We've probably eaten more melons [muh-LÕ] this year than ever before. The French melon is a variety of cantaloupe that was brought to France from Italy at the beginning of the Renaissance (the late 1500s). People in the Charente region of southwestern France later began growing it so successfully that it came to be known as le melon charentais. The Charente département is centered on the big town of Angoulême, located mid-way between Bordeaux and Limoges. (Another well-known town in the Charente is Cognac.) The Charente melon is famously grown in Provence around the town of Cavaillon, in the Luberon north of Aix and Marseille. It's also grown in Spain, Morocco, and Senegal.
One way to enjoy the melon charentais is as an appetizer. It's served with what is called jambon cru or jambon sec in France — "raw" or "dried" ham that's air-cured, not cooked. The most famous ham of this type in France is jambon de Bayonne. The saltiness of the ham complements the sweetness of the melon. The ham in my photo above is actually jambon de Parme — Italian ham from the town of Parma that we know as prosciutto. It's cut into thin slices, and the slices are big enough that half a slice is enough to have with one quarter of a melon. The melons we're finding in local markets weigh between two and three pounds and cost about 2.50 euros apiece. You can also serve these melons as a dessert, and they're good with a little port wine poured into or over them.
Here are a couple of photos I took of melons in a Paris market back in July 2000 — 20 years ago. Walt and I were in Paris for the July 4th weekend. CHM was there, along with his late partner Frank and our late friend Jeanine, who had a house in the little town of Carteret in Normandy. We went shopping one day in the Paris outdoor market that sets up along the avenue de Saxe, not far from the Eiffel Tower.
The French melon has a smoother skin and a sweeter taste than the American cantaloupe, according to the Wikipedia article about them. They are two different varieties. The melon charentais is described as "sweet and flavorful" while the American cantaloupe is called "moderately sweet." The one below, which we bought at the market in Saint-Aignan, must be a hybrid. Growers are constantly trying to hybridize cantaloupes to maximize both flavor and shelf-life, because the melon charentais is so fragile and can easily be bruised and spoiled during shipping.
When you buy a melon charentais at an outdoor market in France, the vendor will usually ask you when you plan to eat it. Today? Tomorrow? In two or three days? Then she or he will carefully choose one that it at the perfect state of ripeness for you. It's partly a joke, and it's all good-natured, but I'm sure the tradition started out as a serious question.
When you buy a melon charentais at an outdoor market in France, the vendor will usually ask you when you plan to eat it. Today? Tomorrow? In two or three days? Then she or he will carefully choose one that it at the perfect state of ripeness for you. It's partly a joke, and it's all good-natured, but I'm sure the tradition started out as a serious question.
Yes, i remember that day when we all went to the open air market near my place. If memory serves, the five of us went for lunch at the nearby Bistro de Breteuil. It was still a good restaurant before it went down the slippery slope! I think it began when they added Grand before Bistro!
ReplyDeleteThe last time I went there - it is so close to my place - was in late September 2018, just before coming back to the US. I felt gorging myself with oysters and the "Grand" Bistro had a oyster stand in the restaurant. On their website, they advertised an oyster menu for 44 euros, wine included. After I was seated, I ordered the oyster menu and was told it was not available and I had to order à la carte. So, I got up and left!
DeleteI didn't realize that the Bistro de Breteuil had gone so far downhill. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteSusan W. sent me an e-mail to tell me that she is unable to comment on this blog for the time being. I hope others of you aren't having trouble. Susan's blog is here — today's post.
It's really part of a chain, now. Not bad, but not like it used to be. We had a family dinner there with more family visiting a few years ago. That was the last time. It's not really worth schlepping into the city for.
DeleteI remember going there in the 1990s and it was really good back then. Tout casse, tout passe, tout lasse.
DeleteAs far as I know, it always was part of a chain. There was one Bistro near Saint-Ferdinand des Ternes on the right bank, and another one rue Saint-Charles on the left bank. There might have been other locations. The owners, the Dorr, also own le Bar à huîtres near the subway station Odéon.
DeleteBy the way, that jambon de Parme was on sale for just 20€/kg at Super U.
ReplyDeleteThat's aboutf $10.75/lb. in U.S. terms.
DeleteThe best melon I ever had was from Cavaillon. None in the US can compare. Your photos today are pure summertime.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised the best melon came from Cavaillon. I remember spending two or three weeks in Cavaillon in September 2001. Anyway, it is pure summertime here in Saint-Aignan, though not as hot today as yesterday or as predicted. We thought we might get some rain but no such luck.
DeleteThat first picture is summer on a plate. Yum! Melons are also good with vanilla ice cream.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t been to Bistro de Breteuil since it became Grand either. I used to like it.
I'll try that. I plan to go buy some ice crean tomorrow.
DeleteThe only time I've had melon with ham, was at a dinner in Barcelona, when I was 22. I had never heard of eating them together, and it seemed very weird to me, then, but seems perfectly normal, now. Ha! Beautiful photos--what a treat summertime food can be.
ReplyDeleteTwenty-two! Imagine!
DeleteThe melons are a reason to go to France.
ReplyDeleteYou said it, and you are right.
DeleteAs for ability to post comments: I had difficulty for a long time, and could only post intermittently. Sometimes I could post using Firefox--not often. Now it works without hassle in both browsers (Safari and Firefox).
ReplyDeleteWeird, isn't it? I don't understand.
DeleteSomeone at United Floogle Corp finally got around to updating the Blerg subserver to version 17.x.7.
DeleteI use Duckduck.go and it eems to work right now, but with Coogle, you never know,
ReplyDeleteGoogle owns Blogger. Go figure.
DeleteI had trouble trying to post last night too...Anyway this post solved a mystery for me! Why the cantaloupe draped with prosciutto I made in the US never had the same good taste. I thought it was the ham. But it obviously the melon variety. I wonder if we can get these in the States?
ReplyDeleteI think "shelf-life" and the priority on shipping are what make American fruit and vegetables so bland-tasting. The French melons are too delicate to be shipped inter-continentally, I guess. As CHM and I have discussed and agreed about, most French fruits and vegetables taste better than their American equivalents.
DeleteIn the summer, if you can go to a farmer's market, the fruits and vegetables you get there are likely to have been produced locally and, as the fruits are concerned, let mature before being picked, improving their taste greatly.
DeleteGenerally, French fruits used to be snaller than their American counterparts. That might be one reason, tastewise. As Ken said, shelflife is paramount in the US. To achieve this, many fruits are fiddled with (?) [trafiqués] to make them last for months and thus saving the mighty dollar!
DeleteThanks you two. We do have several local farmers markets, that are pretty diverse. I will look for these melons next Sunday when I go, easy to recognize by their vertical stripes!
DeleteSurely they have local produce? I strongly belie4vr in buying things that are locally produced. Fresher, better for the environment, and usually for your purse as well. ;)
DeleteCalifornia has more and better locally produced products than other parts of the U.S. So much of the produce you get on the East Coast is shipped 3,000 miles from California to Eastern markets.
DeleteWhat elgee said. And if you buy food produced locally, it also cuts down on air pollution because the stuff hasn't had to travel hundreds of miles in a truck.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of port added to melons -- definitely something to try.
Look at these.
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