Content
- Can you freeze a cantaloupe?
- The shelf life of honeydew melons
- Freeze honey melons
- Alternatives for freezing honey melons
- Tips & Tricks
Can you freeze a cantaloupe?
Honeydew melons are best bought when fully ripe as they only develop their full sweetness and flavor intensity. However, as with watermelon, it can only be stored for a certain period of time.
The shelf life of honeydew melons
When ripe, honey melons are stable for a maximum of one to two weeks at room temperature if they have not been cut. When cut, you should keep them like watermelons in the refrigerator and cover the cut side with a cling film. Thus, the honeydew melon can be stored for up to three days, but it can easily be cut to accept foreign smells from other foods in the refrigerator.
Freeze honey melons
The cantaloupe of the genus Cucurbitaceae is botanically closely related to cucumbers and other vegetables. It contains up to 95% water similar to these. This makes them very suitable for freezing, because most fruits with a similar high water content become very mushy during later thawing. Although asparagus, for example, is similar to water, but can be frozen due to its different cell structure. You can still freeze melons on demand if you want to use the thawed pulp for smoothies or other desserts that do not really care about the consistency of the pulp. Alternatively, you can puree the mature honeydew melon before freezing, so it takes up less space in the freezer.
Alternatives for freezing honey melons
Not always can a honeydew melon be consumed fresh. If you do not want to freeze the fruits because of the resulting quality losses and you do not want to process them into smoothies, you can also use them.For example, watermelon is a popular method of preserving for longer periods in Russia. For pickled melon you need the following ingredients:
Simply pour the chopped melon into the glass and fill it with white wine vinegar after adding a few tablespoons of sugar.
Tips & Tricks
Whether frozen or pickled, a honeydew melon does not get any better when stored. This is why you should process ripe fruits in good time and not wait until the first quality losses are noticed.