The cantaloupe (/ˈkæntəloʊp/ KAN-tə-lohp) is a type of true melon (Cucumis melo) with sweet, aromatic, and usually orange flesh.

"[6] A common etymology involves the Spanish-born Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith, who ate canteloupe for breakfast while her husband and 19th-century governor of Cape Colony, Sir Harry Smith, ate bacon and eggs; the fruit was termed Spanish bacon (Afrikaans Spaanse spek) by locals as a result.

[1] The Japanese muskmelon (Sub-group Earl's) resembles the American cantaloupe in netted rind, but differs in green flesh and non-dehiscent peduncles (which means the melon does not detach from the stalk when it is ripe).

[9] Other significant countries growing cantaloupe were Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and India producing 1 to 1.9 million tons, respectively.

[12] A moldy cantaloupe in a Peoria, Illinois, market in 1943 was found to contain the highest yielding strain of mold for penicillin production, after a worldwide search.