiest
Foods Rating Rule
excellent DV>=75% OR Density>=7.6 AND DV>=10%
very good DV>=50% OR Density>=3.4 AND DV>=5%
good DV>=25% OR Density>=1.5 AND DV>=2.5%

In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Cantaloupe