Not Bitter about Melon

by Elizabeth Kelly

This week, I tried bitter melon, something I had never had before. Bitter Melon is tropical or subtropical and featured in east, south, and southeast Asia cuisine having originally been introduced from India. ("Momordica charantia", 2021) I came across a lot of recipes while trying to learn more about it but not knowing whether or not I would like it, I kept preparing it simple.

As I explored the bitter melon, I didn't remind me or any of the melons I was familiar with. I thought more like a vegetable, sharing that unique quality with the tomato. It is a long, uniform in colour, light green fruit that reminded me of a cucumber but lighter in colour. The outside is heavily textured with soft bumps of random size, and is glossy and smooth to the touch. It's elongated, and slightly curved, reminding me of the shape of an English cucumber only a little thicker and shorter. It is also light in weight, I would have expected it to be heavier based on its size.

Cutting into the melon was smooth and easy, I needed very little pressure to cut. There wasn't a crunch when the knife pierced the rinds, and you could hear the knife glide along the flesh. There wasn't the heavy pressure that we usually associate with cutting a cantaloupe or honeydew melon and the thump of the knife hitting the cutting board when the melon is finally cut is absent. It is more like cutting a pepper.

In order to prepare bitter melon, it is cut in half length wise and the seeds are scooped out. Like other melons, there is pulp and seeds in the centre which is a very pale green and some of the seeds were bright red. Others were a butternut colour, looking much like half a peanut. The flesh is dewy, showing that might be a bit juicey or watery.

The flesh scoops out much easier than other melons and gourds we typically scoop out, like the cantaloupe, squash, or pumpkin. Like the pepper, it is better to slice from the rind side so I just turned it flesh side down and sliced in into thick slices.

While researching more about bitter melon I came across some descriptions of its taste, one of which stood out, especially after I tasted it fresh, uncooked.

"...a bitter and mouth puckering acquired taste"

Steve Albert, How to Grow Bitter Melon

https://harvesttotable.com/how-to-grow-bitter-melon/

I found the flavour to be much like green pepper. That wateriness of the flesh, the light rind that has a bit of a crunch. It is very aptly named as the bitterness overpowers any other type of flavour that might be present. The taste and texture reminded me so much of a green pepper I actually looked it up because I realized that the pepper was probably a fruit too (I looked it up and it is).

It seems I don't mind bitter although I know I don't like sour, and I know I have a sweet tooth. I also know I prefer vegetables over fruit, again the bitter over the sour. I did find, however, that the taste lingered after eating, whether it was raw or cooked.

The interesting part of trying something I have never had before is that it really made me stop and think about the food and what it might be bringing to the dish, especially in texture and taste. Also, in analyzing its qualities, I gained insight into how I might cook it and what I might pair it with.

I can see eating it fresh in a salad, especially with a sweet dressing, or stuffing it like a pepper or a zucchini. For now, I tried a simple stir fry, with a bit of an Indian influence, using mustard seeds, cumin, coriander, turmeric and caramelized onion The melon was very overpowering and didn't let any other flavours in. It might be fun to see how it will interact with other vegetables, especially in smaller quantities. Next time I go to the Asian market I'll get some more.

Momordica charantia. (2021,February 24). In Wikipedia