Bitter melon (Momordica charantia), also called bitter gourd, karela or balsam pear, is the warty, cucumber-shaped fruit of a tropical climbing vine, eaten as a vegetable while still green and immature. Its puckered, ridged skin and spongy seed cavity hide a flavour that is uncompromisingly, almost shockingly bitter — tamed by salting, blanching or pairing with strong savoury flavours, and prized across Indian, Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking as much for that bracing edge as for its long reputation as a folk and clinical blood-sugar remedy.