The desire to treat yourself to something exotic every year becomes more and more. And to be honest, it's pretty easy to do now. In any supermarket, sometimes even in the market, you can find unusual food from Africa, Australia and other distant continents. Passion fruit, mango, avocado have already become quite familiar to our festive, and sometimes everyday tables. Recently, a bizarre fruit called kiwano, or as it is popularly called, horned melon, has become increasingly popular.
African cucumber, anguria, African or jelly melon - all these are different interpretations of the name kiwano. Africa is considered to be the birthplace of the fruit, but it is sometimes claimed that anguria came to us from New Zealand. The most pleasant climate for the full development of kiwano is in North America, Colombia, Israel and African countries. But with the right agronomic approach, the outlandish fruit will give a bountiful harvest in European countries. Kiwano melon is a herbaceous, liana-like annual plant, a close relative of the cucumber. Anguria creepers, dotted with yellow flowers and with large leaves, under favorable conditions reach a length of about 4 m.
The African fruit is elliptical in shape, pale green in color, covered with unusual, large spikes. The fruit turns bright orange when ripe. It is similar in length and diameter to the short cucumber. The weight of the fruit varies from 40 to 350 g. Everything is fine with the fertility of the Kiwano: about 50 fruits are tied on one plant. The fruiting period begins in mid-summer. During storage, the fruits acquire a rich yellow-orange color.
Growing from seeds
Since the African cucumber is able to please with such a rich harvest, the question arises: how to grow kiwano at home from seeds? The process of growing Kiwano takes place in several stages: Preparation of seeds. It is worth starting the preparation of seeds a month before planting in an open place. It is best to plant in early May. You need to soak the seeds in a solution to stimulate growth.
Planting in pots. After the seeds swell, place them in prepared pots with a diameter of about 9 cm, filled with a nutritious earth mixture. Keep the seedlings in a warm place for at least a couple of weeks. Choice of location. An exotic fruit requires a place protected from strong winds and direct sunlight. Although this fruit is used to the African hot climate, direct sunlight will instantly cause burns on the leaves. It is also convenient to place the plant near a fence or gazebo so that the vines do not need to be tied up.
Landing in the ground. After the frosts have finally passed, proceed to planting germinated seeds in the ground. Plant the fruit in a couple of rows with a distance of about half a meter between them. Further care. As the plant grows, tie it with twine to vertical posts.
Remember to loosen the soil, remove weeds and water several times a week, especially during dry summers.
This exotic cucumber is very fond of top dressing. Therefore, stock up on an infusion of herbs diluted with chicken manure. The plant has a nature of growth that involves pinching. Therefore, when thickening, it is worth pinching the side shoots.
How it is eaten
In African countries, this product partly solves the problem of nutrition. Outlandish cucumber is used there as the main product of the dish, and sometimes as a snack. The taste of the jelly-like fruit is very difficult to describe: it is a mixture of shades of lemon, banana, cucumber and zucchini. The fruit is quite fragrant, but for lovers of sweets, you can sprinkle it with sugar. The raw product can be cut in half and eaten with a spoon, or you can suck out the pulp, throwing out the seeds.
African cucumber can be used in salads, with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Kiwano gives an unusual taste to cocktails, jams. The fruit goes well with meat dishes. Since the kiwano is a long-lasting fruit, its peel can be used as decorative plates. Horned melon is often recommended for a diet menu, because the fruit is 90% water. It is full of minerals, vitamins A, C and group B. Kiwano fruits are also useful for those who have diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular diseases, due to the high content of potassium.
Video "Kivano or horned melon"
In this video, you will hear the characteristics of the Kiwano melon variety.
The exotic kiwano fruit came to us from hot Africa. We have it received additional names: horned melon, green dragon, African cucumber. The fruit is covered with blunt spines, so reminiscent of horns. The skin is bright, orange-yellowish, the flesh resembles pudding and has a tart flavor.
How to grow in our country
Most often, the cultivation of kiwano is carried out from seeds. 24 hours before planting, the seeds should be placed in a bowl with a solution of sodium humate or "epin-extra". When the seeds absorb moisture and swell, it's time to place them in pots with prepared solid soil. It is recommended that before planting in an open garden, keep the seedlings for a couple of weeks in a greenhouse or in any other warm place at home. It is necessary to plant ready seedlings in the ground when no frosts are expected on the soil anymore.
Plants can be planted in several rows (usually 2-3) at a distance of at least 40 cm from each other. A place for planting should be chosen so that the wind does not blow away the plants, and direct sunlight does not burn them out. Kiwano loves loose, loose soil. Drying in the burning sun or overwatering is detrimental to the horned melon.
When the seedlings begin to stretch upwards, they are placed on a wooden stand next to them, to which the plant will be tied up in the future.
