Food for Thought: The Melon Dream Team

At H-E-B, we’ve got melons on the mind. The H-E-B “Season’s Select” melon program hits shelves this summer with five varietals available for 15 weeks of melon madness.

A treat worth the wait, the dream melons are exclusive to H-E-B BB #:106490 and offers a variety of flavor profiles and textures sure to delight.

The five exclusive varietals include Sugar Rush, Summer Gem, Lemon Pop, Sunny Crazy, and Emerald Crunch.

Our line of melons is grown by Martori Farms BB #:100428, a fourth-generation family farm in Arizona, where its farmland sits at a higher elevation, which allows for growing fresh produce in the summertime.

This higher elevation ensures the days don’t get too hot like lower elevations in Arizona often do. Melon crops like watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew generally thrive in warmer climates, making this farmland an ideal location for our dream melons.

Keep reading to learn why Texans are in love with the H-E-B Season’s Select melon programs.

Oh, Sugar, Sugar– Sugar Rush

If you’ve ever tried Cotton Candy grapes or Sweet Karoline blackberries, you know how deliciously sweet and candy-like a fruit can be. H-E-B is a proud retailer of produce so sweet even your sweet tooth is satisfied. In fact, H-E-B carries both of these fruits when in season.

The Sugar Rush melon is the sweetest member of the family. It gives the kind of sweetness that has you singing the No.1 hit on Billboard Hot 100 from 1969, “Sugar, Sugar,” by the Archies (from the comic strip and television show).

It packs a punch of flavor and boasts a creamy texture that melts in your mouth, dissolving like sugar on the tongue. Mixing this varietal into a fruit salad or a summertime sip makes for a refreshing treat.

A Pear-Fect Gem– Summer Gem

The Summer Gem carries many of the unique characteristics we all know and love from the melon family. It’s juicy with a slightly tender flesh.

The flavor is mild and clean with a sweet finish that rounds out with hints of pear. If you get your hands on this varietal, challenge your inner chef by creating salads or summer treats like granita, aqua fresca, ice cream, and smoothies.

It has a gold netted skin with green stripes and a brilliant orange interior. The thin dark rind and small seed cavity add to its visual appeal. Slice up a Summer Gem to enhance a summer charcuterie board or an edible tablescape.

Make an Anagram– Lemon Pop

Nothing hits quite like a glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. The Lemon Pop Dream Melon captures the refreshing feeling we all chase when the temperatures rise to the triple digits in Texas.

Lemon Pops offer a sweet and tart lemonade flavor with a hint of honeydew juiciness that performs well in fruit salads, tropical smoothies, or sorbets, where a bright burst of citrusy goodness is much appreciated.

A Taste of Summer– Sunny Craze

The Sunny Craze dream melon captures the sensorial experience of a tropical beach vacation in a single bite. It’s a delicious tropical fruit with velvety flesh and a classic melon flavor with high brix content. It’s sweet. It’s decadent.

It is so unapologetically a melon that simply slicing into wedges is the best way to enjoy it. If you don’t have sticky hands from a Sunny Craze snack session, are you even doing it right?

A Rookie So Green, So Fresh– Emerald Crunch

The newest member of the dream melon family is our Emerald Crunch. It has a beautiful green outer shell that’s showcased nicely when you slice it open. The flavor is sweet and fresh.

Like a Hami Melon, this varietal has a crunchy texture and pairs well with prosciutto or burrata for a crowd-pleasing appetizer. 

What’s Not to Love?

Dietitians at H-E-B work with produce merchants and marketing teams to showcase fresh produce all year, particularly seasonal selections. Our H-E-B dietitians encourage patients and customers alike to shop seasonal produce whenever possible.

We often enjoy better prices and flavor profiles when shopping in season. We also highlight the unique nutritional value these fruits and vegetables might offer. Most melons are a good source of Vitamin C, which contributes to immune function and skin health.

Sharing these nutrition soundbites in digital content or packaged with a quick and easy recipe for inspiration provides value to our customers who might be searching for new ways to increase their produce consumption.

H-E-B, LP is a privately held supermarket chain with over 380 stores in the state of Texas and Mexico. The company also operates other store formats, including Central Market, Mi Tienda, and Joe V’s Smart Shop.

Editor’s Note: Be sure to check out our melons spotlight, also available online! This article has been revised from its original content.