On Food and Cooking

The differences between the two melon
families are caused by differences in their
physiology. The aromatic summer melons are
generally climacteric fruits that (with the
exception of cantaloupes) separate from their
stems when ripe; and they contain active
enzymes that generate more than 200 different
esters from amino acid precursors, and thus
help create their characteristically rich aroma.
The winter melons are generally
nonclimacteric fruit like their relatives the
cucumbers and squashes, and have low ester-
enzyme activities and therefore a milder
flavor.
Vine-ripening is important for all melons
because they don’t store starch and so get no
sweeter after harvest. A remnant of the stem
on an aromatic melon indicates that it was
harvested before becoming fully ripe, while
all winter melons (and true cantaloupes), even
ripe ones, carry a piece of stem. The aroma of
melons may continue to develop off the vine,