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Melon Sense: How to Choose the Best Cantaloupe

Eating fresh cantaloupe during the growing season is a joy unto itself, especially if you know how to pick a good one. Here’s how to consistently ensure that the cantaloupes you select are ripe, sweet, and flavorful.

Appearance matters. This may seem obvious but always select cantaloupes that look good. Avoid obviously defective or damaged fruit. This includes any melon with a cracked rind, soft spots, bruises, or moldy patches.

Steer clear of stems. Melons easily detach from their stems when ripe. If you see a cantaloupe with a piece of stem still attached or with a torn rind where the stem was attached, that means it was taken from the vine too soon. And since they do not continue to ripen after being picked, a cantaloupe with its stem still attached should not be selected.

Go for the gold. The rind of a ripe cantaloupe should have a gold or orange tint with well-developed netting. If you see a lot of dark green and the net-like textured part appears to be rather thin, the cantaloupe is not ripe. Also examine the spot that shows where the melon was resting on the ground. A smooth, yellow patch means you’ve got a ripe melon.

Lightweights need not apply.  When comparing cantaloupes, pick them up. A good cantaloupe contains a fair amount of water and will thus feel heavy for its size. All other things being equal, go with the heavier fruit.

How does it feel? A healthy, ripe cantaloupe is neither rock-hard nor soft and squishy. The melon should be uniformly firm. There should be a slight indentation where the stem used to be, indicating that the melon came off the stem easily and that indentation should not be wet. The blossom end, which is opposite the stem end, should give slightly when pressed.

Smell the blossom end. A sweet, ripe cantaloupe smells pleasantly sweet, especially at the blossom end. A cantaloupe that has no sweet aroma should not be considered.

In addition to being delicious, cantaloupe is quite healthy. Thanks to the high water content, one cup only contains about 55 calories. Cantaloupe is a great source of vitamins A and C, potassium, beta-carotene, and fiber.

Now that you know what to look for, stop by any of Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets‘ seven store locations and get some delicious cantaloupe today!

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Behold the Midnight Beauty Black Seedless Grape

 

Grapes have been around for a very long time. In fact, the intentional growing of grapes began 6,000–8,000 years ago in what is now considered the Middle East. Many grapes are developed and used for wine production—a practice that is also thousands of years old—while other varieties, generally referred to as “table grapes” have been selectively bred to be consumed raw and used in recipes. Table grapes tend to be larger in size and have somewhat thinner skins. Many are seedless.

Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets always carries a variety of fresh table grapes at each of our seven locations. Right now we have an excellent variety of black seedless grape called Midnight Beauty® from our friends at Sun World, a quality grower in California. They describe their Midnight Beauty® brand grape as large, crisp and bursting with sweet flavor. As grapes go, this really is an attractive fruit.

But don’t let that sweet flavor fool you. A cup and a half of these delicious grapes packs only 90 calories, in addition to healthy antioxidant plant substances like polyphenols, resveratrol, and flavonoids. Grapes are also a good source of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

When selecting grapes, look for clusters of firm, plump fruit with full color. Wet, shriveled or moldy berries should be avoided, but grapes covered with “bloom” are perfectly fine. Bloom is a naturally occurring white substance that coats the outside of the grapes, protecting them from moisture loss and decay. It’s safe to eat, but can easily be removed during washing by rubbing them with a bit of baking soda or salt. Then rinse the grapes under cool, running water for at least 30 seconds. Speaking of washing, it’s best to store grapes unwashed in their original container and then wash them before consuming. Always check for grapes that are broken or show signs of decay—before. during, and after storage—and remove them at once.

Midnight Beauty® black seedless grapes can be eaten fresh or used in a variety of recipes. Have you ever made a fruit pizza? The folks at Sun World created this how-to video, which we thought you might enjoy.

Midnight Beauty® black seedless grapes from Sun World are generally available from June through September, so get yours while they last!

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Percoca!


