Kiwano Melon

[glider14]

I was at Mijers today and saw on the exotic fruit stand a Kiwano Melon. it is orange with spines all over it...and they'er sharp! does anybody know how to prepare this melon? what about growing one from seed?

thanks
alex

 

[CopcarFC]

Just incase nobody knows what he's talking about. Here's a pic.

I wonder what it tastes like.

 

[Barry-Rice]

You eat it raw. Try not to think about frog's eggs in late stages of development as you eat it. Very slimy, very larvally.

I'm a big fan of trying weird fruit, and this one was an early experiment for me. I have to admit that I'm not really thinking about having it again.

 

[glider14]

well its for my sugar glider, Daisy, and she wont mind texture...from what i have read they taste like melon, cucumber, banana and lime. im cutting it up tonight to feed to my glider and ill try some. truthfull y im pretty reluctant to try it. but thats what i said with sardines which are awesome!!!!
alex

 

[Presto]

when I was in pre-calculus, my teacher let us bring notes into our final exam.  the catch was, the notes had to be written on a fruit.  and you had to eat the entire fruit before you left (i.e., you could write a watermelon's worth of notes, but you had to eat the whole watermelon.)

looking back, I didn't have a lot of common sense back then.  I got one of these spiky guys, because it looked cool and I wanted to try it.  But it was VERY hard to write notes on.  and it tasted...well, not very good.  bitter, but a little banana-y.  I wouldn't recommend them.

my teacher finally felt so bad for me that she let me leave without finishing it.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

It's more for looks... I think it's more in the cucumber group than the melon group.

 

[The Griffin]

I agree with Tony. I had a college botany class and I disected one and looked at parts under a microscope and the vine was very similar to a cucumber.
this was a long time ago.

Cheers,

Joe

 

[swords]

Our grocery store (rainbow) has these all the time but I haven't tried it. An asian girl at work brought me a Durian fruit once... whoooo! Talk about a horrid stench and even worse taste! I've never wanted to puke after eating fruit before!

 

[glider14]

well i tried some last night and it tasted rely good...but had the awful feel like a nasty slime leathery thing. its so slimy it slipped right out of my teeth every time i bit down. My sugar glider loves it though so ill just let her have it

. its not somthing i will try again for sure. the best wiered fruit i had was a Casaba Melon which was so full of juice it was amazing!!

alex

 

[PlantAKiss]

I think that's called Ugli fruit. I've had one. I was not impressed. Its hard to eat because of all the seeds (similar to a passionfruit or pomegranate). The taste was nothing to write home about. I think its a "try it once" kinda fruit.

 

[glider14]

PAK:ugli fruit is a orange grapefruit hybrid i think...it looks like a wrinkly grapefruit...
alex

 

[nepenthes_ak]

Have you ever had Cumquats? (dunno how they are spelt)

They look like a cross between a grape and an orange. I love them!

Cheers

 

[PlantAKiss]

Oh yeah....you're right.  Well I know when I bought it, it was called something else...not a kiwano melon.

Its kumquat.  

And they are kinda sour.

 

[nepenthes_ak]

Kumquats, and star fruits are the best they are AMAZIN!

 

[PlantAKiss]

I still want to try a durian. But I've never seen them sold around here.

 

[nepenthes_ak]

I think alot of people do they look like they might be a bit of a crazy popular fruit

 

[glider14]

ah! i love starfruit too! Durians are somthing that i dont want to try again. it smells foul but doesnt taste as bad. it deffiantly doesnt tase like a fruit and the texture is wierd too.
alex

 

[The Griffin]

I think they called kiwano a "horned melon" when I worked at the grocery store, though it's not a melon so that's kind of odd.

 

[Decapod73]

nothing looks scarier than a Buddha's Hand fruit!

They're like lemons with nothing but rind - used in confectonry.

Nothing scarier, that is, unless you're in japan where watermelons are grown in acrylic cubes for easy stacking & shipping...

 

[nepenthes_ak]

wow...