After we had our adventure in eating
Rambutan, we decided that it was going to be our mission to try some sort of new food monthly (this is our goal anyways). We officially introduce our Offbeat Grub commentary.
This month we decided to try
Bitter Melon. One of Mario's Indian coworkers suggested this fruit. Tonight we decided we'd give it a try. We went to our local market, and bought two. We got this bitter melon for about $3.49 per pound. Two pieces actually weighed in at about 1 pound.
In preparation for eating this new food we did some research and found a
recipe. This recipe seemed to be taking us down a yummy path. Mario followed the recipe as suggested.
Unfortunately, it is unanimous that bitter melon is not something The Bubs will be eating again. I'm guessing that the consumption of this fruit is definitely an acquired taste and depends on your culture!
The seeds are a bit tough and require some major chewing. The melon starts off with a very subtle taste that is almost enjoyable, but the more you chew the more bitter it gets. In my experience when I got to that really bitter state of chewing I just wanted to swallow it in order to get away from the taste. After eating the bitter melon there was a little bit of a lingering aftertaste. It was also interesting that after 45 minutes of cooking the texture of the melon was still firm and had a crunch to it.
While this fruit may not be suitable for our pallets, we do not discourage anyone from trying bitter melon. We are actually interested in hearing more about this offbeat grub! Got an experience with it? Leave us a comment.
4 comments:
Hmm, I wonder if that's a different type of bitter melon from what my parents grow. The reason I say this is that it looks different.
Also, it doesn't look ripe. When we cook it, we take the seeds out.
I think a soup might be an easier intro for bitter melon newbie. Like this recipe.
Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup.
The flavor gets milder the longer you boil, and sometimes we even double-boil em (change water) for kids. Definitely, get rid of the seeds. Don't give up yet!
Hi, I followed your link from LJ.
1- Get rid of the seeds and pulp!
2- Several other ways to cook bitter melon as to decrease the nastiness...
My favorite (aka - the only way I will ever eat it because I absolutely despise this vegetable/fruit/monstrosity) is when my mom makes a soup with big pork bones and lots of pineapple. For my own bowl, I will still add some sugar though... hah!
But I'm sure you, like me, wouldn't be heartbroken if we never had to ingest this thing again!
Good luck!!
I'm asian and I do eat these occasionally. The seeds and the fluffy white stuff inside are usually removed, FYI. (: It makes good soup, heh.
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