WHAT DO the Mangalore cucumber from Karnataka, the Madras cucumber from Tamil Nadu, Malabar cucumber from Kerala, and the yellow cucumber from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have in common? The answer, you may think, is fairly obvious― they are all just different varieties of cucumber found in the southern states. But their names belie an important fact-they are not different cucumbers at all, but rather a single type of melon, called culinary melon.
Unlike the sweet melon that we consume as a fruit, culinary melon or Cucumis melo variety acidulus is slightly sour and feels and tastes just like a gourd when cooked. The fruit is found in all southern states, where it differs not just by name but also by appearance, according to a 2022 book, Culinary Melons of South India. In Karnataka, the Mangalore cucumber or southehayi is ovate to oblate in shape, weighs up to 1.5 kg and has a green rind, sometimes patchy or striped. In Kerala (where it is also called vellarikka) and Tamil Nadu, the melon has yellow skin and weighs 1-1.5 kg. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the fruit called dosakaya is small and globular, weighing just 0.5 kg, and has a yellow rind with patches.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 16, 2024-Ausgabe von Down To Earth.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 16, 2024-Ausgabe von Down To Earth.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
The Golden 100 Days
India prepares battle blueprint for the next pandemic
CULINARY MASTERPIECE
The sour culinary melon from southern India remains underutilised despite nutritional benefits and a potential to provide food security
Over to panchayats
Can the government's move to align panchayat targets with UN's Sustainable Development Goals help India meet the global deadline?
Genetic rescue
Odisha to introduce two female tigers to Similipal forests to improve genetic diversity of its melanistic tiger population
Standing up for period rights
Women of Maharashtra's Madia tribe take steps to root out superstitions about menstruation, end the practice of living in isolation
PUT THE PATIENT FIRST
Draft guidelines on passive euthanasia exclude the interests of terminally ill patients: A letter to the Union health minister
Dead end
West Bengal moves to discontinue Kolkata’s trams despite calls to revive the city’s oldest and cleanest mode of transport
A river lost
Unchecked discharge of industrial effluents and inadequate sewage treatment facilities have turned the Hindon water toxic. ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY tracks the river's journey though seven Uttar Pradesh districts, starting from its origin in Saharanpur
RECKLESS DISREGARD
India is set to expand seaweed cultivation along its coastline by promoting Kappaphycus alvarezii, a known invasive species that has smothered coral reefs in the Gulf of Mannar over the past two decades. Should the country instead focus on its native species?
Joining The Carbon Club
India's carbon market will soon be a reality, but will it fulfil its aim of reducing emissions? A report by PARTH KUMAR and MANAS AGRAWAL