Galia melon

Cucumis melo var. reticulatus · Melon

40 pairings

The Galia is a round, netted-rind hybrid melon (Cucumis melo) bred in Israel, prized for its intensely aromatic flesh. Its skin ripens from green to golden amber while the pale-green interior stays sweet, juicy and richly perfumed — a cross between the netted texture of a muskmelon and the spicy-floral aroma of a honeydew.

Picking a good onedrag

Green and mute, hard all overSlack, boozy, weeping

Firm ripeA day or two in the cool to soften. Dices cleanly for salads and skewers.Buy it

Rind colourGold coming, green in the grooves

Blossom endFirm, only just yields

Stem endDry scar, no cracks yet

Smell at the blossom endPerfume only with your nose on it

Reading a just ripe one. Move the slider and the rest of this page — nutrition, pairings — re-scores with it.

What one gives you

51%

Usable yield

about 550 g flesh · rind and seeds out

1082 g

Typical weight

one specimen

Keeping ittap a band

A whole Galia wants 7-8 C, not the fridge: below 7 C the rind pits, flavour flattens and it stops ripening. Cut melon is the opposite — wrap it and chill.

Humidity

90-95%

Damp air. It dries through scuffed netting, but condensation sitting on the net feeds moulds at the stem scar.

Airflow

Open, uncovered

Uncovered, with air all round it, never bagged or stacked deep. Rot walks in at the stem scar, so keep that end dry.

Gasses hard, and hurried by it

A netted melon gasses hard: keep it off the shelf with lettuce and herbs. It answers to ethylene too, softening fast beside bananas.

Preparing