Day164 - Tuscan Cantaloupe

 If ever a fruit deserved a 5 star rating, this is it. 

My partner David came home from Trader Joe’s raving about the “Tuscan Cantaloupe” he had sampled in the store.  Personally, I was skeptical.  I mean, a CANTALOUPE is a CANTALOUPE, right??  And if you think of all the fruits you could possibly eat, cantaloupe would not normally make my top 5 list.  (Maybe I was also skeptical because I was ticked at him…  I had to work all day and I THOUGHT we were going grocery shopping TOGETHER, after I was off work, and here he just went without me…  Ok yeah, that was part of my negativity, I confess…)

Anyway, he brought one of these cantaloupes home with him.  Even before it was cut it sort of stunk up our kitchen with cantaloupe smell (oh my, “stunk up”, my crankiness at being left behind while he gallivanted around is really showing, isn’t it???).  I guess a little piece of me might have also thought, “Here it is, the moment David turns into his father.”  You see, David’s dad (Stanley) ate cantaloupe for breakfast EVERY SINGLE DAY.  When we lived with him to take care of him the last couple months of his life, we cut cantaloupe every morning (plus prepared a bowl of the same cereal (Special K), a banana, and Entenmann’s – now that I write that out I realize that was a HUGE breakfast!).   You can see why my brain went, “Wow, David is now in love with cantaloupe, could this be the final conversion where he BECOMES his father???”.  J

Here it is, amoung the pineapples, the TUSCAN CANTALOUPE

But the next morning David sliced that melon open and served it up for breakfast.  YES.  It is a GOOD CANTALOUPE!  I am not sure what it is about “Tuscan” cantaloupe that makes it different from, say, Tallahassee cantaloupe, but whatever it is, I say YES.  This is a really tasty melon!  There is no mushiness, yet it is not too firm either.  Often with cantaloupe I put on a bit of salt to give it some flavor, but this melon needs nothing added.  Well, if I was going to add anything, it would be very thinly sliced prosciutto.  Oh now my mouth is watering at the thought of that…  We are going to an outdoor party tomorrow evening, maybe that is what we will bring!  It sounds perfect!

All prepared and ready to E A T

We were at Trader Joe’s last night (yes, we went together this time J ) and I did a price comparison between melons to see if the prized TUSCAN one was more expensive than the others.  It turns out it is exactly the same price as an organic cantaloupe ($3.49) but more than a conventional cantaloupe ($2.99).  Trust me, it is worth the extra .50 cents. 

Traditional cantaloupe is cheaper, but not as good

Organic - same price as Tuscan.  GET TUSCAN!

My advice is:  TRY ONE!  They are a flyer item this month, and I am not sure how long they will carry them.  The signage at our Trader Joe’s (so nice to be back home and get to go to our local store!) said, “One taste and no other melon will do!”.  I agree!  Get one now while you can!

Very honest sign - trust it.

Price - $3.49

Rating - 5