tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16712604.post114905590234312175..comments2023-10-23T13:33:54.024-07:00Comments on Mental Masala: Bitter Melon Leaves (Unusual Greens, Part 1)Marchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108059997977496770noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16712604.post-19328772784383482582010-09-08T13:17:45.075-07:002010-09-08T13:17:45.075-07:00This sounds bizarre but sauteeing the leaves with ...This sounds bizarre but sauteeing the leaves with your favorite curry mix can somehow offset the bitterness of the leaves. I find the very tiny melons left on the vines to be satisfyingly crunchy, but yes, bitter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16712604.post-12763397837485615722008-08-27T03:36:00.000-07:002008-08-27T03:36:00.000-07:00I actually eat the bitter melon by itself as a sal...I actually eat the bitter melon by itself as a salad. Sometimes I mix it with a little olive oil and black pepper and some salt.<BR/><BR/>Other times, I pickled thinly sliced bitter melon with apple cider vinegar and it taste great as snacks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16712604.post-7087765424691046542008-07-21T18:43:00.000-07:002008-07-21T18:43:00.000-07:00You can soak the leaves in slightly salty water fo...You can soak the leaves in slightly salty water for awhile to remove the bitterness.<BR/><BR/>We use those in mung bean soups.<BR/><BR/>The fruit is likewise salted (like you would eggplants) to make it more palatable. Personally, I like a toned down bitterness simply so I can eat more of it.<BR/><BR/>Here there is wild bitter melon from my garden that yields extremely small fruit<BR/><BR/>http://gardencore.blogspot.com/2008/04/ampalayang-ligaw-momordica-charantia.html<BR/><BR/>The leaves are also quite bitter.Beahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04457793258012853649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16712604.post-1152624646799933992006-07-11T06:30:00.000-07:002006-07-11T06:30:00.000-07:00This is a great series - I've been seeing some of ...This is a great series - I've been seeing some of these lately at the farmers markets and wondering what to do with them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16712604.post-1150825656240703862006-06-20T10:47:00.000-07:002006-06-20T10:47:00.000-07:00I was so delighted when you quoted the Wikipedia a...I was so delighted when you quoted the Wikipedia article, because I wrote those words, and I wrote them precisely with the hope that people would be encouraged to try something new as you did. You can imagine my disappointment and embarassment when it turned out I was wrong!<BR/><BR/>I didn't just make it up; I wrote that because I had read it somewhere, but being a bad Wikipedian I didn't provide a reference and now I can't remember where it came from.<BR/><BR/>My wife says she thinks she's had the greens and doesn't remember them being bitter. Maybe different varieties? Different preparation?<BR/><BR/>Your blog is well written and the photographs attractive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16712604.post-1149261769159393172006-06-02T08:22:00.000-07:002006-06-02T08:22:00.000-07:00OMG, Marc, you ended up fresh baby karela! You are...OMG, Marc, you ended up fresh baby <I>karela</I>! You are so lucky!! :-D When I was growing up, I wouldn't have thought you were but now I do. This is one of our favorite vegetables. I don't ever remember eating the leaves but there are <STRONG>so</STRONG> many things you can do with a bitter melon - from plain ol' slicing and cooking it to stuffing it with ground meat.<BR/><BR/>I couldn't believe it when Charlie Trotter used thin slices of bitter melon as a garnish on one of his fish entrées. One of the tricks is to immerse it in salty water to get rid of some of the bitter flavor. And it is true, that once you're hooked to the taste, you're hooked for life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com