According to Mental Floss, these bite-sized wonders have actually been around for a while and are native to Mexico and South America. These mini melons are technically a variety of cucumber, but allegedly their taste is notably different than the ones we typically find in the supermarket.
What is a cucumber melon?
Cucamelons are grape-sized fruits that look like Lilliputian watermelons but taste like cucumbers. They are native to Mexico and Central America, where they go by nicknames such as sandita (“little watermelon”) or sandía ratón (“mouse melon”).
What family is Cucamelon?
Melothria scabra, commonly known as the cucamelon, Mexican miniature watermelon, Mexican sour cucumber, Mexican sour gherkin, mouse melon, or pepquinos, is a species of flowering plant in the cucurbit family grown for its edible fruit.
Is a cucumber like a melon?
The Melon Family, Cucurbitaceae, is a plant family commonly known as melons, gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like cucumbers, squashes (including pumpkins), luffas, melons (including watermelons).
What is a cross between a cucumber and a melon called?
Whether you call them mouse melons, Mexican sour gherkins, sanditas or by their popular U.S. name, cucamelons, these adorable fruits are the latest in a recent burst of “rediscovered” produce making inroads into American food culture.
Is cucamelon a melon?
Botanically, cucamelons are neither cucumber nor a melon, and the plants will not cross-pollinate with either. They’re in the cucumber family, but they’re a different species altogether (Melothria scabra). Cucuamelons are nothing new, they’ve been grown in Mexico and Central America since before European colonization.
Do you eat the skin of a cucamelon?
Cucamelons themselves are eaten in their entirety, including the seeds and the thin skins.
Can you eat cucamelons raw?
Cucamelons can be eaten raw right off the vine or used in more creative ways. With their sour flavor, cucamelons can be great additions to salsas, salads and cocktails.
Are cucamelons poisonous to dogs?
While there has research has been done on the suitability of feeding cucamelons to dogs; they are not known to be toxic to canines. Cucamelons contain powerful antioxidants, beta-carotene, and lycopene. They are also packed with other nutrients, including vitamins C, E, K, and potassium.
When should I eat cucamelon?
Cucamelons are ready to harvest and eat when they are about the size of a grape and feel firm to the touch.
Is a zucchini a melon?
Zucchini, Cucurbita pepo, is a member of the cucumber and melon family and is harvested while immature, making the rind tender and edible, like all summer squashes. Botanically, zucchini is a fruit, but it’s treated as a vegetable.
What is considered a melon?
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word “melon” can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a “pepo”.
What is a white melon called?
“Honeydew” is the American name for the White Antibes cultivar which has been grown for many years in southern France and Algeria. In China, honeydews are known as Bailan melons.
Do cucamelons come back every year?
Cucamelons are tender perennials which means, if you live in a warm climate they may continue to grow year after year from the same root stock. You can test this by insulating the area with mulch after the growing season.
Who invented the cucamelon?
Cucamelons originated in Mexico and Central America, BuzzFeed reports. The fruit, which is about the size of a grape, grows on a vine. 3.
Can you grow cucamelons inside?
Yet savvy gardeners can easily grow their own plants by starting cucamelon seeds indoors in mid-spring. Growing cucamelons from seed is easy, even for novice gardeners. You may also know cucamelons as Mexican sour gherkin, mouse melon, or sandita.
What is a Mexican cucumber called?
Cucamelons are a type of cucumber native to Mexico and areas of Central America, more formally known as Mexican Sour Gherkins. The grape-size speckled cucumbers grow on sprawling but delicate, thin vines. They’re also sometimes called “mouse melons”.
What do you do with cucamelon?
Cucamelon recipes
- Cucumber-Lime Jam. Cucumber-Lime Jam.
- Cucumber-Lime Jam. Cucumber-Lime Jam.
- Lemon Pickled Mouse Melons.
- Refreshing Pimm’s jelly recipe.
- curry – Food From 4.
- Cucamelon cupcakes for The Chelsea Flower show !
- Gastronomical Sovereignty: The Best Things In Life Are Tiny (Cucamelons!)
- Bread and Butter Pickles.
What are tiny watermelons called?
Mouse melons are in the same family as cucumbers but originated in Mexico and Central America, not in India, like most familiar members of the Cucurbitaceae family. In Mexico they’re called sandita, little watermelon.
What is a cucamelon taste like?
It’s a grape-sized fruit that grows on vines, also known as the Mexican sour gherkin or Melothria scabra. It looks like a baby watermelon outside – but more like a cucumber inside, as you can see in the picture above. It tastes like a cucumber, but a bit sweeter, maybe with a hint of lime – nothing like a watermelon.
How big is a ripe cucamelon?
about 1 inch long
Cucamelons are ripe when the size of a large grape, or about 1 inch long. Harvest ripe cucamelons regularly as they can self-seed: harvesting regularly and picking up any dropped fruit will prevent unwanted cucamelon plants from emerging the following season.