Fruity Friday’s…Thai Purple Melon Peppin ( Pepino)Tree…

Pepinos ( Peppin) are commonly referred to as Pepino melons, melon pears or Pepino dulce – Spanish for “sweet cucumber” – a colourful array of names far less concerned with scientific accuracy and more with flavour.

I am excited as I should be receiving my Purple Melon Pepinos Tree tomorrow…

The purple ones are quite rare here and known as backyard fruit… They are oval fruits with an elongated shape that tapers to a point…my first thoughts when I saw these were that they were Thai eggplants and although their name suggests they belong to the melon family they in fact are no relation and belong to the nightshade family like tomatoes and eggplants.

The purple one is a rarity outside of the Cameroon Highlands…They are larger than the yellow variety with smooth, thin skin and dark purple striations…

Fully ripe the flesh is dark yellow to light orange the fruit is sweet and juicy with a melon-like texture…it has small edible seeds in the centre of the fruit…The fruit pares well with basil, ginger, mint, salt and white wine.

In Indonesia, it is known as the “Melodic fruit” whose nickname is “Tourist Fruit”… Typically eaten raw and chilled, smoothies or pureed and used in beverages.

The Spanish call the fruit ” Pepino Dulce” which means sweet cucumber…

Rich in antioxidants the fruit is high in fibre …low calorie …rich in vitamin A…a rich source of calcium …

I can’t wait to try this fruit…make salsa or a seared Perorino melon salad with glass noodles…

My long pepper plant now has a few baby peppers which are turning yellow so I am guessing it will be very soon when I can taste one…

My next fruit on order is a Rainbow treasure Chilli Plant.(pictured below)..it is beautiful to look at…

So very pretty…

Thank you for reading this post I do hope you have enjoyed it…If you have used or seen this purple melon please share in the comments as you know I love to chat…Love Carol xx

 

 

 

 

 

24 thoughts on “Fruity Friday’s…Thai Purple Melon Peppin ( Pepino)Tree…”

  1. Meg

    I bought these at the grocery in Indonesia thinking they were eggplant. They were packaged so I couldn’t feel the difference and they look so similar. I was planning on putting them in spaghetti sauce and already had the onions and tomatoes sauteing, so I just added them in. The onions had caramelized while I was googling trying to figure out what I had instead of eggplant, and it actually ended up delicious. Meanwhile, my husband found your article identifying the mystery ingredient. So now we have a new family favorite, melon sauce over pasta.

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Not as sweet as watermelon which is why I am not keen on watermelon too sweet for me… I prefer the other melons and hopefully will have some of my own purple melons next year…Hugs xx

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  4. marisselee

    What we have here is of light green color which I like very much when prepared as salad combined with onions and tomatoes in sweet and sour taste sprinkled with pepper and chilled.

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I am loving finding them, John I have discovered a new market place here with all these lovely plants and some rare ones…I now waiting for them either to arrive or start sprouting…exciting…:)

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