One of my favorite photo-blogs, Thinking Out Loud, had an image of a very strange, kinda scary looking fruit with a question underneath reading: What is this? I knew the answer miraculously, for it is a very rare find in the U.S. I bought some of this weird-looking fruit for some floral arrangements last fall, (I must admit, I like the odd-ball textures against soft and round posies), at the Asian market in Catonsville. I didn't know the name at the time, but could hardly forget its shape. Later I learned it's called bitter gourd, Momordica charantia and it's a tropical/subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown for edible and medicinal purposes.
I did some research and found it's among the most bitter of all fruits (big surprise), and has a host of other nicknames, such as: bitter melon, papailla, melao de sao caetano, balsam apple, balsam pear, karela, k'u kua kurela, kor-kuey, ku gua, pava-aki, salsamino, sorci, sorossi, sorossie, sorossies, pare, peria laut, peria. Pretty impressive for an ugly green fruit that looks like something Shrek would eat.
For now, I'll refer to it as 'neglected beauty' because it is so rare and unexpected in form. It is still popular in Asian and Latin American medicines. It can be crushed into tea or capsule form, as well as used in as a juice. It is believed to cure an assortment of ailments that range from aiding diabetes symptoms to early stage cholera prevention to curing a hangover.
Since it is widely grown in India, Southeast Asia, China, Africa, and the Caribbean, we doubtfully will see much here, but Baltimore's sub-tropic summers may be just the thing to introduce into local gardens.
Bitter gourd is definitely one neglected beauty I wouldn't mind trying. If its as good for you as they say, this little weird green fruit might just be the cure for all that ails. I wonder if it helps with wander-lust?
For more info on bitter gourd, go to:
Webindia
