Gardening: Sweet Success With Bitter Melon

I planted some bitter melon seeds back in the spring. I’m growing this fruit for the first time this year.

I learned that this vining plant (Momordica charantia) really likes the heat. I started the seeds in my greenhouse in late February or early March. They started out great in the warmth of my greenhouse and grew into 18-inch long vines. I planted them under a trellis in mid April and they barely grew until about a month ago. Now they have taken over the trellis and started making fruit.

As the name implies, the fruit is quite bitter. I tried one for the first time with my lunch this Wednesday. Let me tell you, it’s really, really bitter when eaten raw. But the texture is wonderful – like a crunchy watermelon rind. Besides the bitterness, the flavor is quite neutral, which lends itself well to seasoning. I prepared it in an Asian salad with rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, chili pepper flakes, sesame oil and fresh basil. It was delicious, but very bitter. I’m writing this about two hours later and I can still taste the bitterness on my tongue.

By now you are probably asking yourself, “Why in the world is this fool growing something so bitter?”

Don’t you know that the best medicine sometimes tastes bitter?

According to the website healthline.com, one cup of raw bitter melon contains 98% of the reference daily intake (RDI) of Vitamin C, an important nutrient for preventing disease and healing wounds. It also contains 44% of the RDI for Vitamin A, which promotes skin health and vision.

Studies have shown that bitter melon reduces blood sugar, making it attractive for those living with diabetes. Some people claim to have controlled their diabetes by making bitter melon part of their daily diet. Furthermore, diabetes is quite rare in parts of the world where bitter melon is frequently eaten.

You should definitely consult your doctor if you take medicine for diabetes and want to try bitter melon, since the fruit may interact with the medicine. Pregnant women should not use bitter melon because the chemicals in it have been know to cause abortions.

The fruit has also been studied for its cancer-fighting properties. According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, bitter melon extract has been shown to kill cancer cells, but it has not been studied in cancer patients.

I’m still learning about this super food, especially how to make it more palatable.

To prepare green bitter melon, you must remove the pith that contains the seeds. There is no need to peel the skin. You can cut it into rounds or strips as you see fit. Some people recommend parboiling for about five minutes, which they say removes some of the bitterness. It can then be shocked on ice to retain some crunchiness for a salad, or stir fried like other vegetables. Others recommend salting it for 10 to 15 minutes and then rinsing. I’ve also seen recipes for candied bitter melon.

I’ve read that if you leave the fruit to fully ripen on the vine, the pith will turn into sweet, red cherry-like berries around each of the seeds. These can be eaten like cherries, from what I understand.

The yellow flowers that cover the vines make a wonderful sweet scent, especially in the morning. Grasshoppers don’t seem very interested in this plant, maybe because the leaves put out a scent similar to our native bee balm. Recently, I have noticed leaf-footed bugs on the fruits. I will attempt to control these pests with spinosad.

If you have grown bitter melon, or if you have any recipes, please share them with me by sending an email to andy@fayettecountyrecord.com.