Thanks for the info about that plant, I have never heard of a bitter gourd, very unique looking fruit. I'm curious as to what the climate was that the plant is growing in.
Interesting vine with strange fruit
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A gardening friend has a variety that makes babies all over his yard, but it's the only type I've heard of so far that does this. In order to get fruit you have to have more than one vine usually to allow for cross pollination. I don't know anyone for whom the passion vine has become invasive.
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Warm to hot and humid. It's very popular in India.
That is an interesting vine and fruit! Anything that is bitter, I can't eat! My mom made stuffed bitter melon and everyone loved them, but it is not for me
I had it once at someone's home and I think if I were to make it at my own home, I would cut the bitterness with lemon. It works for eggplants when they turn bitter.
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I know it is good for you, anything bitter, including dark chocolate, but I just can't take the taste. Good to know about the lemon @ChanellG and I would use it for the eggplant dishes then. Thanks!
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To be honest, it was such a while ago that I don't even remember the taste. I believe when I had it that one time it had been sliced, battered, and fried. I wouldn't mind trying it again, especially if the lemon juice were used on it before cooking to cut some of the bitterness.
Momordica is a genus of around 50 species of annual or perennial vines and low shrubs, in the Gourd Family (Cucurbitaceae).
Various species are native throughout the Old World tropics. The fruits and leaves of several species are cultivated as vegetables.
Two species have become naturalized in the warmer parts of the New World, including the southeastern United States:
Bitter Melon (M. charantia) and Balsam-pear (M. balsamina). Both are likely to be originally native to tropical Africa.
Bitter Melon (M. charantia) usually forms fruit (pepos) that are shaped like warty cucumbers, thought the size, texture, and colour of the fruit can vary. The leaves are deeply lobed with rounded curves. This species is the one most commonly cultivated as a vegetable, perhaps due to fruit size. Balsam-pear (M. balsamina) usually forms smaller, less densely warty fruit (pepos) and the leaves are more sharply lobed. The fruit can be used similarly to Bitter Melon.
In other parts of the world, other Momordica species are also cultivated, such as the Bitter Cucumber (M. foetida).
Various species are native throughout the Old World tropics. The fruits and leaves of several species are cultivated as vegetables.
Two species have become naturalized in the warmer parts of the New World, including the southeastern United States:
Bitter Melon (M. charantia) and Balsam-pear (M. balsamina). Both are likely to be originally native to tropical Africa.
Bitter Melon (M. charantia) usually forms fruit (pepos) that are shaped like warty cucumbers, thought the size, texture, and colour of the fruit can vary. The leaves are deeply lobed with rounded curves. This species is the one most commonly cultivated as a vegetable, perhaps due to fruit size. Balsam-pear (M. balsamina) usually forms smaller, less densely warty fruit (pepos) and the leaves are more sharply lobed. The fruit can be used similarly to Bitter Melon.
In other parts of the world, other Momordica species are also cultivated, such as the Bitter Cucumber (M. foetida).