285301 Thu May 18 23:40:50 -0700 2006 7 31 Home Cooking 0 1527414 My husband and son bought a piece of fruit at the grocery yesterday that is very mysterious to all of us. I've seen it before -- yellowish orange, with spikes. Kind of oblong, about four or five inches long. Inside are many seeds encased in green slime... They didn't get the name of it, and now that we cut it open we are all baffled about it... Please advise... Thu May 18 23:40:50 -0700 2006 0 Anne H 1 1527417 I think it's guava. But I am not an expert on these things. They had them at the buffet in the Dominican Republic. If it's sweet enough, you can just scoop it out and eat with ice cream, etc. Or if they're still sour, eat with yoghurt. I guess you could do a search if the consensus is for guava. Thu May 18 23:48:48 -0700 2006 1527414 0 guava? 1 1527419 Kiwano (horned) melon? Link: http://www.melissas.com/catalog/index.cfm?product_ID=466&info=Yes Thu May 18 23:56:44 -0700 2006 1527414 0 Saccade 1 1527468 Definately sounds like a horned melon. I too have been curiously mystefied by the fruit but never had the courage to buy one. I did, however, read the preparation instructions that were posted with it at the market. They said you cut it in half and eat the seed/slime stuff with a spoon. I would definately like to know what you think of it. Was it good? Did it taste similar to something a little more familiar? I look forward to hearing your opinions. Fri May 19 09:36:28 -0700 2006 1527414 0 EAF 2 1527469 They look great, but the flavor is really pretty boring. Fri May 19 09:42:55 -0700 2006 1527468 0 MikeG 1 1527544 Okay, it's definitely a horned melon. Thanks for the Melissa's link. I tasted it-- the green slime and seeds part, which is apparently what you eat. It tastes like the seedy part of a (somewhat aged) cucumber, with a bit of lemon juice added. In other words, the part of a cucumber that is often thrown out. So aside from being externally photogenic, I wonder if there is any edible use for this thing? Melissa's had a couple of recipes, none of which seemed to me to justify buying the melon. Anybody actually use these horned melons for anything edible?? Fri May 19 13:50:10 -0700 2006 1527414 0 Anne H 2 1527602 Booze - the double K Blend 1 kiwano and two kiwis. Add 4 ounces vodka, 2 ounces Cointreau and 2 cups crushed ice. Blend until smooth. If you add booze to anything, it helps. At least you can forget the flavor. You could serve it in a hollowed out kiwano shell for a dramatic presentation. I guess it might roll over though. OK, bad idea. Thanks for posting I don't think I ever tried one and wouldn't know what to do with it. It was always so expensive I didn't bother. Googling around it seems better suited to sauces or as an ingrediant of something other than eating it straight. I can be substituted for cucumber in raita. Grilled Beef with Horned Melon Sauce Recipe seems the most popular recipe for it out there. There's also Horned Melon And Lime Mousse Chicken Salad In Horned Melons Melon With Minted Horned Melon Sauce Passion Fruit and Horned Melon Bavarian. Horned Melon Granité (from Charlie Trotter) Kiwano Melon Passion Sundae Kiwano Pineapple Salsa Kiwano Smoothie Someone just scooped it out, mixed it with sugar and froze it. Funny, but one site trying to market this calls it a cuke-asaurus. From your description it sounds like that 'c' can be replaced with a 'p'. They do say to sprinkle it with sugar. It is also supposed to be high in potassium and vitamin c. There is only 25 calories per kiwano. Yeah, anything with that few calories can't taste good. The fruit has no relationship to Keanu Reeves. Advice from Prairie Home Compantion ... "My tip for the day is to never, never, never buy and/or eat a Kiwano fruit. It's the spikey, orange-yellow, hand grenade lookin' thing in some produce sections . . . The one that looks like it fell to earth from an alien spacecraft. It looks weird enough in its "natural" state, but achieves entirely new levels of disgustingness when cut open. Trust me on this: No Kiwanos. (Even the Iron Chef would walk off if the was the Mystery Ingredient)." Thanks for taking the bullet for Chowhounds ... or is that fruit grenade? Link: http://www.hormel.com/kitchen/glossary.asp?id=35506 Fri May 19 16:59:04 -0700 2006 1527544 0 rworange 3 1527749 RW, thanks for all that great research! I don't know what my son and husband paid for the thing, but it's been worth it just for the entertainment value. Cuke-asaurus sounds about right, or with the P. I think it looks more like an underwater mine than a hand grenade. I suppose it would make a good bowl for chicken salad, but why? I'm not a Charlie Trotter fan, and horned melon granite about summarizes my opinion of his cooking... Whoever wrote the Hormel description was obviously a PR flack. Any resemblance to a kiwi is strictly in the eyes of the salespeople. Sat May 20 15:52:40 -0700 2006 1527602 0 Anne H