The Montreal melon, also known as the Montreal market muskmelon or the Montreal nutmeg melon (), is a type of

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

traditionally grown in the area around

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada. It was popularised by the seed merchant W. Atlee Burpee starting in 1881 but later disappeared from large-scale cultivation. It was rediscovered in 1996 in a

seed bank A seed bank (also seed banks, seeds bank or seed vault) stores seeds to preserve genetic diversity; hence it is a type of gene bank. There are many reasons to store seeds. One is to preserve the genes that plant breeders need to increase yield, ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Description

The fruit is netted like a North American

cantaloupe The cantaloupe ( ) is a type of true melon (''Cucumis melo'') with sweet, aromatic, and usually orange flesh. Originally, ''cantaloupe'' refers to the true cantaloupe or European cantaloupe with non- to slightly netted and often ribbed rind. ...

and deeply ribbed like a European cantaloupe. Its flesh is light green, almost melting in the mouth when eaten. Its spicy flavour is reminiscent of

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

. During its heyday, it was larger than any other melon cultivated on the continent. "The fruit is of the largest size, specimens often weighing twenty pounds and upward. The shape of this melon is almost round, flattened at both ends, and deeply ribbed, skin green and netted, flesh very thick and of finest flavour." A report dated 1909 states that the Montreal melon is difficult to grow and varies greatly in size. "One weighing 44 pounds has been grown. The writer saw one weighing 22 pounds, which had been selected for seed purposes. Their average weight ranges from 8 to 15 pounds... The larger melons are apt to be poorer in quality than those weighing 8 to 15 pounds."

History

The Montreal melon was originally widely grown between the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

and

Mount Royal Mount Royal (, ) is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The city's name is derived from the mountain's name. The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentian M ...

, on the Montreal Plain. In its prime, from the late 19th century until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was one of the most popular varieties of melon on the east coast of North America. American newspaper reports show that the melon was also grown in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

in the early 20th century and was found to be "exceedingly profitable" for farmers. One article lists the melons selling for about $10/dozen at wholesale and from $1.25 to $1.75 each at retail in 1907. The melon disappeared as Montreal grew. Its delicate rind, suitable for

family farm A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family. It is sometimes considered to be an Estate (land), estate passed down by inheritance. Although a recurring conceptual model, conceptual and archetype, archet ...

s, was ill-suited to

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

. But after about 40 years, it was rediscovered in a

maintained by the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production ...

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...

, in 1996, and has since enjoyed a renaissance among Montreal-area gardeners.

References

Uses public domain text from the USDA as shown (public domain due to age) * ''Cultural studies on the Montreal market muskmelon'', ''Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin'', #169 (1912).

External links

"Return of the Montreal Melon" by Gwynne Basen
{{Melons Melons Cuisine of Quebec Montreal cuisine Flora of Quebec Crops originating from Canada

Description

History

See also

References

External links