Santa Claus Melon

Santa Claus melon, also know as Christmas melon, or piel de sapo in Spanish, is another favorite fruit of mine. It is a deliciously hydrating fruit.

There’s always a story behind every famous name, right? This member of muskmelon family is called the Santa Claus melon or Christmas melon because it can be found in market throughout Christmas holidays. It is cultivated in South America and can be purchased throughout northern hemisphere in Christmas holiday season. So basically, December can be considered this melon’s peak season.

The other name, “piel de sapo”, comes from Spain; the literal meaning of piel de sapo is “toad skin”. This name given due to the resemblance of the thick rind of this specific melon with toad skin.

It comes from a type of melon grown in Turkey, which was named Casaba Melon. Casaba melons were considered wild, then were transported across Europe for cultivation.

What does Santa Claus Melon look like?

The Santa Claus melon comes in anything from a small to medium size, and covered in a hard thick rind that looks like toad skin. The rind is wrinkled and has dark strips on it. Its shape is almost oblong or oval other times. The rind turns bright yellow once it is ripe.

Under the smooth rind is the main fruit. The color of the inner layer ranges from white to yellowish to green. The white flesh is so succulent, juicy, and hydrating that you can quench your thirst on it. Oblong seeds fill the central cavity.

What does Santa Claus Melon taste like?

Once the melon is cut and sliced, its scent fills in the room entirely, and is very refreshingly fragrant. The yellowish white flesh will taste sugary-sweet when ripe. It’s taste very much resembles the taste of honeydew.

The Santa Claus melon is almost approximately 90% water. So, eating it will help you stay hydrated as well.

Santa Claus melon nutrition:

Melon enthusiasts will be more than happy to know that just like other melon buddies, Santa Claus melon is also full of nutritious elements.

Vitamin C: This means Christmas melon will aid in the of strengthening the immune system, reducing inflammation, and cell protection.
Potassium: This means the melons are good in maintaining balance in the body fluids, and with heart health.
Calcium: It means that these melons are good in providing the calcium for bones and teeth.
Iron: A good source of iron required for oxygen transport in blood stream.
Fiber: This is great for the digestive system to function optimally.
Low Calories: A good news for melon enthusiasts is that Christmas melons are low in calories.

How to pick a ripe melon?

The Christmas melon does not have a scent before it is cut, because of its thick rind. Therefore, you can not predict the ripeness of a melon by its smell without cutting it.

However, it is still quite easy to pick a ripe one! Here are two tricks for this purpose.

Just look for the dark yellow, muddy color spot at some corner or side of the melon, it’s a sign of melon being perfectly ripe enough to be eaten.
Spot for dark sugar marks on the melon’s skin, as they appear once the melon is ripe.

This melon ripe in about 4 to 6 weeks, that is 110 days to maturity. If it is still unripe when you buy or pick it, the melon should be kept at room temperature to ripen quickly. If it is ripe and you are not eating it as yet, you can refrigerate it.

Where to buy Santa Claus melons?

You can find Santa Claus Melon in your nearest fruit outlets and local stores . If you live in Asia, the local stores or farmer stores can be availed for fruit purchase. Or there are online fruit stores from where you can purchase some Santa Claus melons.

How to eat melon?

Eating is an easy-peasy and fun part. The melon has a white flesh portion that is edible. The rind should not be consumed, as it is hard and rough. Also, the seeds are also not edible.

Fun Fact: The rind of Santa Claus Melon is often served to cows, buffaloes and oxen.

There are three ways to eat a melon:

Slice the Santa Claus melon and just eat it like that.
Cut the rind off, chop the melon into chunks or scoop it into balls, and it alone or in a fruit or melon salad.
One way or another, the taste remains the same: Awesome!

Santa Claus melon recipe ideas:

Here are my personal favorite ways to eat this melon:

A salad mix of three different melons that includes Korean melon, watermelon and a Santa Claus melon.
A citrus flavored sparkling drink with chunks of Santa Claus Melon in a fancy crystal glass and a straw is a good presentable drink for your formal guest.

The winter season is that time of the year when we care least about our body hydration. So, these kind of fruits that are completely a storage of water are a sound source of hydrating ourselves.

I hope to see you buying Santa Claus Melon in your nearest farmer market. Do try and let me know!