24 Types of Melons to Load Up on While They’re in Season

• Scientific name: Citrullus lanatus
• Taste: Sweet, refreshing, juicy
• Recipes: Grilled Watermelon-Feta Skewers, Vegetarian Watermelon Poke Bowls, Grilled Watermelon Steaks

Watermelon is a must at every summer soiree, and if you’ve tasted it before, it should be no mystery why. According to Mayo Clinic, they're packed with vitamin A, which is essential for skin and eye health, and vitamin B6, which boosts immune and nerve function. To pick a ripe one at the grocery store or farmers market, look for a watermelon that’s deep green in color with a cream- or yellow-colored ground spot. Pick it up and give the ground spot a hard tap—if it sounds deep and hollow, it’s ready to devour.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis
• Taste: Sweet, tender
• Recipes: Cantaloupe-Mint Sorbet, Cantaloupe and Mozzarella Caprese Salad, Frozen Cantaloupe Cocktail

Unlike watermelon, cantaloupe has a firmer, less mealy texture. I love serving it with different charcuterie meats and proteins because it holds its shape and isn’t as watery. They're locded with beta carotene, vitamin C and folate, which support eye health, immune system function and more, says Healthline. They’re at peak deliciousness come late spring. Look for cantaloupes that are tan with light green lines on the outside and free of soft spots.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo L. (Inodorus Group) ‘Honey Dew’
• Taste: Light, slightly sweet, mild
• Recipes: Melon Salad with Chili Powder, Mint, Lime and Flaky Salt, Fresh Honeydew Margarita, Melon Basil Burrata Salad with Crispy Prosciutto

This melon, which is in season from June through October, is wildly underrated. It can offer light sweetness to salads, frozen yogurt, smoothies and even cocktails. One cup of the stuff delivers more than half your daily recommended dose of vitamin C and 11 percent of your daily recommended potassium, not to mention fiber, folate and vitamin B6, says Mayo Clinic. You know a honeydew is ripe when the rind is a creamy yellow color and smooth or waxy to the touch; it should feel a bit springy on the bottom.

• Scientific name: Benincasa hispida
• Taste: Vegetal, refreshing, slightly grassy
• Recipes: Chinese Winter Melon Soup, Winter Melon Stir-Fry, Fried Winter Melon and Pork

Despite being harvested mostly during the summer, winter melon gets its name for its long shelf life, a result of its durable waxy skin. Since its flavor is very mild, it’s often used like a vegetable in soups, stir-fries and stews. It’s also popular to candy or preserve it, hence its other name, Chinese pickling melon. Healthline says it can potentially aid digestion, reduce inflammation and prevent ulcers, too.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo var. Inodorus ‘Golden Casaba’
• Taste: Spicy, aromatic, slightly sweet
• Recipes: Casaba Melon and Mint Salsa, Casaba Melon with Creamy, Sweet Curry, Chilled Melon and Cucumber Soup

If you’re wondering why this melon looks closer to a squash or pumpkin than a watermelon, it’s because melons are actually part of the gourd family, along with cucumbers. A type of muskmelon that’s closely related to honeydew and cantaloupe, casaba is named after its place of origin, Kasaba, Turkey. Use them in smoothies, soups, curries or sorbet, or just snack on them raw. Look for one with a golden skin tinged with green, a thick rind with wrinkles or furrows and an end that gives slightly when pressed.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo
• Taste: Sweet, crunchy
• Recipes: Persian Melon Salad, Kharbozeh and Persian Melon Popsicle

A cultivar of the musk melon family, Persian melons are elongated and smooth with yellow banded skin and orange flesh. They taste similar to cantaloupe, but their large size makes them milder in flavor. Loaded with beta carotene, vitamin C and folic acid, according to Specialty Produce, they can help with organ functioning, skin complexion and hydration.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo var. reticulatus
• Taste: Sweet, spicy, juicy
• Recipes: Galia Melon, Kiwi, Serrano and Goat Cheese Salad, Pickled Galia Melon Salad, Melon-Yogurt Dessert with Almond Brittle

Created in Israel in the 1970s, the galia is a cross between cantaloupe and honeydew. It looks similar to honeydew on the inside, thanks to its pale green flesh, but the outside is closer to cantaloupe with its netted rind. They’re even sweeter than ripe cantaloupe in taste, so serve it as a refreshing dessert with summer berries or vanilla ice cream, or turn it into sorbet.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo L. (Inodorus Group) ‘Canary’
• Taste: Sweet, tangy, juicy
• Recipes: Chilled Canary Melon Soup, Melon Granita, Canary Melon Jam

Named for its sunny yellow rind, canary melon’s flavor is like honeydew, plus a distinct tanginess. Its texture is firmer than mealy watermelon, like a pear. In Asia and South America where it’s cultivated, it’s used in fruit salads and enjoyed raw at breakfast. They also pair beautifully with fresh citrus and herbs, and offer plenty of vitamin A, manganese and iron, says The Fruitguys.

