They look ripe in the grocery store. Bring them home, cut them open, find that they are HARD and not fit to eat.

Like stewed apples with cinnamon?

Cut the cantaloupe in slices and place in slow cooker until tender. Mash, mix with liquid stevia and add cinnamon.

They taste just like stewed apples (apple pie filling).

Cantaloupes are less expensive where I live than apples are (Florida), so I can have "stewed apples" at about half the price of apples. The nutritional values are roughly the same (cup per cup) but cantaloupes have a little bit more protein.