I don't like bitter melons at all. Of course, they are bitter, as their name indiciates, but they also have a strong, musky flavor that some people like. Many people I know split the bitter melons lengthwise, scoop out the sides, and then fill in the scooped-out area with ground pork, which has been seasoned with garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and diced shitake mushrooms. Then they steam it until done. Bitter melons are supposed to be very nutritious.

P.S. The ground pork is not purchased as such, but it is ground from a leg roast or pork butt--much less fat that way.

I like bitter melons when sweet pickled. They can also be stir fried with beef or pork and scrambled eggs. Some have attributed some medicinal values to the vegetable like helping with asthma. They are bitter but if you were to chop them, salt them to draw out its juices (requires squeezing)it will reduce the bitterness.

Bitter melon is quite nice when used in soups especially stuffed with pork. Bitter melon is popular with Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indians.

There are various types of bitter mellon shapes and sizes. They are very prolific and vine upwards nicely.

Mary Anne

It is an acquired taste for bitter melon (nigawli I believe is how the Okinawan name is spelled), my wife is Okinawan and she stir fries it with bacon or bits of pork or what ever meat she has. It is quite a staple in the Okinawan diet fixed many ways. Maybe that is why Okinawan's have the longest life span of just about anyone?

It grows very well here in South Texas if you give it enough water. Okinawa has a hot climate as well, but is much more humid and rainy than we normally get here.

My mother in law fixed it one night in a sort of stir fry. My 5 yo son kept refusing to eat it unless I drowned it in soy sauce. It is indeed very bitter, almost to the point of gagging, a little like an unripe persimmon. Definitely an acquired taste. IMO I don't think I will ever acquire it. Mom and Dad like it though.

In my experience, bitter melon always brings out the flavors of the other ingredients that are cooked with it!
If you have leftovers(I plan for it), the dish gets even better when you reheat it. I prepare bitter melon at least once a week.

They do taste bitter in an earthy sense. It's an acquired taste, those who grow up with it usually don't mind it and end up craving the flavor every once in a while. Bittermelon stir fried with velveted beef and salted black beans is a personal favorite.

;)

I know this is an old thread but I grew Bitter Melon "Foo Gwa" for the first time this year and I am enjoying the fruits. The variety that I grew reminds me of the taste of Burdock! Not that I eat burdock but when cutting or pulling the stick-tight weeds, I have inadvertently tasted them and my bitter melons have that similar taste.

Most of my co-workers to whom I have shared the fruits spit them out and not one has enjoyed them the way I do but I'm motivated to love Bitter Melon not only because I grew them but because they are having a very positive affect on my blood sugar readings! I am diabetic.

I haven't gotten my quarterly AC1 readings since the bitter melons have been producing, but my daily readings seem to have dropped into an excellent range! I attribute the improvement to Bitter Melon and Okra. I am extremely excited with the results that I'm getting (in lowered blood sugar levels) and I plan to grow a whole lot more of these two fruits in 2012.

I'll be trying different varieties and I wonder if they all taste like the one that I grew this year (seeds were a hybrid from Stokes Seed I think?) or if there are different tastes among the many different varieties. I eat most of mine raw but have noticed that the few I've cooked have less of the bitter flavor than when eaten straight raw from the vine. I wish I had more and will try to continue to grow the plants I have in the greenhouse for as long as I can keep them producing.

melsmith - another plant you might want to try is yacon. Most folks grow it for the big roots that you harvest in early winter. It is supposed to help with blood sugar levels and I believe they also use it as a sugar replacement like Stevia herb. I grow it for the leaves which have a slight blood helping effect when boiled in a tea (I just toss a small leaf in the pot when brewing normal iced tea) they also have a huge effect on digestive systems. It has the same chemicals as Jerusalem Artichokes and can cause digestive stress the first week, but after that you'll feel fine.

To the original poster - bitter melons have a strong weedy, green and medicine/chemical/metal quality. They remind me of when I was a kid and put my tongue on the top of a 9 volt battery. I know it sounds awful but they somehow make you feel healthier just by tasting them and you don't have to eat a lot of them to notice the health benefits, just a bite or two each week will affect your health. Many places will mention the seeds are used as a candy in tropical Asia but I have never noticed it. The bright red, slimy seeds just taste like a chunk of vegetable with a hint of bitter melon tang.

I couldn't stand them, way too bitter for me.

Different varieties have differing degrees of bitterness. Of those that I have grown, the larger, thicker varieties (with smooth warts) were the least bitter, and are the type that I prefer. These were mostly Chinese varieties, such as "Taiwan Large". The Japanese variety "Abashi" is also smooth warted & mild. Those with pointed warts & thinner flesh were more bitter; a friend uses them for pickling. "Taiwan" and "Ant" were two of them, both small-fruited.

You can reduce the bitterness by cutting into pieces after cleaning, and salting the pieces (this leeches out some of the bitterness) and/or by par-boiling the pieces before using them. Keeping the vines well watered also reduces the bitterness somewhat.

Bitter melon should be used immature, before the fruit begins to ripen. Once ripe, the red jelly-like flesh that surrounds the seeds is sweet & edible; if dried, it can be added to rice to color it during cooking. The seeds themselves should not be eaten. Some of our Filipino friends eat the vine tips & young leaves as a vegetable, but they are far too bitter for my taste.

The wife likes bitter melon, and as mentioned above, it helps to lower blood sugar. I've tried to grow enough to parboil & freeze for winter use, but she generally gives most of it away to friends (it surprises me that so many are interested!) She generally uses bitter melon in soups; our favorite is an egg soup with bitter melon, tomato, and chicken. Some of our Filipino friends add it to "pinakbet", a thick stew with eggplant, winter squash, lima beans, chayote squash, and pretty much whatever fresh vegetable is on hand. Even with the best variety & treatment to reduce bitterness, however, the taste is not for everyone.

Maybe I need to try growing it in a wasted spot, what variety is least bitter? I'm sure the chickens will be happy to eat it if we can't stomach it. I bought the one we tried from the store and didn't salt or parboil, only stir fried it.

Oops... just re-read my last post, and found a typo. The bitterest variety next to "Ant" should read "Thailand", not "Taiwan".

Tracy, I've been trying to stabilize a Chinese hybrid for several years (don't know the name, it's in Chinese characters).
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The fruits are low in bitterness, have thick walls, and are about the size of a cucumber if well cared for. If you would like to try some seed, contact me through my Member Page.

That said... I'm not sure that bitter melon would be the best thing to feed chickens.

There are a couple of different type, that I am aware of. The one in the picture posted by Zeedman is the smooth kind, I have never grown that one.
Another type is much more worty (sp) and very bitter. My wife is Okinawan and usually stirfrys bitter melon with pork. BTW, the Okinawan name is "Goya"

I'm new here. Will some one tell me how to post a picture here?