Growing indoors
Growing kiwanos from seeds at home is only possible if there is enough space for an adult plant. This is at least a meter by meter section. At home, plants can be grown, for example, on a large loggia.
Care
Near the plants, regular weeding should be done. Plants should be watered 2-3 times a week - no more.
Horned melon loves various top dressings. As a feed, you can use manure water or herbal infusion with dissolved chicken droppings. You need to feed both organic and mineral fertilizers.
Plants need to be pinched from time to time if they have thickened excessively. Lateral shoots are pinched to the ovary, and barren flowers are generally removed. Young fruit ovaries need to be harvested after 1-2 days in order for new fruits to grow. After the last fruiting, you need to collect all the remaining fruits, and send the tops to the compost pit.
Benefit and harm
Horned melon fruits are highly nutritious and contain many beneficial vitamins and minerals at a low calorie content. Although the fruit is sweet, it can be eaten by people with diabetes.
The fruit is also useful for people with digestive disorders: fruit fiber removes a lot of toxins and improves intestinal motility. In addition, kiwano regulates the acid-base balance and maintains the optimal composition of the blood.
Harmful properties of horned melon have not been identified. Only a small percentage of consumers may experience allergic reactions.
Calorie content and chemical composition
100 g of kiwano contains: fat - 3 g, proteins - 8 g, carbohydrates - 6 g. Only 44 kcal.
Kiwano includes:
- vitamins: A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, PP;
- trace elements: calcium, potassium, manganese, copper, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, P-active elements, organic alkaline salts.
How to choose when buying
Ripe enough to be eaten, the fruit of the Kiwano melon has a bright yellow-orange color. However, if the fruit is still greenish, then it will ripen after some time. There should be no stains or mechanical damage on the peel.
How they eat
For maximum benefit and the best taste sensations, you need to eat the fruit immediately after harvesting - then it will retain a maximum of vitamins. You can also cook jams, jams and compotes from the fruits, grind them with sugar, make salads and desserts.
The peeled slices themselves can decorate cocktails and fruit salads in an original way. Some lovers of a healthy lifestyle also eat the rind of horned melon, which is rich in fiber.
Storage
Kiwano fruits should be stored in a cold, but not frozen place. In the refrigerator or underground, the fruits are stored for 1-2 months. Remember that in a warm place, the fruits will ripen and then rot. For long-term storage, melons are best harvested unripe.
There are a large number of different subspecies and forms of melon. Kiwano (emphasis on the second syllable) is rather curious - both because of its appearance and because of its taste.
The kiwano fruit looks like a small oval melon that is yellow, orange or red in color with a hard leathery rind covered with soft thorns. It has green, jelly-like flesh with pale green seeds. Fruit length - up to 15 cm. Seeds are white, numerous, up to 1 cm long.
en.wikipedia.org
For its unusual appearance, kivano is also called horned melon, because this grassy vine belongs to the gourd family. Although its jelly-like pulp (inedible peel) tastes more like a banana. True, the kiwano is also called the African cucumber, because it belongs to the genus cucumber. Similar to cucumbers, kiwano has pale green long seeds and a refreshing taste.
The hot African land gave birth to such an amazing mixture. Over time, kiwano began to be cultivated in other hot countries, including Israel and New Zealand, in Central America. The fruit stores a lot of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamins C, B6, A, riboflavin (this is vitamin B2) and beta-carotene (an antioxidant with an immunostimulating and adaptogenic effect).
The composition of kiwano suggests that it is useful for hearts and diabetics, improves immunity, has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart muscle, and thanks to fiber stimulates peristalsis, helps to remove toxins from the body. Traditional medicine in Africa uses the astringent pulp of the fruit to stop bleeding.
No serious consequences from the use of kiwano have been recorded, however, in order to avoid an unexpected allergic reaction, care must be taken for those who suffer from food allergies.
The product is low-calorie (44 calories per fruit), so it can be used in therapeutic dietary nutrition, included in the diet for weight loss. Kiwano can be added to a vegetable salad seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, pepper and salt. Fruit pulp juice is used to make delicious fruit drinks (kiwano goes well with other fruit juices) and milkshakes.
The fruit is eaten raw (the taste of the horned melon is slightly sweet, with sourness), it is enough just to divide the ripe fruits into two parts and scoop out the jelly-like contents (along with the seeds) with a spoon.
Kiwano perfectly complements compotes, jelly and jam, fruit salads, desserts and snacks are prepared from it, honey, sour milk, egg yolk are added to the fruit pulp, sandwiches and main dishes are decorated with slices.
For example, you can mix soft cheese with seafood and add firmer-fleshed kiwano as a garnish. Or add it to a salad of tomatoes, sweet peppers, radishes, diced onions and parsley, add chopped herbs, and use lemon zest and lemon juice as a dressing. Cooks use the pulp of the fruit in creams for cakes, and pickle unripe fruits like cucumbers. The taste of exotic kiwano is such that the fruit can be consumed both in sweet and salty form.
