Well, the ones I grew into the greenhouse in the allotment with zero care bore tiny little fruit, but I wasn't able to keep the allotment because of time issues so I couldn't repeat. I decided to double down on another Cucurbita that I might talk about in another article.
This is awesome!!! Bitterness is an underappreciated characteristic, dandelion greens are now sold at my co-op though but I'm shocked how few bitter things are accepted. I love Asian foods and your description made me 🤤 My grandfather used to have a small potted I guess tree, with verrry bitter as well as tart clementine like fruits and it made an amazing rum-cocktail I got to enjoy eventually and will never forget how nice the bitterness was. Btw yesterday I learned there are non-bitter and "burpless" cucumber varieties looking at Gurney's seed catalog online 😮 not that I shy away from bitter cukes, mmm. Excited to see where this breeding project leads ✊
It would be interesting to also grow a non-bitter bitter melon. Just as a side project - imagine if you stumble upon such a plant! As large as the bitter melon audience is, I suspect the non-bitter one would not be much smaller :D What's the texture of it - is it like a zucchini?
A none bitter bitter melon is just a melon(?) I think it would do poorly because the bitterness is used to deter pests. Humans just happen to be ok with the bitter compound it produces. The texture is similar to squash but firmer and chewier, but then again, I'm unsure because I might never had it fresh (most likely defrosted versions).
A very interesting melon though. If not sweet or bitter it might be a cool "meat sub" like a tofu maybe? I would just keep an eye out for any that come out not sweet and save some seeds. I never thought I'd breed for less bittnerness in some of my lettuce for example and cool flavors came out. I also think the sweet or mild version of something sometimes helps newcomers to a food, work their way into the full taste. But who says anyone has to cater to the masses, I like your idea either way. They look super cool too!
Understood. I’m now wondering whether I should also try this experiment. It seems such a good idea…
If you have the space, go for it!
Thank you, my friend, I shall take a look at our plot :)
How did this experiment turn out? I’d love to be able to grow these here in the UK.
Well, the ones I grew into the greenhouse in the allotment with zero care bore tiny little fruit, but I wasn't able to keep the allotment because of time issues so I couldn't repeat. I decided to double down on another Cucurbita that I might talk about in another article.
This is awesome!!! Bitterness is an underappreciated characteristic, dandelion greens are now sold at my co-op though but I'm shocked how few bitter things are accepted. I love Asian foods and your description made me 🤤 My grandfather used to have a small potted I guess tree, with verrry bitter as well as tart clementine like fruits and it made an amazing rum-cocktail I got to enjoy eventually and will never forget how nice the bitterness was. Btw yesterday I learned there are non-bitter and "burpless" cucumber varieties looking at Gurney's seed catalog online 😮 not that I shy away from bitter cukes, mmm. Excited to see where this breeding project leads ✊
Keen to see where this project goes.
It would be interesting to also grow a non-bitter bitter melon. Just as a side project - imagine if you stumble upon such a plant! As large as the bitter melon audience is, I suspect the non-bitter one would not be much smaller :D What's the texture of it - is it like a zucchini?
A none bitter bitter melon is just a melon(?) I think it would do poorly because the bitterness is used to deter pests. Humans just happen to be ok with the bitter compound it produces. The texture is similar to squash but firmer and chewier, but then again, I'm unsure because I might never had it fresh (most likely defrosted versions).
A very interesting melon though. If not sweet or bitter it might be a cool "meat sub" like a tofu maybe? I would just keep an eye out for any that come out not sweet and save some seeds. I never thought I'd breed for less bittnerness in some of my lettuce for example and cool flavors came out. I also think the sweet or mild version of something sometimes helps newcomers to a food, work their way into the full taste. But who says anyone has to cater to the masses, I like your idea either way. They look super cool too!