Comments on: Discover New Fruits and Vegetables!

By: a

Sat, 15 Aug 2015 23:20:46 +0000

Heather, the picture is the kiwano or African horned melon, not the lemon cucumber.

By: Nadya

Nadya — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 23:54:09 +0000

I love both lemon and Armenian cucumbers. Haven’t found either here in Texas though.
We are lucky to have several Asian markets that I visit and try different things from. Jack fruit, different eggplants and peppers, etc. I’m always buying random things then looking up how to use them. Some of these experiments turn out better than others but it’s fun!

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 15:35:18 +0000

That lemon cucumber looks a lot like what I discovered in Costa Rica a couple months ago… Monkey Brains (actually called granadilla). What an odd experience. The outside looks like an orange, but the inside is a whole different “animal!” It’s obvious why it’s called “monkey brains” by the locals when you take one look at it. It’s sweet when you suck on it, but the texture is quite slimy. Glad I tried it though!

By: Deb C

Deb C — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 03:10:28 +0000

I love to eat lemon cucumbers just like an apple! I do not like other cucumbers for the most part. This spring I was so excited to find a lemon cucumber plant at the nursery. I brought it home, babied it, loved it, watered it, petted it, talked to it……then I had to leave for 5 days…..the husband forgot to water it…..POUT POUT! I live in the middle of nowhere so exotic fruits and veggies do not exist in my store. I will have to taste all these exotics vicariously thru this blog!

By: Sara

Sara — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 17:00:46 +0000

Since our son was small, we’ve challenged the family to try new fruits and veggies as we find them. This past month we went to a farmer’s market in Seattle and bought 2 lychee fruits. We’ve tried them canned but never fresh. It’s fun and an adventure. My son has stories about the experiments we have tried and all we did was go to the store.

By: janmaus

janmaus — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 15:43:51 +0000

Hey Erin, please tell me more about the “Armenian cucumbers.” I have looked for 25 years for seeds for the delicious curled vertically striped cucumbers I enjoyed for a decade in Saudi Arabia. The seed catalogs that list Armenian cucumbers picture them as ribbed, but uniformly light green and thicker than the striped ones. What was sold as zucchini in that part of the world was also different than here in the US–small, thick, cylindrical and pale green–they were mild and delicious.

It’s hard for me to think of things like Kolrabi as unusual–it lived in my mother’s vegetable garden way back in the 1950s and I have seen it in many supermarkets for decades, although it usually appears to be a seasonal thing only showing up in late summer and early fall. Jicama has been a salad fave in my house since the 1960s

By: C. L. ( Cheryl ) "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser

C. L. ( Cheryl ) "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:10:10 +0000

Hey Beth B, I use Jicama as a snack cutting as you do and adding a bit of sugar and cinnamon, delicious! Cheryl

By: Beth B

Beth B — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 09:36:12 +0000

It’s not as unusual as the other fruits/vegetables here but I find that many people aren’t familiar with jicama. I keep it sliced into matchsticks in the fridge and it makes a wonderful snack with hummus or even plain. It can be added to a taco salad (or any salad, for that matter) for crunch. By itself, it has a slightly sweet flavor, mild and crunchy.

By: Erin R.

Erin R. — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 05:06:22 +0000

Last summer somebody at my husband’s work left a pile of Armenian cucumbers in the office kitchen, so he brought a couple home. Delicious! You don’t have to peel them because the skin doesn’t have that bitey, bitter taste you get with regular cucumbers. I’m growing my own out in the back this year and I love to slice them into chips and dip into tuna salad.

By: Melody

Melody — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 01:23:36 +0000

Love Ugli fruit. My mom and I discovered it years ago and it shows up now and then. Love it