Emergency Alien Vegetable!

Morse Market, we meet again.  I walk in the door and my Stash Sense goes off- something isn't right.  I orbit around the produce section- there lies a UFO.  Unidentified Food Object.  Some sort of squash?  Or is it some kind of eggplant?  All I know is that it is green, goofy looking, and that I must have it.

I escort the find to the cashier.  She looks at the UFO.  She looks at me.  I look at her.  She looks around- and quickly keys it in as 'Produce @ 1.'  This is not helping my cause.

The UFO is safely in my custody, but I have no idea what to do with it.  Don't want to autopsy right away.  Peanut gallery, what do you think?  Cast your vote!  Please leave me comments so I can figure out what to do with this thing!

UFO- Unidentified Food Object

Update on Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 2:47PM by Stash

Thank you everyone for your help!

From My Kitchen Treats

This is a Bitter Gourd:) Its really bitter, but has a lot of nutrients though :) You can make a stir fry with potatoes and onions, do not add water, and cook on medium -low flame with a little more amount of salt than you would usually add, as the bitterness of the Gourd can be overpowering if not well seasoned :) We have it with rice some times :) You can find it a lot of it in Indian market :) Hope this helps :)

From Chef E @ Cook Appeal

I see that someone on the regular comments already told you its origin...here is some more information for you...they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and I have been told by the Indian family I work for it is an aquired taste...but I have wanted to try it...so I will be interested in what you do with it! -E

Momordica charantia is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown for edible fruit, which is among the most bitter of all vegetables. English names for the plant and its fruit include bitter melon or bitter gourd (translated from Chinese: 苦瓜; pinyin: kǔguā)

The original home of the species is not known, other than that it is a native of the tropics. It is widely grown in South and Southeast Asia, China, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Comments

[Joan Nova]

That is scary looking...more scary than the Budha's Hand I found in my market and posted about a couple of weeks ago.

[C-line]

WTF is that?! I'm thinking infected cucumber, some sort of fugal growth maybe? That or the vegetable world decided it needed a version of the "tree man."

[Jeff]

Slice some nice thin strips, deep fry with tempura, and serve with dipping sauce! vegi style calamari!

[Sloth]

Dude.. it looks green corn on the cob that has gone bad... but I like the deep fry idea.. make a nice beer batter for it, deep fry, and enjoy. I am thinking your instincts were right, some kind of squash. Good luck with that...

[Stash]

I've been told it's an acquired taste and generally needs to be heavily salted. I like the frying idea because all the nooks and crannies just have to fry up beautifully. I'll probably cut it into discs so the outside can still be visible. Probably not the best idea to fry it whole like a twinkie.

[Elizabeth F]

You are much braver than I am - I would have run the other way screaming when I discovered that "thing". You, on the other hand, purchased it and will attempt to eat it - good luck!

[jeanne]

based on the taste, it must be good for you!

[mimi]

the seeds are red and sweet. my mom used to plant these in the backyard when we lived in Tennessee. i hated the flesh bc it was so bitter and i was like 8 but it's good pickled or in a pork broth soup.