Melons are a quintessential taste of summer. Cool and crisp, juicy and light, they're also packed with potassium and other nutrients. A quarter of a cantaloupe, for instance, gives you a full dose of vitamin A and almost 70 percent of your daily vitamin C, with only 50 calories and no fat. And recent methods developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for spraying the plants with potassium while the melons are growing may boost beta-carotene.

Melons come from the same gourd family as squash and cucumbers, but they are considered a fruit because of their sweetness. They were first cultivated in the Middle East thousands of years ago and introduced to the Americas when Columbus brought some over. It's a good thing he did, because Americans love melons: In 2004, we ate almost 25 pounds per person.

Melons can shine far beyond fruit salads. "Pur¨¦ed, they make great vinaigrettes for a summer salad," says Jeff Smock, chef at San Francisco's Plumpjack Cafe. Charlie Palmer of Aureole restaurants in New York and Las Vegas likes to pair melon slices with prosciutto spiced with a few turns of ground black pepper. Smock, too, favors pepper with melons. "The spice brings out the sweetness and is refreshing on a warm summer day."

You can find cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon almost any time of year, but they're best at their peak: now through September. That's when you'll find heirloom and specialty varieties like Crane, Crenshaw, Ambrosia, and Charentais (a French variety) at farm stands and farmers' markets.

Melons should feel firm (a little "give" is fine) and heavy for their size, with no signs of mold or soft spots. Don't worry if one side is lighter than the other; that's just where it rested on the ground. Click here for more tips on buying melons. Store whole melons at room temperature, but refrigerate them once fully ripe or cut. Once ripe they'll keep in the fridge whole for 5 days. Once sliced, wrap them tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Always wash the outside of your melon before slicing to keep from contaminating the flesh.