Cantaloupe, a specialty of Xinjiang, is a national geographical indication product of China.
Cantaloupe is mainly produced in the Tuha Basin, it has different forms, unique flavors, thick melon flesh, crisp and refreshing. Cantaloupe is rich in nutrients, containing up to 21% sugar. Hami's melon became a tribute to the melon species during the Yongping period of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, it was used as a tribute by the King of Hami and was rewarded by kangxi and named cantaloupe. When the cantaloupe "paid tribute in previous years", "gua Mosheng was in Hami", and "the melon was really out of Hami". Tracing back to the roots, cantaloupe originated in the area of Turpan Shanshan County.
Cantaloupe varieties are abundant. According to the different maturity periods, there are early, medium and late maturing varieties. Early and middle ripening are called summer melons, and late ripening ones are called winter melons. The early maturing varieties mainly include Huangdanzi, Naxigan, a bag of sugar, Baozi Coca-Chi, Shitian 401, etc., which are characterized by thin skin and fine flesh and strong aroma. Medium-cooked varieties are mainly red heart crisp and juicy, thick and delicate meat, fresh and refreshing and won people's love. Late ripening varieties mainly include black eyebrow dense extreme dry, green hemp skin dense extreme dry, fort red, green skin red meat, green skin winter melon, yellow skin white meat delicious and so on. The characteristics of "black eyebrows" and "green hemp skin" are that the melon meat is light blue, and after storage, the meat texture changes from crisp and hard, and gradually becomes soft and juicy, sweet and mellow.
On March 30, 2009, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for "cantaloupe".
Cantaloupe is an annual creeping or climbing herb with ridged stems and branches, yellow-brown or white rough hairs and warty protrusions. Tendrils are slender, single and covered with slightly soft hairs. The petiole is 8-12 cm long, with grooves and short bristles; the leaves are thick papery, nearly round or kidney-shaped, 8-15 cm long and wide, rough on the top, covered with white rough and hard hairs, the back side of the vein is densely covered with rough hard hairs, the edges are not split or 3-7 shallow lobes, the lobes are rounded and blunt, there are serrations, the base is truncated or curved with semicircular shapes, and there are palm-like veins.
The flowers are unisexual, hermaphroditic. Male flowers: several clusters grow in leaf axils; the peduncle is slender, 0.5-2 cm long, covered with soft hairs; the calyx tube is narrowly bell-shaped, densely covered with white long soft hairs, 6-8 mm long, lobes are nearly drill-shaped, upright or unfolded, shorter than the barrel; the corolla is yellow, 2 cm long, lobed ovate oblong, sharply pointed; the stamens are 3 mm, the filaments are extremely short, the pharmacy is bent, the top of the septum is elongated; the degenerated pistils are about 1 mm long. Female flowers: solitary, rough peduncle, soft hairs; ovary oblong, densely covered with long soft hairs and long rough hard hairs, the flower column is 1-2 mm long, the stigma is close, about 2 mm long.
The shape and color of the fruit varies from variety to variety, usually spherical or oblong, with a smooth peel, longitudinal grooves, or markings, no thorny protrusions, white, yellow or green flesh, with a sweet taste; the seeds are stained white or yellowish white, ovate or oblong, pointed at the apex, blunt at the base, smooth on the surface, and without edges. The flowering period is summer.
Cantaloupe is divided into two kinds: reticulated skin and light skin. According to the maturity period, it is divided into early ripening melon, summer melon (medium ripening), winter melon (late ripening) and other varieties. Different varieties of melons have different shapes, colors, and skin patterns. Common excellent varieties are red heart crisp, black eyebrow honey extremely sweet (melon skin has dark stripes such as xiu eyebrows, so called black eyebrows; "honey extreme gan", Uyghur meaning flower skirt), fort red, iron skin, green linen skin, reticulated pear, Hami Gagda, small green skin, white skin.
Cantaloupe has more than 180 varieties, with shapes such as ovals, ovals, hammers, long sticks, etc.; different sizes, small ones 1 kg, large ones 15-20 kg; the peel has two kinds of reticulates and light skins; the color is green, yellow and white, etc., the flesh is white, green, orange red, the flesh is crisp, crisp, soft, and the flavor is mellow, fragrant and fruity. There are more than fifty more than fifty more expensive varieties.
Cantaloupe is not only sweet, but also rich in nutritional value. According to the analysis, the dry matter of cantaloupe contains 4.6%-15.8% sugar, cellulose 2.6%-6.7%, as well as malic acid, pectin substances, vitamins A, b, c, niacin and calcium, phosphorus, iron and other elements. The iron content is two or three times more than chicken and 17 times higher than milk. Xinjiang people love to eat cantaloupe and believe that eating more melon can get rid of diseases and prolong life, which is not unreasonable.
In addition to serving fresh food, cantaloupe can also be used to make dried melons, preserved melons, and melon juice. Cantaloupe peeling can be done with the large fruit peeler in the fruit and vegetable peeling machine for food-scale processing. Guati melon seeds can be used in medicine to treat diseases, and melon skin feeding to sheep can promote fattening and fattening.