Luffa

Luffa aegyptiaca · Vegetable

40 pairings

Luffa (Luffa aegyptiaca and the ridged Luffa acutangula), also called sponge gourd, ridge gourd, loofah, Chinese okra or in India turai and tori, is the elongated fruit of a tropical climbing vine eaten as a vegetable while young and tender. Picked immature it is mild, soft and faintly sweet like a cross between zucchini and cucumber; left to ripen it dries on the vine into the fibrous skeleton sold worldwide as a bath and cleaning sponge.

Picking a good onedrag

Young and slim, thin green skin, tautFibrous and woody, or brown and papery

Full sizeThe all-rounder for dal, curry, soup and egg. Taste a raw sliver first: a sharply bitter luffa is cucurbitacins, so spit it out and bin the gourd.Everyday best

SkinGreen with a duller cast, a scuff or two

Heft itStill heavy and firm, the faintest give

The cut faceFlesh white and juicy, seeds pale and still soft

What to look for, from young and slim, thin green skin, taut to fibrous and woody, or brown and papery.

Preparing