Uzbek melons: the season, the varieties and where to taste the best

Central Asia is one of the homelands of the melon, and Uzbekistan’s climate is perfect for it: very hot, dry summers, intense sunshine, cool nights and irrigated, fertile soil in the oases. These conditions concentrate sugar in the fruit and give an intense aroma. Uzbeks will tell you that a real melon from Khorezm or Bukhara is impossible to forget, and travellers who taste one in August usually agree.

Melons were already famous in the Middle Ages: chroniclers wrote of melons from Khorezm being packed in lead or ice and sent as precious gifts to the caliphs of Baghdad and to other courts.

• June: early varieties appear, especially from the south.
• July: the season gets going; watermelons are everywhere.
• August and September: the peak, with the widest choice and the sweetest fruit.
• October: late varieties, which keep well, are harvested and stored.
• Winter: stored winter melons are sold into December and beyond, and dried melon all year.

See Uzbekistan in August and Uzbekistan in September.

Uzbekistan grows hundreds of varieties of melon (qovun). Some of the best known:

• Khorezm melons: the most celebrated, long, golden and extremely sweet; Khorezm is sometimes called the "land of melons".
• Gulabi: a round, sweet variety with a delicate aroma, often from Khorezm.
• Torpedo (Mirzachul): large, elongated melons with pale yellow skin and white flesh, widely sold and exported.
• Bukhara melons: sweet, aromatic varieties from the Bukhara oasis.
• Winter melons (qishki qovun): late varieties with thick skin that keep for months, eaten in winter.

Watermelons (tarvuz) are also everywhere in summer, often eaten with bread as a light meal.

In the bazaar, vendors will help you choose and usually offer to cut a slice to taste. Tips:

• Smell the end opposite the stem: a ripe melon has a sweet, strong aroma.
• Press gently at the ends: it should give slightly.
• Look at the skin: a good netting or golden colour, depending on the variety.
• Tap watermelons: a hollow sound means ripe.
• Ask the vendor: Shirinmi? ("Is it sweet?").

Melons are sold by weight or by piece and are inexpensive. A whole melon is often too much for one or two people; ask for half, or share it at your guesthouse.

Uzbeks dry melon in long strips, which are braided or twisted into ropes and sold in bazaars all year. Dried melon is chewy and very sweet, a great souvenir and snack with tea. Melon is also made into jam and sweets. See the best souvenirs from Uzbekistan and Uzbek bazaars.

Melon is the classic end to a summer meal and is served to guests at every celebration. In Khorezm, melon fields are a source of pride, and some families grow special varieties for generations. Melon festivals and fairs are held in some years, especially in Khorezm and Tashkent, with competitions for the biggest and sweetest fruit. Neighbouring Turkmenistan even has a national Melon Day in August.

• Khiva and Urgench: the markets of Khorezm in August and September, and the fields along the roads. Our team in Khiva can point you to the best stalls. See Khiva food.
• Bukhara: the central bazaar and roadside stalls in the oasis. See Bukhara food.
• Tashkent: Chorsu and other bazaars, where melons arrive from all regions.
• Samarkand: the Siab bazaar. See Siab bazaar.
• Roadside stalls: on the desert road between Bukhara and Khiva, piles of melons are sold directly by farmers in late summer. See Bukhara to Khiva.

• Eat melon separately from heavy meals or with bread, as Uzbeks do; some say melon and cold water do not mix well.
• Wash your hands after cutting; melon juice is sticky.
• Check your home country’s rules before taking fresh fruit home; dried melon is easier.
• Summer is hot: combine melon tasting with early-morning sightseeing. See Khiva weather.

In Uzbek tradition, melon is considered cooling in summer and good for digestion, and doctors of the past, including Ibn Sina, wrote about the properties of melons and other fruit. Locals often eat melon after a meal, but advise against eating it with very heavy, fatty dishes or with cold water, which is said to upset the stomach. Melons are also full of water, making them a perfect snack in the dry heat of August, when temperatures in Khiva and Bukhara often exceed 35 °C.

If you are in Khiva in late summer, spend a morning exploring the oasis around the city. Drive through the cotton and melon fields, stop at a roadside stall where farmers sell melons straight from the field, and visit a village bazaar in Urgench or Khanka. Ask the farmers about the varieties they grow; many families have their own favourite seeds. Then return to Khiva for a melon tasting at your guesthouse in the courtyard, as the heat of the day fades. Combine it with a trip to the desert fortresses for a full day in Khorezm.

Melons are only part of the story. From June to October, Uzbek bazaars offer cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, figs, grapes, pomegranates, persimmons and quinces, depending on the month. Apricots dried in the sun become one of the country’s most famous exports. See Uzbek bazaars and the month guides such as Uzbekistan in July.

If you stay with a family or in a guesthouse in late summer, bringing a good melon from the bazaar is a much-appreciated gift. It is usually shared after dinner, cut into long slices on a large plate, with green tea.

Even in winter, stored late melons are sold in bazaars, and dried melon is available all year, so you can taste the flavour of Khorezm in any season.