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Benincasa hispida - Kushmanda, Winter melon
The winter melon, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, tallow gourd Chinese preserving melon[1] is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature.
It is the only member of the genus Benincasa. The fruit is fuzzy when young. The immature melon has thick white flesh that is sweet when eaten. By maturity, the fruit loses its hairs and develops a waxy coating, giving rise to the name wax gourd, and providing a long shelf life. The melon may grow as large as 80 cm in length. Although the fruit is referred to as a "melon," the fully grown crop is not sweet. Native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, the winter melon is widely grown throughout Asia.[2]
Uses
- The winter melon requires very warm weather to grow but can be stored for many months much like winter squash. Ash gourds of the Indian subcontinent have a white coating with rough texture. South East Asian varieties have a smooth waxy texture.
- In Vietnamese cuisine, it is called bí đao, which is usually used to make soup or stew. When cooked with pork short ribs, the resulting soup is traditionally thought to help produce more milk for breastfeeding mothers.
- In Indian cuisine the vegetable is traditionally used to prepare a wide variety of dishes. In northern India it is used to prepare a candy called Petha. In South Indian cuisine, it is traditionally used to make a variety of curries, including a liquefied dish with curds or buttermilk.
- It is used to produce a fruit drink with a very distinctive taste. It is usually sweetened with caramelized sugar. In Southeast Asia, the drink is widely marketed as winter melon tea or winter melon punch.
- The shoots, tendrils, and leaves of the plant may also be eaten as greens.
