Kiwano - African horned jelly cucumber
For over 3,000 years, this African horned melon has been fascinating the produce world. The spiky, golden-orange shell encases a soft, succulent, seed-filled emerald green interior. Once grown only in New Zealand, Melissa’s Kiwano Melons are now grown in California as well. It’s unlike most any other melon you’ve had, so don’t go into it expecting anything like a cantaloupe or honeydew!
The exterior, non-edible rind of the Kiwano is a vivid yellow-orange (the more orange, the riper it is). The flavor of its green interior isn’t easy to describe, but it’s possibly closest to cucumber, but seedier and with a more jelly-like consistency. As it ripens it becomes just slightly sweeter; it’s been described as having hint of banana and kiwifruit.
Storing / Prep
A cardinal rule seems to be not to refrigerate kiwanos — seems like that causes them to lose flavor. So make sure not to buy more than you can use, and use them as soon as they’re ripe (the golden exterior becomes more of an orange color when fully ripe. However, you can freeze the pulp, or if it’s less ripe, chunks of the flesh. Scoop ripe kiwano out of the rind and pack in an airtight container to freeze.
The easiest thing to do is to simply cut kiwano melon in half lengthwise and squeeze out the jelly-like bright green contents (or scoop it out with a spoon). The seeds, though flavorless, are pretty soft and edible.
You can also use a knife to go around the edges of the interior of the melon, once it’s cut in half, to loosen the seedy flesh; cut away sections of firmer melons to use in recipes or to blend into drinks. Fully ripe melons will be pretty liquidy when scooped out.
Source: The Vegan Atlas