Miracle of Skin Care.

Among many delicious melons that are too fragile to ship, the French cantaloupes are at the top of my list. Perfectly sized for a half-melon serving, the French Charentais types have thick, firm, orange flesh and a small seed cavity. When ripe, their smooth, blue-green skin turns yellow, and the melons slip easily from their stems. If those signs of readiness are not enough, just the aroma of a ripe Charentais in the patch is a dead giveaway. The flavor is perfumed and tropically exotic, too — distinct from the more typical netted-skinned varieties.

Amy Goldman writes in her book, Melons For the Passionate Grower, that the Charentais is a type of melon (many commercial varieties exist) that originated in the Poitou-Charentes region of western France, circa 1920. "It is a refined cantaloupe," she says, "free of the blemishes and warts of its ancestors." Although the new `Honey Girl' Charentais hybrid is improved slightly, with more disease resistance than the heirlooms, any Charentais type qualifies as excellent. But you won't find them in any supermarkets because of their fragility, so you'll have to grow your own.

Seed is available from Cooks Garden [ www.cooksgarden.com; (800) 457-97031; Horus Botanicals [341 Mulberry; Salem, AR 725761; Le jardin du Gourmet [ www.ArtisticGardens.com; (802) 748-14461; and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds [ www.rareseeds.com; (417) 924-89171