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Magnolias
Vine Crops
©2006 Clove Garden
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General & History
Gourds are not so neatly catagorizable as squash and cucmbers each of
which belongs to a single genus (with just a couple exceptions). Not only
are there several distinct genera of gourds but the line between
gourds and cucumbers is a bit fuzzy, and some gourds are called "melons"
even though they aren't.
For our discussion here "Gourd" will be any vine fruit belonging
to family Cucurbitaceae and native to Asia or Africa that is not
a melon or cucumber - regardless of what they're called in common usage.
Varieties
Ash Gourd - [Winter Melon, White Pumpkin,
Wax Gourd, Safed Petha (Hindi), Dong Gua (China), Benincasa hispida]
This large gourd is popular in China as Winter Melon, both for its delicacy
when cooked and because with its waxy coating it can be kept well into the
winter. In India it's used mostly for sweets. The photo specimen is a
spherical variety about 10 inches in diameter, relatively small so it can be
sold whole. The sausage shaped varieties can easily top a yard long and 50
pounds. Details and Cooking.
Bitter Melon - [Balsam Pear, Bitter
Gourd, Karela (India), Ampalaya (Philippine), Ku gua (China),
Momordica charantia]
Among the most bitter of edible vegetables this gourd is nontheless very
popular throughout India, Nepal, China and Southeast Asia. It is not much
seen on mainland Japan but is popular in Okinawa. It is a favorite of
Southeast Asian farmers here in California so the Chinese varitey is always
in good supply and the Indian version is increasingly available.
The melon at the top in the photo is the common Chinese variety, while
the other three are the Indian variety. Mineature Indian varieties are
popular in India and Southeast Asia for stuffing as individual portions.
Details and Cooking
Bottle Gourd -
[Opo, Calabash (U.S.); Dudhi, Lauki, Sorakaya (India); Yugao,
Kampyo (Japan); Po gua (Canton); Kwa kawa, Hu gua (China); Upo (Filipino);
Cucuzzi, Cucuzza (Italy); Bau (Viet); Lagenaria siceraria]
This gourd comes in many shapes and sizes from long and snake like to
spherical but the form pictured is the one common in Southern
California markets. They will grow much larger but they get very bitter when
more mature. Eventually the shell hardens and the gourd becomes hollow and
may be used as a container or carved decoratively.
Young shoots and leaves are also edible. Dried strips of the gourd called
Kampyo are important in Japan and often used as edible bindings to hold other
ingredients together. Details and Cooking.
Calabash - See Bottle Gourd.
There is also a Calabash that isn't a gourd at all but the large spherical
fruit of a tree in the Bignonia family (B. Crescentia
(6 species)) native to Central and South America. Both types of calabash
are dried and used as containers.
Fuzzy Melon - [Mao gwa, Mu qua
tseet gwa (China); heari meron (Japan (got that)); timum balu (Malay);
faeng (Thai); bi (Viet)Benincasa hispida]
A variety of the gigantic Ash Gourd that's picked and eaten
at a much earlier stage of growth. In this stage it's covered with short
bistles, thus the name. By time I get these melons home most have rubbed off
but it's still normal to peel these. The photo specimen was 13-3/4 inches
long, 3-1/8 inches diameter and weighed 2-1/4 pounds, a little above average
size for those marketed in Los Angeles.
Gherkin
Three fruits are called "gherkin", generally when pickled, and one of
then is a gourd.
Ivy Gourd - see Tindora.
Luffa Gourd [Loofa, Sponge Gourd,
genus Loofa]
Most well known in the U.S. as a bath sponge, these gourds are grown in
a number of varieties both for sponges and for eating. They are imensely
popular in India and also much used in Southeast Asia and China.
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Angled Luffa - [Chinese Okra, Vine Okra, California Okra,
Turai (Hindi), Patola (Philippine), Luffa acutangula]
These are very common in Southern California and are used by Asians of
all stripes from India to the Phillipines. Often sold as "Chinese Okra",
it is entirely unrelated to Okra and does not resemble it in flavor,
texture, cooking properties or size.
The photo specimen was 16 inches long, 2-1/2 inches diameter and
weighed 1 pound 2 ounces. They vary in shape. When I took this photo I
also had a straight one 18-1/2 inches long, uniform diameter
almost from end to end and weighing 1 pound. The skin is stiff but thin
and sharp ridges run the full length. The flesh is very delicate in both
flavor and texture, yet holds its shape much better than squash when
cooked. Details and Cooking.
