World Cuisine: Exotic Vegetables: Winter Melon

Thanks to being active in various global social communities, I'm learning about all kinds of food like the “winter melon”. This is not a produce that I am familiar with. Even when I checked to see if maybe I knew it by a different name, it turns out I did not know the alternative names either. I don't recall seeing this melon in my local grocery store but it is probably in the produce section at an Asian market. Nevertheless, now it's a food that I am curious to try. 

Image credit:  Amazon.com

OK. Let me explain myself. I like cucumbers and I like melons. But I say a cucumber is a vegetable and anything called melon has to be a fruit. Right? WRONG!!

The Spruce Eats is my favorite GO TO site for when I want to learn about anything food-related. They published content titled “What Is a Winter Melon?” and it tells you all about it.  

The winter melon is a large vine vegetable; a type of gourd and a distant cousin of the cucumber. Commonly called ash gourd, wax gourd, white gourd, white pumpkin, and Chinese watermelon. It is a native to parts of Southern Asia and used in both Indian and Chinese cuisine.

You can cook it, but don't over-cook it because it will become mushy. It pairs well with a lot of different foods: watermelon, mushrooms, scallions, pork, chicken, duck, and ham, seafood like shrimp and scallops. I love that it can be cooked in soups and stews because soup is on my unofficial list of Top 5 comfort foods.

• Some sources say it can not be eaten RAW.
• Other sources say, add it to salads RAW just like you would with a cucumber.

???????

Here are some additional food facts and most of the sources seem to be in agreement.

“Chinese people believe winter melon is a Yin food that can help our bodies to counter the summer heat and humidity.” This soup dish is so popular they even serve it at weddings.

Chinese Winter Melon Soup Recipe ~ TheSpruce Eats

Winter melon can also be used to make drinks. There are recipes for Winter Melon Tea and Bubble Tea Latte. Sounds interesting.

18 of the Absolute Best Winter MelonRecipes to Try This Year - Backyard Boss  

A few of the health websites sing praises about the health benefits of the winter melon. It's good for digestion; promotes heart health; can detox your body; can improve your vision; and more!

9 Surprising Benefits of Winter Melon |Organic Facts

FINAL LINK SHARE:

Figured there had to be a candy recipe.  Petha / Winter Melon soft Candy !!! | Shailja's Kitchen [ Meals & Memories Are Made Here ] 

Food and Drink : Are You a Cheese Lover?

Have always been told that cheese is healthy eating. Haven't you? Unless you're lactose intolerant and have a hard time digesting dairy products, that is. But I received an article via eMail that said cheese might not be healthy. The headline was a shocker!

Cheese lover that I am!! ❤  I respect the source, so I had to read further. Whew! I'm so relieved. They mentioned the “unhealthiest” cheeses to eat. Cheese singles, cheese spray and cheese dips. Had to laugh because I thought to myself: “Duh! Those products don't even count as cheese in my book!”  ☺

Nevertheless, the other information presented in the article about healthy cheeses and the diet tips made it a worthwhile read. This excerpt below quickly summarizes what the real aim of the article is.

“If you're a cheese lover, then there's good news for you. Not all cheese is bad for your diet. In fact, there are plenty of ways to include cheese in a weight loss or weight maintenance plan. You just need to be careful about what you buy and how much you eat.”

Here is a quick outline of the subtopics:

• Healthiest Cheese Options
• Unhealthiest Cheese Options
• Health Benefits and Drawbacks of Cheese
• Cheese and Weight Loss
• Cheese Recipes

Reference:
Frey, Malia. “The Smartest Ways to Include Cheese in Your Diet.” Verywell, 28 June 2017, https://www.verywell.com/cheese-nutrition-facts-calories-and-health-benefits-4117668. Cheese Nutrition Facts: Calories in Cheese and Health Benefits ~ Content reviewed by a board-certified physician.

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Additional Comments:

I'm not sure if there is any style or form of cheese that doesn't taste good to me. Have heard people say they don't like the taste of goat cheese. Maybe if they ate it in the form of a cheesecake they'd change their mind.

Definitely never ate a piece of cheesecake that I didn't like!

People may not need to be told about this food blog and website: “Williams-Sonoma Taste”. It seems to be very popular (meaning it has a pretty high Alexa ranking). But in case you never heard of it, sharing a link below. You can sign up to receive their recipes via e-Mail.

Fresh Goat Cheese and Lemon Curd Cheesecake

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This content first appeared at ForumCoin under the same title “Food and Drink : Are You a Cheese Lover?”