September is actually a slightly confusing month in the same way the March is—it’s a transitional moment, not really fall, but not summer any more. Markets are still full of heirloom tomatoes, plums, nectarines and figs. But bite into the first pear of the season and a peach just won’t taste right any more. Something has changed. It might still be hot, but the air feels different.
So what’s on the menu?
Melons. Especially watermelons, and muskmelons (the group that includes cantaloupe, Persian melons, casabas, honeydew and galia). Hydrating, antioxidant-rich, and really awesomely tasty, melons are not the most versatile foods (they don’t always play well with other fruits for some reason, though they have a good relationship with grapes), but they stand on their own just fine. Cantaloupe and its close relatives are believed to be a very effective treatment or prevention strategy for “metabolic syndrome,” so as it turns out that 1970s cantaloupe-and-cottage cheese thing might have been more than just a punishment for the overweight.
Anti-inflammatory, high in a large range of nutrients, and incredibly luscious, muskmelons are at their peak at the summer-fall transition point. Watermelons originated in Africa (though China is the number one consumer of these fruits today). The lycopene in this quintessential picnic fruit is crucial for cardiovascular and bone health, and it’s an unusually dense source of the amino acid citrulline—which you can look up for full nerd-details—but long story short, it helps you not store fat as readily. Melons are wonderful pureed into cold soups or aguas frescas, and delicious with shredded basil or a little fresh thyme. In the American South, watermelon rind can be found candied or pickled.
Grapes. The grape might have the broadest cultivation range and the most intense relationship with humans of any plant on earth. Grapes are cultivated on every part of the planet except Antarctica, and their cultivation goes back about 8000 years (that we know of). Wine is one big reason why, but the applications of this tenacious, adaptable fruit hardly stop there. There are differences between wine and table grapes (wine grapes have not been bred to be seedless, they’re thicker-skinned and higher in sugar than table grapes), but all cultivars of the Vitis genus have extraordinary health benefits and a huge range of culinary applications.
There are several compounds in grapes, especially in the polyphenol group, that are shown to enhance longevity, control blood sugar, reduce oxidative stress and guard against cancer. (Red or black grapes have more of these than green or yellow ones, but they’re all heavy-hitters). Entire books could be (and have been) written on the subject of this fruit—hit up your bookstore or library if you are interested in the massively complex symbolism of grapes and their deep intertwining with human history. For now, let’s just say September is their big moment in the northern hemisphere, and they are something to take advantage of while fresh. Chilled grapes are a decadent snack on their own; they are also beautiful with cheese, in fall salads, and in many cooked preparations, too. Grapes were a “superfood” before anyone outside the Brazilian rainforest ever laid eyes on an acai berry—eat lots of them. Bear in mind that if you prefer your grapes in fermented liquid form, there is a point of diminishing returns on that whole health thing after about two glasses. (But that’s another article.)
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