Smooth Luffa - [Egyptian Luffa, Galka (India),
Patola (Philippine), Luffa cylindrica alt L. aegyptiaca]
These are an eating variety which may be cylindrical or snake
shaped with little or no ridging. Cylindrical ones are generally eaten when
they are about 8 to 10 inches long, snake shaped ones depending on variety.
The photo specimen in the center was 11 inches long and 2-1/2 inches
diameter.
These gourds have not yet become common in Southern California but I
have found them in an Indian markets in Artesia. They have a more
distinctly vegetable flavor than the Angled Luffa and store considerably
longer. They are grown commercially mostly for the sponge (see next entry
- same Luffa) and are also grown in Florida where some may be used for
cooking.
Smooth Luffa - [Egyptian Luffa, Luffa cylindrica alt
L. aegyptiaca]
This is the same Loofa as the previous entry but allowed to mature
completely and dry. They are harvested for the sponge like interior fiber
(the papery shell is easily removed). The "sponges" are popular as bath
sponges and for various household chores.
Luffas should be dried well between uses for longer life. A large one
also serves marvelously as a non-injurious club for swatting snoring bed
companions in the night. The sponge pictured is about 26 inches long.
My local market always has a pile of them for about $1.39 each but you
can pay a lot more for a short piece at an upscale bath boutique.
Sponge Cucumber - [Sponge Gourd, Round Luffa,
Luffa operculata]
This Loofa is only about 5 inches long pointed at both ends with spiky
skin. It is used as a small sponge and made into massage brushes
and sponge gloves but is more noted for medicinal uses. It has many
uses in South Amerian folk medicine and is widely sold in the U.S. in
pill and potion form as an ingredient in sinus treatments. It also
appears in homeopathic remedies.
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Parval Gourd - [Pointed Gourd,
C.Trichosanthes dioica]
This gourd is an important vegetable in Bengal and Uttar Pradesh
(north eastern India), but I've only found canned ones so far in Southern
California. Those pictured are slit in half lengthwise and put up in brine.
Fragments in the can indicate they get up to about 3" long in their edible
stage. The flavor seems interesting but final judgement will have to
wait until I can get fresh ones. The seeds are larger and more mature than
in other edible gourds and are a bit crunchy but edible.
Snake Gourd - [Serpent Gourd,
Chichinga, Padwal, Trichosanthes cucumerina var anguina]
This gourd is popular in Southern India and Southeast Asia. It can grow to
as long as 6 feet and is often seen with a rock tied to the tip to keep
it growing straight. Shoots and leaves are also eaten as a vegetable.
The flesh of this gourd is similar to the Luffa and
Bottle Gourd and like them will hold its shape when
cooked. Snake gourd is also used in traditional Chinese medicine. This
gourd has a very strange lacy flower which opens at night (see Details
page).
Details and Cooking.
Photo by Abhilash placed in public domain.
Tinda - [Indian round gourd, apple
gourd, Indian baby pumpkin, Praecitrullus fistulosus alt
Citrullus vulgaris]
Native to India, this gourd is popular in the cuisines of Northern India and
Pakistan. It's becoming more common in Southern California and is seasonally
available in markets that have a significant Indian / Pakistani element in
their clientel. The gourd is eaten in an immature stage when it will be
about 3 inches in diameter and tender with skin that does not need to be
peeled. Seeds of more mature gourds are also eaten.
Details and Cooking.
Tindora - [Ivy Gourd, Indian Gherkin;
Scarlet Gourd; Pepino Cimarron (Spanish); Hong gua (China); Kovakka (Malay);
Tendli, Tondli, Tindola, Ghiloda, Goli, Kundri, Kundru, Kunduzi, Kowai,
Kovai, Donda, Dondakaya
(India); Coccinia grandis]
A popular vegetable in India, this tiny gourd can now be found in Indian
markets in California and elsewhere. Here it is always sold green, looking
very much like a tiny cucumber, but in India it is also sometimes used in
it's scarlet red mature stage.
Tindora can be eaten raw and are a lot more crunchy than cucumbers, or they
may be cooked as a side dish or may be pickled. When pickled they are
sometimes called "gherkin" but are easy to tell from the real
Gherkin and from cucumber gherkins by
their smooth skin. Typically they are between 2-1/2 and 3-1/4 inches long,
3/4 to 7/8 inch diameter and weigh around 5/8 ounce.
Details and Cooking.
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