Flickr-User Sarah Kim

Cantaloupe (or to be accurate: Cucumis melo reticulatus) is my favorite melon, as it is for most Americans, so it came into my head to find out how much edible fruit there is in an average cantaloupe. Searching databases at the US Department of Agriculture and other sources (1) I learned that supposedly 51% of a one-pound cantaloupe is edible fruit.

My research showed otherwise - however, I have never purchased such a small melon. Last week I picked up an average-sized cantaloupe at my local Stop & Shop (which happened to be on sale but with a limit of 1 per shopping trip) which weighed 1540 grams (~ 3.4 pounds).

Allow me to digress a moment - since I Shop at the Supermarket Every Day, I am able to take advantage of that 1 limit sale at least a few more times.

Now let's return to the weighing: after cutting out the rind, seeds, and other inedible parts (I don't eat the green portion), I was left with 652 grams of delicious, edible fruit, which works out to a little over 42% of edible fruit. Not quite 51% but still a decent amount.

Checking the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, we learn that cantaloupes are 90% water, so 100 grams of edible fruit has only about 34 calories. Thus the entire 3.4 pound cantaloupe contains 222 calories, making it a great low-calorie addition to any fruit salad.

If you want to compare prices per pound for various fruits then simply divide the gross price per pound by the edible percentage. For example, if cantaloupes are selling for 2 bucks a pound then divide 2 by .42 which gives us $4.76 per pound, the true cost per edible pound of cantaloupe.

Now some of my readers may wonder the value or utility of all this calculating. Simple: supermarkets also sell prepared fruit bowls. Knowing that an uncut cantaloupe actually costs you $4.76 per edible pound and the supermarket is selling cut cantaloupe wedges for $4.50 a pound will help you decide which is the better deal.

I will be investigating actual edible fruit costs for more fruits in coming articles.