Cucamelons

 

An exotic plant that produces a miniature watermelon-like fruit has been launched in Britain for the first time and is set to transform the traditional salad.
The Cucamelons looks like a tiny version of the juicy football-sized fruit but when eaten it has the distinctive taste of a cucumber with a hint of lime.
They are used in salsa, can be pickled, or eaten on their own and have been used in Mexico for centuries.
Despite being stocked by some supermarkets the unusual crop is rarely seen in British gardens.
However, Devon-based Suttons Seeds has now begun selling seeds to the Cucamelons plant for people to grow at home.
Despite their exotic origins, they are actually easier to grow than regular cucumbers

Melothria scabra is a vine grown for its edible fruit. Fruit are about the size of grapes and taste like cucumbers with a tinge of sourness. Vernacular names include mouse melon, Mexican sour gherkin, Cucamelons, Mexican miniature watermelon and Mexican sour cucumber.

This plant is native to Mexico and Central America, where it is called sandita (little watermelon). It is believed to have been a domesticated crop before western contact began.

Doll’s house-sized ‘watermelons’ that taste of pure cucumber with a tinge of lime. These little guys are officially the cutest food known to man & oh-so-easy to grow even for real beginners. Let me show you how to get started…

How to grow

Cucamelons can be grown in pretty much the exact same way as regular cucumbers, only they are far easier. They don’t need the cover of a greenhouse, fancy pruning or training techniques and suffer from very few pests. Sow the seed from April to May indoors and plant out when all risk of frost is over. Give them a support the scramble over, keep well watered and that’s pretty much all you will need to do!

Harvest them when they are the size of a grape, but still nice and firm.

They make pretty, high-yielding vines that can be planted really close together to get the most out of a small space – as little as 15cm between plants around a trellis.

Finding the seeds

Want to know where you can get your hands a little plant?

I have teamed up with the lovely plant geeks at Suttons Seeds to sell Cucamelons Seeds as part a brand new ‘Homegrown Revolution’ range of weird and wonderful edibles. Why now check ‘em out?

How to eat

The fruit can be eaten straight off the plant, or tossed with olives, slivers of pepper and a dousing of olive oil. Perfect for a quirky snack with drinks – or even popped like an olive in a cheeky martini.

Pickle the Cucamelons with dill ad mint

To preserve their virtues right in to the depth of winter, you can even make Cucamelons dill pickles. Fantastic in a simple ham sandwich or with a fancy cheeseboard.

They can be pickled whole, however slicing these little fruit in half and pre-salting them will result in far more crisp result – not to mention that fact that they will be ready in half the time.

Pre-salting simply involves sprinkling the sliced fruit with a really generous amount of sea salt in a colander (about 1 tbsp per cup of Cucamelons) and setting them over a bowl for 20 minutes or so. This will draw out the excess water from the fruit, which prevents the fruit from diluting the vinegar during the pickling process.

After the 20 minutes are up give them a good rinse, pat dry with some paper towels and you are ready to go!

You can flavor the pickling vinegar with anything you fancy. My favorite mix combines dill, mint, pickling spice and a sprinkling of pink peppercorns. Add a generous sprinkling of sugar and salt and stir the mix to combine.

Adding an (optional) scrunched up vine or oak leaf will further help ensure a crisp result, as the tannins in the leaves will inhibit natural enzymes within the fruit that can cause softness.

Top up with a good quality vinegar to cover the fruit, seal the jar and give it a good shake.

 Cucamelons bloody Mary salad

100g Cucamelons
120g baby plum tomatoes

3 Red chills 100ml vodka
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 handful celery leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Slice the Cucamelons, baby plum tomatoes and chills and place in a bowl with the vodka. Allow to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably overnight (this depends on how strong you would like the alcohol; overnight soaking will provide quite a kick!). Drain the vodka-soaked vegetables, add the rest of the ingredients and mix gently.

This salad can be served as a side dish or, since the flavors (and alcohol) are quite strong, it can be served as a canapé or a palate cleanser at a dinner party served in spoons or shot glasses.

Notes:

This salad seems to go through a sequence of flavors as it is being eaten. It begins with fresh flavors and crunchy textures (especially from the Cucamelons), followed by the warmth of the alcohol which slowly develops into quite a kick at the end with the deeper, more 'Bloody-Mary-like' flavors of the celery seeds and leaves near the end. It is certainly different from most other salads and causes quite a stir!

I'm, actually, not a huge fan of vodka, but decided to stick with vodka in this recipe so that it wouldn't be too unusual. The vodka can easily be substituted for a different alcoholic spirit, such as tequila, and name the salad "Bloody Maria" instead of "Bloody Mary" (I regret not doing this in the first place now, since I much prefer tequila to vodka!).

Product Description

Cucamelons – They produce an abundance of fruit resembling tiny watermelons, which taste a bit like cucumber but with a citrus tang. they need little care, are drought-tolerant and if the roots are lifted before first frosts they can be stored and replanted for earlier fruiting the following season.

Sow Cucamelons Indoors April to May, lightly in seed trays, cover with a fine layer of compost. Keep moist and maintain a minimum temperature of 20oC (68oF). Prick out Cucamelons seed into further trays or pots when seedlings are large enough to handle. When the Cucamelons seedlings have developed 3-4 leaves, transplant to growing bags, large tubs or a sheltered area of the gardens. Support Cucamelons with canes and train the plants as they develop, removing the growing tip when plant is about 2m (6ft) tall and trim side shoots when about 30cm (12in).
Harvest Cucamelons from July to October. Pick Cucamelons regularly to encourage a continuous crop. Lift Cucamelons roots in autumn and store in a cool, frost free area. Plant Cucamelons out in May when risk of frost is over.

Cucamelons makes an ideal addition to your vegetable range for grow your own