Hard cantaloupe

[Morbius]

About a week ago cantaloupe was on sale for $.49 a pound, so I bought one. I cut it up when I got home and was disappointed to discover it was rock hard. I googled hard cantaloupe and nearly all I saw was the recommendation of putting the uncut cantaloupe in a paper bag for a few days to ripen it; too late, obviously. So I hit on the idea of making smoothies.

No yogurt on hand.

I dug out my Ninja blender and tossed some cantaloupe, some cherries, a teaspoon of sugar and some milk and blended it. Not enough milk on my first try, and I could have used some more sugar. Not horrible, though. Next try, tomorrow night, I'll use strawberries (cherries are gone) and more milk and try again.

Anyone have a good hand at smoothies? I'm new at this.

[walkingman]

1. We've been very disappointed the last few years because all of the cantaloupes we bought

are also hard. Not good at all. I found that the only good ones we could fin we "Pecos" cantaloupes. They are hard to find around here.

[Warpy]

2. I've noticed all meloms except watermelon getting harder over the last few years

which means they're being harvested greener and greener.

Pretty soon we'll just have to give up on fresh fruit altogether unless we grow it ourselves, opting instead for canned or frozen.

Producers want their stuff to look picture perfect. Unfortunately, most of it tastes like papier maché.

[Morbius]

3. My wife ate the strawberries.

I had some pineapples tidbits in the fridge, which I had left after using some to make slow cooker ham last week. So, smoothies tonight with cantaloupe, pineapple, sugar and milk. Better than yesterday and I've gone through 2/3 of that hard cantaloupe. I am thinking of buying some bananas tomorrow night for the third batch, and maybe after that try making smoothies with bananas and strawberries.

[Retrograde]

4. Not cantaloupe season

What's in stores now is likely picked green and imported from South America - they're not ripe. A few months ago I saw some Ranier cherries, my favorite, for $4/lb, much cheaper than local ones in season. Well, they were from Chile - and not worth the price. Essentially tasteless and not worth the price.

What about grilling your canteloupes? I don't think they'll get softer on their own, and trying to make smoothies sounds like a lost cause. Americans don't cook a lot of fruit, but other cultures do - maybe looking at some southeast Asian recipes might give you some ideas.

[love_katz]

5. You could also make agua fresca.

You will need to Google some recipes.

It's basically cold water, melon pieces, sweetner of choice, with mint or berries added, or maybe some fresh lime juice?
It is meant to be a cooling drink for summer.

[love_katz]

6. I did a quick search.

A recipe said that need one cup liquid to one cup fruit.
Fruit: any of the melons; mango , papaya; peaches and nectarines; pineapple; berries (frozen would be great); cucumber.
Liquid: try using chilled herb tea. Best are tulsi basil, mint, citrus or hibiscus, lemon balm.
For teas with caffeine: green teas or white tea.

A recipe from that page:
One cup chilled tea, herb tea, or juice or water.
One cup melon, or combination of fruit
One teaspoon or more of fresh lime juice
One tablespoon of honey, or agave nectar, or maple syrup
Ice
Blend. Strain if you want to remove the berry seeds. Enjoy!.

[Morbius]

7. Interesting.

Thank you.