The Fruit of African Horned-Melon Explained
A fully ripe African Horned-Melon has an orange rind with prominent spikes, is bitter tasting and native to Africa.
The Fruit of African Horned-Melon Explained
African horned melon grows in semiarid regions of
southern and central Africa of the Kalahari Desert mostly in Botswana, South
Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Nigeria. It was introduced to Australia
70 years ago and became a weed there.
Native to Africa, the African horned cucumber
also known as the African horned melon fruit appearances when ripe with various
shades of yellow and Princeton orange on the outside and electric lime green
with a jelly like flesh and a bitter taste.
The skin also sports porcupine like spikes over its surface making the fruit look like a prop on the set of a sci-fi movie. The ellipsoid fruit is bright yellow-reddish orange in color when mature and shaped like a short stout cucumber with many blunt thorns on its surface. These seeds are embedded in the middle layer, which is emerald green and consists of juicy, bland-tasting tissue.
The skin also sports porcupine like spikes over its surface making the fruit look like a prop on the set of a sci-fi movie. The ellipsoid fruit is bright yellow-reddish orange in color when mature and shaped like a short stout cucumber with many blunt thorns on its surface. These seeds are embedded in the middle layer, which is emerald green and consists of juicy, bland-tasting tissue.
African horned-melon is a specialty fruit for
export to the European and US market. African horned melon fruit is a bit
pricey in some areas of the world. The fruit's taste has been compared to a
combination of cucumber and zucchini and is well worth the price. The fruits
have a very long shelf life and may keep for several months.
Wild African horned melons have an overabundance
of steroids making it extremely bitter. These steroid compounds are very toxic
to mammals; however, as they are the bitterest substances known they are also
feeding deterrents and very rarely eaten by mammals. The non-bitter commercial fruits
do not contain steroid compounds and are not toxic.
Common Names for African Horned-Melons
Kiwano, Melano, African Horned Cucumber, Jelly
Melon, Hedged Gourd, Horned Melon, English Tomato and Metulon.
