Horned melon
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 Fruit sliced transversely
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| Cucumis metuliferus E. Mey |
The horny melon, also called melano, African horned cucumber or melon, jelly melon, hedged gourd, English tomato, or kiwano (a registered trademark of New Zealand's Prinut Inc.), is a vine of African origin, grown for its fruit, which looks like an oval melon with horns and is very decorative. Once native only to the region of the Kalahari desert, the horned melon is now grown in California and New Zealand as well.
When picked green, and allowed to ripen to an orange color, the fruit tastes like a mix of cucumber and kiwifruit. The fully ripe melon has an orange rind with spikes. The yellow-green flesh has a gelatinous consistency and contains whitish seeds similar to those of a cucumber. When picked fully ripe, the fruit has a banana like taste. The construction of the fruit is much like a Passion Fruit.
[edit] External links
- New crop fact sheet from Purdue
- Cooking For Engineers - Off Topic: African Horned Melon or Kiwano
- Kiwano, Banana, and Pineapple Sorbet
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