[Continued from Part 1]
Hami Melon
My Hami melon (PLU #3623) weighed 2.58 pounds, so at $0.99 per pound, it cost $2.55. This melon is named after the city in northwest China near the Mongolian border. In the first picture of China below, Hami prefecture in red, is part of the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region in orange. Mongolia is the almost semi-circular area that nestles down into China. In the second picture, the city of Hami is marked with a red dot.
It is said that there are more than 180 varieties of Hami melons, so there is considerable variation in size, color, pattern, and shape. As the pictures below from the Internet show, the hami melon has reticulated skin.
Here are pictures of my Hami melon.
- The uncut melon sitting on my cutting board.
- Cut into halves.
- Cut into a half and two quarters with the seeds removed. With some melons, removing the seeds is a problem; with a hami, however, the seeds are only loosely connected with the rest of the melon, and you can easily whisk them out with a spoon in just a few seconds.
The Hami melon looks somewhat like a cantaloupe on the outside with its reticulated surface. When you cut it open, it still looks like a cantaloupe. The taste is much the same as a cantaloupe, though perhaps a little bit milder, and it is perhaps somewhat juicier. I ate this melon by scooping bites out with a spoon. After lunch I easily ate half of this melon at a sitting. This melon is good: I can see why in ancient times the Chinese emperor demanded that the people of Hami send him a supply of this melon as tribute.
The verdict is that the Hami melon is an alternate way to obtain the cantaloupe experience. If you like cantaloupe, then your have just added a new melon to your bag of tricks. You can make your buying decisions based on availability and cost.
Here are pictures showing Hami melons in the field.
Artists have given some attention to the Hami. The last picture shows a hami melon plush stuffed toy.
[Continued in Part 3]
