Fruits

Watermelon, melon and the Greek fruit calendar

Watermelon and melon are the fruit of the Greek summer: the season opens in the south, on Crete and in the Peloponnese, and peaks from June to September. Both are cut ripe, because neither gets sweeter after harvest — a melon softens and smells stronger, but its sugar is loaded into the fruit while it is still on the plant. On a watermelon, look at the ground spot where it sat in the soil: it turns from white to yellow as the fruit ripens, and the tendril nearest the stem dries out. On a melon, smell around the stem and see whether the stem slips off easily — both point to a ripe fruit. The rest of the Greek year brings cherries from late May, figs in August and September, grapes until October, pomegranates in October and November, Zagora apples from Pelion (PDO) in autumn and citrus through the winter.