Snake gourd

Trichosanthes cucumerina · Fruit vegetable

40 pairings

The snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina var. anguina) is the long, slender, often coiling fruit of a tropical climbing vine in the cucumber family. Harvested young and green, it is a popular cooked vegetable across South and Southeast Asia, prized for its mild flavour and its dramatic, sometimes metre-long curving shape.

Picking a good onedrag

Young and tenderSpongy and orange

Market freshFirm and unmarked down its whole length. Slice into curries and stir-fries; the mild flesh takes on whatever it is cooked with.Buy it

SkinA small scuff, colour still true

Down its lengthFirm, bends a little, unmarked

Cut stalkDry scar, firm around it

SmellAlmost nothing at all

What to look for, from young and tender to spongy and orange.

What one gives you

94%

Usable yield

940 g a kilo, trimmed

Keeping ittap a band

Gourds take chilling damage somewhere near 10 °C, and a home fridge runs colder — a whole one keeps better in the coolest corner of the room than in the crisper.

Humidity

85-90%

Thin-skinned and almost all water, it shrivels in dry air and goes rubbery well before it ever rots.

Preparing