Honeydew melons are a popular refreshment on hot summer days in this country. Although they have a relatively sweet taste, they are not necessarily considered fruit.
Is honeydew melon a fruit or vegetable?
Although honeydew melons have a sweet taste, botanically they belong to the cucurbit family (Cucurbitaceae) and are therefore more closely related to pumpkins, cucumbers and zucchini, which makes them vegetables. Nevertheless, they are often used as fruit, e.g. B. in fruit salads or as a garnish for cocktails.
The relatives of the honeydew melon
Honeydew melons are botanically classified as part of the cucurbit family (Cucurbitaceae). This means that honeydew melon plants are closely related to pumpkins, cucumbers and zucchini. That would actually make these more of a vegetable. The division into fruits or vegetables based on a sweet or less sweet taste is generally common, but cannot be justified botanically. Honeydew melons are used, for example, for the following dishes:
- fresh as fruit salad
- for garnishing cocktails
- as jam
- for making liqueur
Assessment based on growth habit
There is a common rule of thumb for distinguishing between fruit and vegetable plants. As a rule, all plants whose fruit-bearing plant parts are only cultivated once a year and die after the harvest are considered vegetables. This is the case with melons because their long tendrils die off in the fall and new plants are grown from the seeds the next season.
Tips & Tricks
If you want to grow honeydew melons yourself, you should plant them in spring so that the season in our latitudes is long enough for ripe fruits.