If you are afraid to eat - you can use the pulp of kiwano in homemade vitamin masks for the skin of the face and body.
Fruits should be stored in a cool place, but not in the refrigerator.
South Africa is considered the birthplace of the Kiwano. Up to the twentieth century. on other continents, except Australia, practically nothing was known about the Kiwano. Today, he settled in our gardens, and many summer residents appreciated his merits.
Why grow kiwano?
How to grow kiwano?
Landing. Since this culture is subtropical, it is better to sow it for seedlings in mid-April - early May. Even if you start messing with seedlings in winter or early spring, you still won’t be able to achieve early flowering.
Kiwano is a short daylight plant. It blooms only when the summer day is waning, usually in the second half of July.
For growing seedlings, it is desirable to use a greenhouse, but you can place containers with seedlings on a bright, warm windowsill. Seeds hatch very quickly, on the 3-5th day cotyledon leaves already appear. Each plant is grown in a separate cup. The temperature and light conditions for kivano need the same as for cucumbers. In late May - early June, when warm nights set in and the threat of return frosts has passed, young plants are carefully planted, without disturbing the root system, in a permanent place. Between seedlings in a row leave a distance of 5 m.
Our advice:
Kiwano will feel good under indeterminate tomatoes, near young fruit trees, which serve as a living support for him.
You can also place a kiwano in tree trunks by planting plants in 10-15-liter pots or buckets without a bottom filled with nutrient soil.
requirements and care. Compared to cucumber, kiwano is less demanding on soil moisture, however, a long absence of watering negatively affects the quantity and quality of its fruits. Water the plant throughout the growing season.
The nutrient layer of the soil in the garden bed can be small - only 15-20 cm, but should include mature compost or humus. And if you also cover it with organic mulch, you won’t have to fertilize the nod during the growing season at all.
The root system of this exotic is located close to the soil surface, so it is impossible to loosen around the plants.
With regular care, Kiwano fruits grow up to 250-300 g and cover the stems in clusters.
It is desirable to provide the plant with openwork penumbra at noon. So its leaves will be protected from sunburn, and it will bear fruit better. But morning and evening rays are necessary for nodding.
The central stem can grow up to 10 m, pinch it over the 5-7th leaf. Lateral shoots reach a length of 3–5 m and are overgrown with numerous stepchildren. They do not need to be removed, as they shade the fruit from the scorching sun.
It is not necessary to grow a kiwano on a flat trellis with a cucumber net and spread it in an open sunny place.
The fruits on the plant are tied mainly in the lowest part of the numerous lateral shoots covered with hard leaves.
You can often hear that the taste of the fruits of this plant resembles a banana, mango and other exotic fruits. Actually it is not. Kiwano fruits have a mild sweet and sour taste without a pronounced aroma. But on the other hand, they differ in a number of useful properties, for which kivano is cultivated in South Africa, the USA and Australia. Topping the list is the powerful antioxidant alpha-tocopherol, which strengthens nerves and blood vessels. This antioxidant, in combination with other trace elements that are part of the pulp and seeds of Kiwano, slows down aging and eliminates the negative effects of free radicals that cause various diseases. Kiwano fruits contain B vitamins, as well as linoleic acid, which improves heart function.
Kiwano fruits are eaten only fresh, scooping out their contents with a spoon. They can be used both sweet and salty. For example, add to yogurt, vegetable or fruit salad.
Kiwano juice has an amazing effect on the skin, and also accelerates the healing of burns and eczema. It is enough to eat just one fruit of this plant with a spoonful of honey before going to bed to get rid of anxiety, heaviness in the heart and fatigue.
In online health food stores, kivano fruits are actively sold at a price of over 200 UAH per piece. It is cheaper, of course, to grow these "rejuvenating apples" in your garden. In addition, in this case, you can be sure of their quality and environmental friendliness.
Svetlana VNUKOVA, With. Russian Tishki, Kharkiv region
© Magazine "Ogorodnik"
Many have heard the word "Kivano". And now in more detail. Kiwano what is it?
Kiwano is an exotic African fruit. All over the world is becoming more and more popular. Outwardly, it resembles a melon with horns due to its oval shape and spikes that resemble horns. Sometimes it is also called the African cucumber. This fruit belongs to grassy vines, subspecies - cucumber.
Its skin is bright, yellow-orange. The taste is slightly tart, the very pulp of the fruit is jelly-like, green in color. Thanks to such an unusual and interesting appearance, it is difficult to confuse it with anything else from the world of exotic fruits. The plant itself is extremely resistant to diseases and has a fairly high yield. The liana itself (it can reach five meters in length) can even be used to decorate a personal plot, and unripe fruits of horned melon are sometimes used to decorate the interior of premises.
