Muskmelon – Oka

2507 Cucumis melo

Muskmelon 85 days.

What do you get when you cross a Montreal melon with a Banana melon? Oka, of course! Developed in 1912 by Father Athanase of the Trappist Monastery near Oka, Quebec, the melon was quite common in the 1920s and 1930s but disappeared from seed catalogues in the 60s. Thought to have disappeared forever, seeds of Oka melon were found on Bizard Island, Montreal several years later. Thick orange flesh and lovely texture.

Steph Warr of Twisted Brook Farm discovered that when dehydrated, this melon turns into gold . . . or rather, the dried fruit tastes just like dried mango and it’s hard to get the kids to stop eating it. A surprising “tropical” treat!