A honeydew is a sweet, pale green melon with smooth skin and juicy flesh. When you cut one open, you'll find soft, light green fruit that tastes mild and refreshing, sweeter than a cucumber but not as intensely flavored as a watermelon.

Honeydew melons grow on vines in warm climates and take several months to ripen. A ripe honeydew feels slightly soft at the blossom end (the spot opposite the stem) and has a faint sweet smell. The flesh is perfect for fruit salads, smoothies, or eating fresh on a hot day.

The word honeydew also refers to a sticky, sweet liquid that aphids and other insects produce when they feed on plants. These tiny insects drink plant sap and excrete excess sugar as honeydew droplets. Ants love this substance and will actually farm aphids, protecting them from predators in exchange for honeydew. It’s one of nature’s strangest partnerships.