Although this is an African exotic, at present there are already zoned varieties of this fruit, which are possible both in the middle lane and in the greenhouse conditions of Siberia. Currently cultivated in many countries. But the main providers are:
- Central Africa,
- South America,
- Israel,
- New Zealand,
- Italy.
Description
Kiwano's homeland is distant hot Africa. This exotic fruit - horned melon or African cucumber (as you like to call it) in a ripe state reaches a length of up to 10 centimeters and weighs up to 300 grams. According to some reports, some specimens reached a length of 20 cm. The fruits have a pretty, carved pattern. The flowers are small, yellow in color, they are quite numerous. This fruit is remembered for its unusual appearance.
The root system is superficial. Like the common cucumber, the seeds of the kiwano are edible. Outwardly, they are flat, small in size. As for the taste - one can argue, everyone knows the saying "The taste and color ...". People who have tried it may say that the taste is similar to a mixture of ordinary cucumber, and. Others claim that its taste resembles the composition of melon and cucumber.
There is also an opinion that Kiwano melon is not a fruit, but a vegetable. Very many in appearance may mistakenly call kivano an Antillean cucumber or anguria, this is not at all true. The easiest way to distinguish them is by the appearance of the leaves. In horned melon, they look more like reduced cucumber ones, and in anguria, they resemble watermelon ones.
Calorie content and chemical composition.
The fruits of the Kiwano fruit themselves are low, no more than 44 kcal. Moreover, for 100 grams of this rare exotic in our area, there are:
- proteins no more than 1.8 g,
- fat - 1.3 g,
- carbohydrates - 7.6 g.
If these values are translated into the daily share of consumption, we get: that on average 100 grams of African cucumber comes with 2 percent of fats, proteins, carbohydrates. It contains a lot of vitamins: there are water-soluble - C (ascorbic acid), B1 (thiamine), B9 (folic acid), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B3 (niacin) and fat-soluble - A, aka beta- carotene. The mineral composition of the pulp of horned melon consists of the following elements: manganese, copper, calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, potassium, phosphorus, iron. They are presented at both micro and macro levels. Thus, we see that the organic acids and mineral salts included in the chemical composition can be useful with regular use.
Beneficial features
Useful properties of kiwano follow from its chemical composition. Due to the high content of vitamins A and C, and B vitamins, we see that this is the main advantage, since they are necessary for the normal functioning of the human body. In addition, due to its low calorie content and high water content (89 percent), horned melon is great for people who are watching their figure and following an appropriate diet.
The fruit we are considering removes toxins, improves immunity, tones the body as a whole, perfectly refreshes and eliminates thirst. In countries where it grows, it is sometimes used as a hemostatic agent due to its astringent properties. In these cases, the pulp is applied externally, helps to quickly stop bleeding and has a septic effect, preventing microorganisms from entering the wound.
In cosmetology, the fruit also brings certain benefits - it is part of various face and skin products, cleansing and toning face masks are made with its pulp. Can be combined with honey. Of particular value is the almost perfect combination of proportions of vitamins A, C, E, and this is very useful for the skin. The benefit also lies in the improvement of peristalsis.
Due to the high content of potassium, this fruit is extremely useful for cardiovascular disorders. The use of kiwano is also useful for those suffering from diabetes. We can talk about the properties of the Kiwano fruit for quite some time, but we will limit ourselves to the above.
How to eat kiwano
When you first see such an unusual exotic, you should ask yourself, how is Kiwano? The answer is quite simple: usually an African cucumber is eaten without prior preparation, the peel is not good for food. Usually, the pulp of the fruit is eaten along with the seeds, after cutting the exotic fruit into two halves and scooping out the jelly-like pulp.
It also has many other uses. Its pulp is pressed to obtain juice. This juice can be consumed in its pure form, but it is perfectly combined with other juices, forming a pleasant mix. Horned melon is also suitable for jelly, jam. Added as an ingredient to many dishes: both in fruit salads and in snacks. There are quite a few ways to eat. Kiwano pulp can be used to decorate ready-made dishes.
In general, the taste of kiwano is not very pronounced, all people note the general thing - sweet with a slight sourness. This allows you to add exotic fruit to compotes, recipes for spicy dishes with the addition of African cucumber are known, which cannot but please gourmets. It is possible to pickle and salt the fruits. Pickled 4-day-old fruits are a very refined and delicacy dish.
Contraindications
But not everything is as smooth as it seems. What is beneficial to one may be harmful to others. And the African cucumber is no exception to these rules. In fact, it has no pronounced contraindications, but manifestations of food allergies are possible. And here the rule applies, everything new and exotic for our body must be tried in small portions. Individual intolerance to an exotic fruit is also possible.