The African Horned Melon is one of the strangest-looking fruits I’ve seen.  It’s spiky and sort of hard; I think the first person who decided to try to eat it was either brave or just really hungry. Check it out:

I want to share with you what I’ve been reading about this crazy fruit which originated in Africa.

From ehow.com:

Kiwano horned melons grow in New Zealand and even some parts of California. Originally from Africa, this unique-looking melon is orange at peak ripeness and covered with spiky protrusions. You can keep a kiwano melon for about 2 months, so it makes an ideal decoration for a table centerpiece. The kiwano melon’s flavor compares to that of a cucumber, with edible seeds and a jelly-like center.

Ripe Horned Melons will have a bright orange shell. Avoid any bruises or spots. No need to refrigerate, and, again, the tough seeds are supposed to be edible if any of my adventurous friends would like to try them.  🙂 Horned Melon shells can be used as unique serving bowls for many favorite dishes, just as we discussed on Friday about the Dragon Fruit .  They can also be eaten like other melons; chill, cut into lengthwise sections and eat it right off the rind as you would a watermelon or cantaloupe.  The “jelly like” flesh is sort of off-putting to me; is it to you?  I’d love to hear if any of you have tried this!

Now, if you are unsure you want to eat a mild, gelatinous fruit, but would like to at least say you’ve tried it, why not use it in a unique vinaigrette?  Here’s your recipe:

Kiwano Melon Vinaigrette

from melissas.com/recipes

Directions

Process all ingredients until smooth. Serve over your favorite green salad.

Note:

Halve and remove pulp from Kiwano Melon. Place in sieve and remove seeds. Use extracted juice in recipe.

Here’s a link to a blog that you  might want to go to if you’d like to try to make Kiwano, Banana and Kiwano Sorbet.  The blog’s author isn’t a huge fan of kiwano, but she did find a use for it, and this is her picture, which is just lovely. Make sure to visit her blog for vegan recipes; it’s got a great variety for anyone, vegan or not. Fat-Free Vegan’s Kiwano, Banana, and Pineapple sorbet

 

So, have I convinced you to try the horned melon?  Let me know if you do. If not, at least now we can both discuss them intelligently the next time we ramble through the produce section. I hope to see you there!  🙂