Spanspek

South African name for the orange-fleshed cantaloupe melon derives from the Afrikaans Spaanse spek, which means ‘Spanish bacon’. It was so-called when Lady Juana Smith, the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, Governor of the Cape Colony from 1843-1853, insisted on having melon for breakfast instead of eggs and bacon. The bemused Afrikaans-speaking house servants gave it the name Spaanse spek or Spanish bacon. Since then, Spaanse spek shortened to Spanspek, the name by which the cantaloupe melon is known in South Africa today.