• Scientific name: Momordica charantia
• Taste: Bitter
• Recipes: Beef with Bitter Melon, Vietnamese Bitter Melon Stir-Fry with Eggs, Bitter Melon with Black Bean Sauce

Though this melon hails from the Indian subcontinent, it’s grown all over Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Due to its bitterness, bitter melon is used like a vegetable more than a fruit. It’s beloved for its high antioxidant content and immunity-boosting qualities. Healthline adds that they may help reduce blood sugar and even have cancer-fighting properties.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo var. Inodorus ‘Crenshaw’
• Taste: Floral, sweet
• Recipes: Shrimp Tacos with Melon-Pineapple Salsa, Mango Crenshaw Melon Juice

This hybrid of a Persian and Casaba melons boasts an extra sweet flavor and vegetal aroma. Its texture is tender and juicy, making it great to eat raw in fruit salads or with charcuterie meats. Crenshaw melons also make for delicious sorbet, frozen cocktails and smoothies. Bonus? They're said to potentially prevent strokes.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo var. Inodorous ‘Sancho’
• Taste: Sweet, mild, slightly earthy
• Recipes: Piel de Sapo Melon Sorbet, Santa Claus Melon Tart, Strawberry Melon Gazpacho

In its homeland of Spain, the Santa Claus melon is also called “piel de sapo,” meaning “toad skin,” due to its dark green, stripy rind. Its other Christmas-inspired names are due to its long shelf life that makes it possible to enjoy the melon in late winter. Its flavor is similar to honeydew, but more refreshing and a bit earthier. Teeming with vitamin C and potassium, this type of melon can balance your fluid levels, strengthen your immune health and reduce inflammation, according to Specialty Produce.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis
• Taste: Very sweet, spicy
• Recipes: Melon Pineapple Fruit Salad with Berries, Pineapple Melon Smoothie

This heirloom melon dates back to the 1800s. In line with its name, which means “pineapple” in French, it has juicy flesh that ranges from white to yellow in color. Its netted rind is similar to that of a cantaloupe.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo var. Flexuosus
• Taste: Crisp, juicy, mildly sweet
• Recipes: Moroccan Feggous Salad, Armenian Cucumber and Gherkin Pickles

Botanically, it’s a melon. But by the looks (and taste) of it, it’s much closer to a standard cucumber. This long, slender fruit was cultivated in the 1400s and grown throughout Armenia, Egypt and other areas of Western Asia, says Specialty Produce. It tastes refreshingly similar to a cucumber, but a bit sweeter.

• Scientific name: Momordica cochinchinensis
• Taste: Buttery, mild
• Recipes: Grilled Prawn with Gac Sauce, Vietnamese Red Sticky Rice

On the outside, the gac melon is covered in orange-brown, spiky, dimpled skin. Cut it open and you’ll be wowed by its vibrant red hue. Grown mostly in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia, the melon has a unique flavor, like a cross between a cantaloupe and an avocado. Due to its lack of sweetness and mellow taste, gac melons are often used in stews, soups, curries and rice dishes.

• Scientific name: Melothria scabra
• Taste: Refreshing, sour, mildly sweet
• Recipes: Pickled Cucamelons, Ponzu-Marinated Cucamelons, Cucamelon, Grape and Tomato Summer Salad

Aren’t they just the cutest? They look like grape-sized watermelons, but taste closer to cucumbers with a punch of acidity. Also known as Mexican sour gherkins, cucamelons are commonly pickled just like standard cucumbers. Their slight sweetness and tartness also make them a popular cocktail ingredient or garnish.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo inodorus 'ivory gaya'
• Taste: Sweet, succulent
• Recipes: Melon and Parma Ham, Baby Spinach and Gaya Melon Salad

Snow leopard, sweet snowball, silver star—whatever you call this sweet pick, you're sure to enjoy its white flesh and green-striped exterior. Originally from Japan, this melon's shape is small and round and the pulp is firm, making it easy to cut up for snacking. Its sweet flavor is sort of decadent and honey-like, meaning it'd be a solid foil for savory charcuterie meats and cheeses.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis
• Taste: sweet, fragrant
• Recipes: Prosciutto Melon Salad, Charentais Aperitif Melon Bowls, Charentais Melon with Spiced Quinoa, Yogurt and Pistachio

The Charentais melon is named for the region of France in which it grows, Charente. It’s located in southwest France, just north of Bordeaux (yep, the wine-making region). The melon is characterized by its stripes—and its tendency to split along them. The Charentais melon is smaller than a typical American cantaloupe with sweet, firm flesh that’s divine paired with prosciutto.  

• Scientific name: Citrullus lanatus
• Taste: intensely sweet
• Recipes: Moon and Stars Watermelon Martini, Moon and Stars Watermelon Calypso Bean Salad, Watermelon Peach Salad

This melon earned its name because of the bright yellow dots that adorn its dark green rind, bringing to mind the moon and stars. Inside is a flesh similar to that of a watermelon. This type of melon can grow to 40 pounds and is a popular heirloom melon that's said to be intensely sweet.

• Scientific name: Cucumis melo ‘Hami melon’
• Taste: sweet and spicy
• Recipes: Watercress and Hami Salad with Almonds, Hami Melon Avocado Salad, Smashed Cucumber and Melon Salad 

The Hami melon has a reputation for being one of the sweetest melon varieties. Its rind resembles that of a cantaloupe, but its shape is more oblong and its color can tend towards yellow. It's also known as the Chinese Hami melon or snow melon, with flesh that is crisp and sweet.