Red Seeded Citron

At first glance, the Red Seeded Citron melon looks like a small, round watermelon, but when cut into you’ll find a pale green to white, dense crunchy flesh dotted with shocking red seeds scattered throughout with a very mild to almost absent flavor. Sometimes people taste a young, not-quite-ripe honeydew, others taste cucumber, and still others taste young pumpkin.

The lack of flavor from a fresh-picked fruit might surprise you, especially since it looks so much like the beloved watermelon. The real value of citron melon isn’t the fresh taste, but in what it can do for jams, jellies, marmalades, preserves, and pickles. Citron melons have naturally high concentrations of pectin, the traditional gelling agent for jams, jellies, and marmalades, as well as fruit pies and cobblers. The high pectin content makes them perfect for candied fruit for fruitcakes and desserts. After cooking, citron melon’s natural flavors become more apparent.

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