As we continue to enjoy the summer season here in Chicagoland, it’s time to talk about the annual arrival of a delightful summer fruit grown exclusively for Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets by an Italian family farm in California. Percoca peaches are an Italian specialty variety of clingstone peach prized for their flavor and aroma. Like most cling peaches, the Percoca’s flavor and consistency make it ideal for canning, processing, and cooking but are also quite delicious when eaten fresh. For over 30 years, we have been doing business with the family-owned DePalma Farms, who grows Percoca peaches exclusively for Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets.

These peaches have a flavorful yellow flesh which can be enjoyed in many ways, after removing the stone. One such way, popular in many parts of Italy, is to place chunks or slices of Percoca peaches into a container and cover them with white or red wine. After allowing this combination to mingle and chill for a while, it is customary to sip the wine and eat the wine-drenched peaches. There are entire festivals in Italy dedicated to this simple yet delicious treat.

Our Percoca peaches are only available for a limited time each year. Please stop in soon to get yours!

 

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There’s Something About Local Summer Fruit

Imagine sitting outside on a pleasant mid-summer evening, enjoying a handful of fresh strawberries, cherries, or grapes. Or slicing fresh peaches into a small pitcher and then pouring your favorite wine over the freshly cut fruit. Bite-size pieces of fresh cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto?

This is a magical time of year at Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets, especially for lovers of fresh-picked fruit. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are in full swing now and we are at family farms in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana to pick up fresh produce daily. These are the same family farms with which the Angelo Caputo Family has been dealing for decades. Because we buy directly from local family farmers and then sell the fresh produce to our customers, visiting any of our stores is like going to a farmers’ market, only without paying the premium prices!

Of course, our love of locally grown produce goes back a lot farther than that. When Angelo Caputo was growing up in Mola Di Bari, Italy, his family had a 25-acre farm site where they grew almond trees, olive trees, peaches trees, and St. John’s Bread (carob), as well as many different fresh vegetables. If you were to see Angelo’s backyard today, you would find peach trees, cherry trees, and fig trees, along with many fresh herbs.

This family learned many years ago that there is nothing quite like the experience of eating freshly picked summer produce. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Stop by today and see for yourself!

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What Do You Know About Jackfruit?

If you’ve visited the fresh produce department at any of Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets lately, you may have seen this extremely large, bumpy, green-yellowish fruit on display and wondered what it was. Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world. Jackfruit is relative of the mulberry, fig, and breadfruit. One mature jackfruit tree can bear 100 or more fruits in a year and each fruit can be 8 inches to 3 feet long and 6 to 20 inches wide, ranging in weight from 10 pounds to over 100 pounds.

The rind of a jackfruit is pale brown or green and covered with many little cone-like spikes. The inside contains edible bulbs that range from savory to sweet, depending on ripeness. Immature jackfruit is sometimes used as a meat substitute because its texture is somewhat like that of pulled pork. Being a fruit, however, it is high in carbohydrates and does not contain much protein.

By comparison, ripe jackfruit is sweet and bears an aroma similar to pineapple or banana. The sweet, yellow bulbs can be eaten as is or used in desserts, smoothies and more.

The seeds inside the bulbs are to be removed and can then be steamed or roasted. Raw seeds are not digestible due to the presence of a powerful trypsin inhibitor, which is broken down through cooking.

The inside of a jackfruit contains a gummy latex that will stick to your hands, utensils, and just about anything else. Rub your hands and knife blade with salad oil before cutting into the rind. If you opt to wear gloves, oil them as well or else they will stick and likely rip and tear. 

When digging out the edible bulbs, with well-oiled gloves or hands, go fo the healthy yellow bulbs. Avoid any areas that may have gone beyond ripe. They will be pinkish brown in color and the smell will be off, too. If working indoors, once you have harvested the bulbs and seeds, discard all the remains and remove them from the kitchen, as they will deteriorate quickly.

Nutritionally, jackfruit is a good source of antioxidants and fiber and is rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, and vitamin B6. Not surprisingly, jackfruit has been used in eastern medicine for years.

The following video, published by Wendi Phan on YouTube, provides a visual demonstration of how to open and eat a jackfruit.