Cookaholics Bulletin Board

...that I am going to need some recipes for! Bitter Melon (Shanghai variety...I was amazed at how many varieties there are!) and Indian Gherkin. The gherkins are still a bit small, but probably doubled since I looked at them last!

Both are cucurbits, so they grow on vines, and both are growing like a mutated vine in a sci-fi movie! I only have one of each, and I can't begin to guess how many side shoots are growing off of the main vine, esp. the gherkin. The bitter melons look like miniature full sized ones when only about an inch long! They grow like cucumbers - incredibly fast. Here's a photo from a couple of days ago:


Any favorite recipes out there?

Can't say I've heard of Indian gherkin before.

Here's a link with some good info on it:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic- ... z1410.aspx

Thanks, excellent article

Here's a better photo of the gherkins. I counted 23 over 1" long today, and I lost count of the smaller ones!

So, what do they taste like?

I'll harvest some today - I think that some have reached the max. size.

Here are some more photos of the gherkins. I harvested all of what looked like max. size (they seemed to have stopped growing), though there were countless more out there just under this size. The flavor is strong, but not bitter, both raw, and after pickling, and incredibly crunchy! I did a fast, Chinese style pickle - 1/4 c each white vinegar and sugar, plus about 1/2 tsp. salt. Only takes about 3-4 hrs. in the fridge, tossing several times, and keeps for a long time.

The only drawback to these is the deburring - something I tried several approaches to - scraping with a paring knife, making a burr on the knife by honing it a bunch of times on just one side (worked better, but still time consuming), a veg. peeler (not very good), rubbing with an abrasive pad (better, still not good, though I didn't have any scotchbrite, which may be better), and, the best, so far, a SS scouring pad - something I very rarely use! I have some extra coarse scotchbrite pads in my workshop, so I'll try those next.

Deburred gherkins:


Halved gherkin:


Pickles from quartered gherkins:

They look a lot like lemon cucumbers on the inside.