Kiwano
Cucumis metuliferus · Melon
Top 10 pairings
The kiwano, or horned melon, is the spiky golden-orange fruit of Cucumis metuliferus, an annual vine of the gourd family native to semi-arid sub-Saharan Africa. Its jewel-green interior is a seed-flecked jelly that tastes of cucumber, lime and faint banana.
Picking a good onedrag
Pale rind, rock hardDull, sunken, weeping
Full orangeBuy itJelly at its brightest lime and firmest — scoop it raw, seeds and all.
Rind colourEven golden-orange, spine tips green
In the handFirm all over, heavy for its size
Stem scarScar dry, corky and closed
SmellFaint cucumber when you scratch the rind
What you get from one
64%
Edible part
209 g of jelly · rind off
327 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
Never the fridge: below about 13 C the rind pits with dull opaque spots, and at 4 C nine fruit in ten spoiled inside five weeks while warm-kept fruit stayed sound.
Dry room air
Humidity
Open shelf
Airflow