Market Report: The line starts here for Vincennes melon season
Coo coo for these cucurbits.
Thanks to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
Welcome back to Based in Lafayette’s newest feature, with a look at what’s in season this week at Greater Lafayette’s farmers markets.
By Carol Bangert / For Based in Lafayette
There are many reasons I love living in Indiana. Basketball. Sugar cream pie. Sweet corn. Fireflies. Vincennes melons. If you’ve never heard of that last item, be advised that now is the time to savor this quintessential Indiana treat.
A colleague introduced me to the melons years ago when she brought one to me from her grandfather’s farm near Evansville. The taste was sublime, like a cantaloupe on steroids, and I’ve been hooked ever since, hunting them down starting in July.
To be clear, the Vincennes (or Southern Indiana) melon looks like an ordinary cantaloupe, but the flavor, aroma, juiciness and texture are other worldly – and fleeting. You’ll find them now until late August, but I’ve not seen many at our area farmers markets. Thankfully, there are roadside vendors who truck the melons (along with a variety of watermelons and other produce) to Lafayette when they’re in season. I’ve found one vendor who keeps me – and from what I can gather, much of Greater Lafayette – supplied with this ephemeral summer fruit.
Pam Warren, who runs Vincennes Melons of Lafayette, has been a regular vendor in Lafayette for nearly two decades, an operation she took over from her father, Gene Warren, a popular longtime vendor. Warren, from Dayton, gets up in the wee hours and heads to a farm near Vincennes that loads her up with a trailer full of melons -- sometimes 300-plus cantaloupes and watermelons – that she parks near Bennett’s Greenhouse on McCarty Lane.
I caught up with Warren last week, with one burning question: “What makes these melons taste so good?”
She began by talking about the soil in Southern Indiana. It’s very sandy, she says, which produces better melons. Melons, like other cucurbits, don’t like “getting their feet wet,” as growers will remind you. So, it’s the soil that makes them special. Got it. Then Warren got all science-y on me and started talking about honeybees pollinating the flowers and bees stinging the young fruit. She lost me, but I was satisfied to know that there is something – Mother Nature or magic or mystery – that truly does make these melons next-level in flavor and aroma.
Warren says a key to a great cantaloupe or watermelon is that it is not cut from the vine but falls off naturally when ripe, ensuring great texture and flavor. And that’s what you’ll get at her trailer. When I stopped by last week, there were at least 50 people in line waiting to land a few Vincennes cantaloupes and sugar baby watermelons. Sugar babies are a bit smaller than the watermelon we see in stores, have a dark green rind and a sweet, red flesh. They are delicious.
Warren sets up shop on Mondays and Thursdays through the summer. Find out other times she’ll be in Lafayette by following her on Facebook at Vincennes Melons of Lafayette Indiana.
Easy to use and store
In my opinion, these melons need to be celebrated simply: Just cut one up and eat it. They taste equally sweet at room temperature or cooled in the fridge. Warren says you can keep the uncut cantaloupe on the counter for a few days up to a week. When it starts to bruise or the skin begins to turn orange, it’s reached peak ripening and is ready to cut and enjoy.
Warren likes to mash them up to make popsicles, and I’ve used cantaloupe in homemade sherbet. They are a perfect topping for yogurt or cottage cheese, pair well with honey and nuts, and make a tasty finger food when cut into chunks and wrapped in a thin slice of prosciutto.
Watermelon is great on its own, as well, but also shines in salads – a classic is watermelon, feta and mint (maybe toss in some sliced cucumber) – and plays well with a little spice. Try slices of watermelon sprinkled with chile powder for an interesting flavor combination. Watermelon infused with vodka or tequila makes a fun party starter, too. Warren says watermelons can be stored in a cool spot, like the basement, for up to two weeks but need to be rotated from time to time.
Take my advice and snag a few of these Southern Indiana gems while they’re here. You’ll probably see me in line. If you do, say hello!
Next time: Sweet corn, basil and big summer tomatoes
Other mid-July fruits and vegetables at the market include:
Red, white and spring onions
Radishes
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Green beans
Beets
Bok choy
Garlic
Greens (kale, mustard, arugula, lettuce varieties – these may be near the end until another crop is harvested)
Herbs, both plants and cuttings (Chives, spearmint, oregano, sage, basil, parsley, thyme, catnip, lavender)
Baby carrots
Salad turnips
Potatoes (not much longer)
Zucchini and summer squash
Cherry tomatoes
Rasberries, blackberries, blueberries
Cherries, peaches, plums, apricots (from Michigan and Georgia)
DAYS/HOURS FOR THE MARKETS
West Lafayette Farmers Market: 3:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, through October. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the West Lafayette market. The market is held at Cumberland Park in West Lafayette with more than 50 vendors.
Lafayette Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, through October, on Fifth Street between Columbia Street and mid-block to Ferry Street, and Main Street between Fourth and Sixth streets.
Purdue Farmers Market: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays, through October. The Purdue Farmers Market is held on the Memorial Mall on Purdue’s campus. This market is a concession-heavy market that allows students, faculty and staff to have lunch options in a unique outdoor setting.
Carol Bangert, editor of Greater Lafayette Magazine, has been a regular at Greater Lafayette farmers markets for more than 20 years. From May through October, she’ll scout out in-season produce at the markets and report back on fresh finds and how to use them.
Thanks, again, to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
A perfect example of TRULY local reporting!
Are the Vincennes melons what we used to call Brookston melons? I know the cities aren’t near each other, but wondered if they’re the same thing.