17 Apr

Best Melons For Melon Juice And How To Choose Them

When you’re new to juicing one melon looks just as good as the next. But once you develop the juicing habit, you’ll notice that some of your batches taste better than others. The culprit is the type of melons that you use. Veteran juicers know how to pick the best melons for juicing.

Melon Season

In today’s global market you can buy almost any type of melon at almost any time of year. But for the most flavorful juices with the highest vitamin content, you should concentrate your melon juicing during the season for the type of melon that you want to use. Buying in season means accessing melons from California, Arizona and Texas that come to you relatively fresh and full of vitamins.

Honeydew, cantaloupe and watermelon are the best melons for juicing in the U.S. because they’re available fresh and have sweet, crisp flavor and lots of juice. Honeydew melons are a late summer fruit and the prime season is between August and October. Cantaloupes are sweetest between June and September but are available until December. The watermelon season is longer, from April to November but the best time to buy is in the summer.

How to Pick a Melon

Thump the melon. Hold the melon close to your ear in one hand and thump it with the other. You are listening for a hollow “thunk” that means that the melon is ripe and full of juice, not hard and underripe.

Look at the color. Ripe honeydew melons vary in color from pale green to pale yellow. Avoid white honeydews. These are underripe. Watermelon skin should be green, striped and smooth. Avoid watermelons with overly shiny or overly dull skin. One side of the watermelon should be yellow or cream colored. Watermelons without these markings were harvested prematurely. Cantaloupes should have golden color. You can pick greener cantaloupes and leave them in a shady spot to develop golden color.

best melons for juicing

Next, feel the weight. A melon, no matter the species, should feel heavy for its size. While you hold it, look at the melon’s surface. Avoid buying melons with scars or other signs of damage or decay. Feel the surface of the melon. Avoid buying any melons with soft mushy spots. Honeydew melons should have a waxy, not fuzzy surface. Look for cantaloupes with tight netting on the skin.

The Best Place to Shop

The best places to shop for melons are farmer’s markets. What makes farmer’s markets the best? Melons from farmer’s markets are local. This means that they end up in the stall soon after they are picked from the plant. As soon as the melon leaves the plant the vitamin content begins to degrade. Head their early on market day and you can pick up a melon that was picked hours before it ended up in your basket. Look for organic melons and you won’t have to worry about chemicals on the surface of your fruit.

Use these techniques to pick the best melons for juicing and you’ll get the most out of your juicer and your favorite juicing recipes.

04 Mar

Health Benefits of Melon Juice

Melon Juice is a delicious drink that is commonly made from cantaloupe, sometimes known as “muskmelon”, which is the most popular melon type in the country. One cup of cantaloupe supplies you with 108% of the daily recommended allowance of Vitamin A and 98% of the RDA of Vitamin C. Other vitamins and minerals contained in cantaloupe include potassium, folic acid, niacin, dietary fiber, vitamin K, magnesium and thiamin. All these ingredients are what makes cantaloupe so nutritious, and of course taking in cantaloupe in the form of melon juice is the best way to ingest high amounts of this wonder fruit. Did I mention that cantaloupe is low in calories? One cup of cantaloupe contains a mere 53 calories, a good thing to keep in mind when making your own melon juice. A glass of melon juice has more health benefits than you would ever imagine.

Cantaloupes (Melon) juice health benefits

Healthy Circulatory System

Melon juice, with its high Vitamin C content, slows down the process of hardening of the arteries resulting in lowering your arteriosclerosis risk. The antioxidants fight high cholesterol levels. In addition, the potassium helps rid your body of too much sodium which can lower your blood pressure. Cantaloupes also contain a unique compound that has been found to lower the risk of blood clots.

Healthy Immune System and Cancer Prevention

The Vitamin C found in cantaloupe stimulates white blood cells which helps fight infection and builds up your immune system. Vitamin C can help fight anything from the common cold to more serious illnesses. The antioxidant properties protect cells and can prevent cancer, especially melanoma and intestinal cancer.

Healthy Eyes

In addition to Vitamin C, melon juice also has a high quantity of vitamin A, which is not only needed by the retina, but also helps the surface of the eye protect itself against bacteria and viruses and reduces your chances of developing eye infections and cataracts. There is also substantial evidence that this high vitamin A and vitamin C combination can help fight the risk of macular degeneration, especially when recommended amounts of Vitamin E, zinc and copper are consumed in addition.

Healthy Pregnancy and other Women’s Health Benefits

All the vitamins and minerals found in melon juice can definitely make for a more healthy pregnancy. The thiamine content raises your energy level and helps your body absorb the iron that is so vital during pregnancy. The niacin promotes good digestion, and the high content of folic acid supports the placenta and can help to prevent neural tube defects in your baby. As stated before, the potassium in cantaloupe helps to rid your body of too much sodium, which ultimately will reduce water retention, a common irritation that goes along with pregnancy. Not pregnant? Drinking melon juice during menstruation will reduce heavy flow and clotting. The potassium also helps relieve muscular aches and pains.

Healthy Sense of Well-Being

In this fast-paced busy world we live in, high levels of stress can be either an occasional problem or even an ongoing one. Drinking melon juice can help reduce stress. The high potassium helps bring down your blood pressure which helps to oxygenate your brain; and another special compound found in cantaloupe calms anxieties. Because of this a glass of melon juice before bedtime can also help you sleep better. If you are a smoker who is trying to quit, melon juice can help your body deal with nicotine withdrawal; and can also replace the high levels of vitamin A that are lost as a result of smoking.

The many health benefits of melon juice cannot be denied. With its high vitamin and mineral content, as well as its delicious taste and low calorie content, there’s no reason not to start enjoying this wonderful juice that can do so much for your body and mind.

09 Feb

Melon (Cantaloupe) Nutrition Facts

Melon (Cantaloupe) Nutrition Facts

Betaine 0,1 mg
Calcium 9 mg
Calories 34 Calories
Carbohydrate 8,8 g
Carotene-a 0 mcg
Carotene-ß 2020 mcg
Choline 7,6 mg
Copper 0 mg
Dietary Fiber 0,9 g
Fluoride 1 mcg
Folate 21 mcg
Iron 0,2 mg
Lutein-zeaxanthin 26 mcg
Lycopene  mcg
Magnesium 12 mg
Manganese 0 mg
Niacine 0,7 mg
Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) 319 µ mol TE
Pantothenic Acid 0,1 mg
Phosphorus 15 mg
Phytonutrients 2047 mcg
Potassium 267 mg
Protein 0,8 g
Pyridoxine Vit. B6 0,072 mg
Riboflavin Vit. B2 0,026 mg
Selenium 0,4 mcg
Sodium 16 mg
Sugar 7,9 g
Thiamine 0 mg
Total Fat 0,2 g
Vitamin A 3382 IU
Vitamin B6 0,1 mg
Vitamin C 36,7 mg
Vitamin E 0,1 mg
Vitamin K 2,5 mcg
Water 90,2 g
Zinc 0,2 mg