This funny plant has many different names. His name is American cucumber, and mouse watermelon, and sour gherkin, and watermelon cucumber, and hummingbird cucumber. There is also a scientific name - rough melotria (Latin Melothria scabra). To us cucumber watermelon, or cucumber watermelon, cucamelons came from Central and South America. The name itself is interesting: cucamelon is a derivative of English cucumber (cucumber) and watermelon (watermelon).
Cucumber Exotica
The fruits of sour gherkin are edible. They are very small, from 1 to 4 cm, light green in color with dark stripes, like a watermelon. Their skin is covered with a thick edge, tough, with acidity. This is where the name "sour gherkin" comes from.
Such mini-watermelons are very juicy and crispy, reminiscent of their relatives in taste, ordinary cucumbers. They are salted, fermented, pickled, eaten raw. Ripe fruits must be collected while still young, otherwise the flesh is not so tender and they have a lot of seeds. From one bush you can collect from 4 to 6 kg of fruits and up to 1.5 kg of tubers. The ripened cucumber watermelon becomes sweetish in taste, the seeds harden, its color becomes not so bright, the dark stripes brighten and turn yellow. There are other varieties of mini-watermelons. Their color in the form of a mesh looks more like a melon. In Latin America, their name is Sandita or "Mouse Melon."
Tasty bonus
You can not ignore the root crops. They are also edible, taste like yam, radish and cucumber and are good in salads with herbs and seasonal vegetables. Only they are not stored for long, so immediately after digging, you need to send them to a plate.
Stems and leaves
This is a perennial creeper plant with small oval-shaped fruits, like large grapes, in color reminiscent of mini-watermelons, and in taste, cucumbers.
Often it is grown as a decorative, because its stems reach a height of three meters. Melotria has a lot of leaves and fruits. It is well suited for landscaping gazebos in the garden, canopies, fences. This liana curls and grows very quickly, clinging to everything with a rough antennae, so it needs supports of at least 2 meters in height. The flowers and leaves of mouse watermelon are similar to cucumber. Only in males the flowers are collected in inflorescences, and in females it is single flowers with a pleasant aroma that attracts bees. Unlike its relatives, watermelon cucumber remains green all summer, does not turn yellow and does not shed leaves, and its fruits retain their color and shape until the first frost. Melotria is very unpretentious in leaving, does not require frequent watering and a large amount of land, it can be grown even on the balcony.
Beneficial features
As you know, watermelon cucumber is used not only as an ornamental plant. Its fruits are edible and beneficial to the body. So, fiber, which is part of them, normalizes the intestines, relieves constipation, helps to eliminate toxins and toxins.
Low calories contribute to weight loss in people who want to lose weight. Regular intake of these vegetables has a beneficial effect on the work of the pancreas, kidneys, reduces swelling, improves the cardiovascular system, and lowers blood pressure.
Contraindications
Despite a number of useful properties of sour gherkin, it is not suitable for everyone. So, people suffering from high acidity should refrain from eating it. Due to the acid contained in the peel, watermelon cucumber can provoke gastritis and a stomach ulcer. Salted and pickled fruits are contraindicated in diseases of the liver and kidneys.
Dish recipes
Watermelon mini cucumbers are good in pickles and pickles. Sometimes they add red hot pepper, which only improves the taste. They are also good in assorted salts: with tomatoes, sweet peppers, zucchini and broccoli. To emphasize the unusual and exotic dishes, miniature dishes in bright colors are used for serving.
They can also be used as a side dish for meat and fish dishes. In raw form, they are suitable for salads, one of which we offer below.
Vegetable salad with melotria
You will need:
- curly salad ;
- melotria - 5 pcs;
- cherry tomatoes - 5 pcs;
- feta cheese - 100 g;
- olives - 5 pcs;
- olive oil.
On a wide plate put salad leaves, cherry tomatoes and melotria cut into halves, add feta, olives, season with olive oil.
Meat salad with melotria, arugula and tomatoes
This dish is very light, nutritious and contains few calories. If desired, mayonnaise can be replaced with low-fat yogurt, and instead of beef for variety, use chicken.
Ingredients:
- boiled beef - 300 g;
- boiled eggs - 2 pcs;
- melotria - 10 pcs;
- cherry tomatoes - 10 pcs;
- arugula;
- dill;
- green onion;
- rye crackers;
- mayonnaise.
Wash the arugula and put in a shallow salad bowl, add chopped dill. Halve the tomatoes and mini watermelons. Grind boiled beef into strips, mix everything and season with mayonnaise. Before serving, garnish with crackers on top.
This is a fairly light and hearty dish. Of course, watermelon cucumber can be replaced with salted cucumbers. But it is precisely its piquant taste that gives the dish tenderness, freshness and light acidity.