Cantaloupe melon with firm, orange, moderately sweet flesh. In 2016, global production of melons, including cantaloupes, was 31.2 million tonnes, with China accounting for 51% of the world total (15.9 million tonnes). Other significant countries growing cantaloupe were Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and India, with each producing 1 to 1.9 million tonnes. Cantaloupe is normally eaten as a fresh fruit, as a salad, or as a dessert with ice cream or custard. Melon pieces wrapped in prosciutto are a familiar antipasto. The seeds are edible and may be dried for use as a snack. Because the surface of a cantaloupe can contain
Cantaloupe 1739. The cantaloupe most likely originated in a region from South Asia to Africa. It was later introduced to Europe and, around 1890, became a commercial crop in the United States. The European cantaloupe, "C. melo" var. "cantalupensis", is lightly ribbed with a sweet and flavorful flesh and a gray-green skin that looks quite different from that of the North American cantaloupe. The North American cantaloupe, "C. melo" var. "reticulatus", common in the United States, Mexico, and some parts of Canada, is a different variety of "Cucumis melo", a muskmelon that has a "net-like" (reticulated) peel. It is a round