Today’s selection for my Market Matters post from the Hollywood Farmers Market is another melon. What can I say? They are so seasonal and there is nothing better than a perfectly ripe melon.

This time I have chosen a Persian melon, also known as Patelquat. Which is a large greenish muskmelon with delicate netting on the rind and a rich salmon-colored flesh. It looks a bit like a larger more oval shaped cantaloupe, though it is usually much more fragrant. Persian melons are bigger than a cantaloupe too. They typically weigh around 5 pounds. Naturally they have a delicious, sweet flavor. I think they taste like a much more intense cantaloupe. In Southern California they're available from July through October, with a peak in the late summer.

As with all melons choose Persian melons that are heavy for their size, and very fragrant. They should be firm with a small amount of softness at the stem end. The rind should be the palest of green with netting that is slightly brown when ripe. If the background is very green the melon is not yet ripe. Persians are best vine ripened, but if you mistakenly get a green one let it sit on the counter at room temperature for a few days. Ripe melons should be refrigerated and will keep as long as two weeks if uncut.

Ho Ho Ho. Merry Christmas!

Today from the Hollywood Farmers Market I bring you Christmas in July. What I mean to say is I bring you a visit from Santa Claus, in the form of a melon. A super sweet Santa Claus melon.

I love summer melon, even when it has a ridiculously wintery name like Santa Claus. Melon replaces dessert many nights in this house during the summer. However if I am entertaining I might serve it as a palate cleanser after the meal, but before dessert. I almost always include a bit of melon in our Hollywood Bowl Picnics too.

I also enjoy the presentation of melon. Some people peel them so well, it’s a pleasure to watch them work. My peeling technique is a bit clumsy so I typically prep my melons behind closed doors. But I am working on my skills, and there is always next summer. Who knows, melon peeling tableside could become a tradition here as well.

Santa Claus melons are in a group of melons (like cantaloupe and honeydew) that are known as muskmelons. They probably originated in Asia Minor and were cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. Muskmelons, along with squash, pumpkins, watermelon, and cucumbers fall into the very large genus Cucumis. The familial resemblance is obvious so I won’t bore you with more on their similarities.

I know you have enjoyed the classic pairing of prosciutto and melon. It’s sweet, it’s salty and it is about as good as summer gets!

Well I could not let summer slip by with out featuring this classic summer recipe. So for the very last Market Matters at the Hollywood Farmers Market of this all too short, but glorious summer– I am bringing home a melon. For Sup's version of Prosciutto with Melon, Anise and Black Pepper.

I love melon for obvious reasons. When it’s good, it is mind-blowingly good. So once you have had melon of that caliber it's hard to eat those spongy, pastel-colored cantaloupes from the grocery store. Or worse yet, those green monstrosities that come in prepared “fruit” salads. I don’t quite know how they get away with calling that food. I'd rather eat the plastic box it comes in. That is not a perfect "end of summer" melon.

So please choose your melons well…