Anybody grown these ?
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Primrose
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Yesterday my dear husband returned from the supermarket bearing what he said was a Doodhi, which was pale green and about ten inches long. (No rude comments please !!) It seems to be a form of squash, halfway been between a large courgette and a butternut squash. I've never come across them before. Do they grow in this country? Incidentally we had some for lunch today. It was fairly insipid and pretty tasteless, so end of experiment, I think.
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Jenny Green
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I think it's a vegetable from Asia, so probably won't grow particularly well here.
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peter
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Tigger wrote:It isn't one of the mooli family is it?
They are a sort of radish are they/
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Chantal
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There appears to be a lot of names for this baby...
"Bottle gourd, dudi/doodhi, calabash, cucuzza, tennerumi, white-flowered gourd, trumpet gourd, zucca lunga, Hercules war club, hairy gourd, lokhi, lauki, opo squash, po gwa, woo lo gwa
(Lagenaria siceraria -- Family Cucurbitaceae)
The bottle gourd is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. Remains have been found in Mexican caves dating from 7000 BCE and in Egyptian tombs from the 4th millennium BCE. The seeds are said to have travelled on ocean currents from tropical Africa to South America, where archeological finds suggest that it was already in Peru 12,000 years ago. Today, it is cultivated in all tropical and subtropical regions.
The gourd plant is a vigorous climber, quickly reaching lengths of thirty feet and more. It is grown for its edible young fruits, shoots, and seeds. There are many varieties, each differing greatly in shape and size. Bottle gourds can be as small as four inches or as large as three feet and weighing over two pounds. The longest gourd is recorded as being almost 111 inches. They have little nutritive value, although they do have moderate amounts of Vitamins C and B complex and a few proteins. The fruit pulp around the seeds has been used as an emetic and a purgative and sometimes given to horses. The juice is mixed with lime and used on pimples and, when boiled in oil, used on areas of rheumatism. Seeds and roots were used to treat "dropsy" (an abnormal collection of fluid within a body cavity), and the seed oil taken internally to treat headaches.
The leaves are broad and oval with wavy margins; and the fragrant, white flowers open only in the evenings. Its names are derived from such selected forms as bottle, trumpet, and club, and relate to their use and appearance. This particular gourd has a long narrow neck; but many develop into varying shapes and sizes, with some reaching six feet in length. The young fruits are edible, but the mature shells become extremely hard when dried. The very tough, watertight shells are then hollowed out and used as bottles, kitchen utensils, musical instruments, floats for fishermen, and even as gunpowder flasks. In India, bottle gourds traditionally provide the body for a musical instrument known as the sitar. The leaves were used by natives as a protective charm when elephant hunting.
The fruits are pale green to cream or yellow, with a narrow neck. The inner flesh is white and spongy, containing flat creamy-coloured seeds. Only young, unripe small fruits with soft rinds are eaten. The firm flesh is very mild, tasting reminiscent of cucumber, and is good stuffed and then baked, but can also be prepared in the same manner as summer squash. It is not suitable for eating raw. These gourds are slender and light green. Their close relationship to the zucchini is revealed in their appearance and taste. This variety can be prepared with the skin on, if young, and is exported mainly by India; but Sicily also has especially long varieties.
Mild, versatile, and adaptable, the bottle gourd appears on daily menus from India to Italy and from China to Mexico. They are also eaten around Naples, Sicily, and in Sardinia but rarely elsewhere. The traditional squash preserve called zuccata, or in Sicily, cucuzzata, is made from the mature gourd. When used in cooking, young fruits are peeled and any large seeds removed. It is then sliced, diced, or cubed and sautéed with spices to accompany curries. Young shoots and leaves can be steamed or lightly boiled. In Africa, the seeds are used in soups; but, in India, they are boiled in salt water and eaten as an appetizer. The seed oil is also extracted and used for cooking. "
Does that about cover it?
"Bottle gourd, dudi/doodhi, calabash, cucuzza, tennerumi, white-flowered gourd, trumpet gourd, zucca lunga, Hercules war club, hairy gourd, lokhi, lauki, opo squash, po gwa, woo lo gwa
(Lagenaria siceraria -- Family Cucurbitaceae)
The bottle gourd is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. Remains have been found in Mexican caves dating from 7000 BCE and in Egyptian tombs from the 4th millennium BCE. The seeds are said to have travelled on ocean currents from tropical Africa to South America, where archeological finds suggest that it was already in Peru 12,000 years ago. Today, it is cultivated in all tropical and subtropical regions.
The gourd plant is a vigorous climber, quickly reaching lengths of thirty feet and more. It is grown for its edible young fruits, shoots, and seeds. There are many varieties, each differing greatly in shape and size. Bottle gourds can be as small as four inches or as large as three feet and weighing over two pounds. The longest gourd is recorded as being almost 111 inches. They have little nutritive value, although they do have moderate amounts of Vitamins C and B complex and a few proteins. The fruit pulp around the seeds has been used as an emetic and a purgative and sometimes given to horses. The juice is mixed with lime and used on pimples and, when boiled in oil, used on areas of rheumatism. Seeds and roots were used to treat "dropsy" (an abnormal collection of fluid within a body cavity), and the seed oil taken internally to treat headaches.
The leaves are broad and oval with wavy margins; and the fragrant, white flowers open only in the evenings. Its names are derived from such selected forms as bottle, trumpet, and club, and relate to their use and appearance. This particular gourd has a long narrow neck; but many develop into varying shapes and sizes, with some reaching six feet in length. The young fruits are edible, but the mature shells become extremely hard when dried. The very tough, watertight shells are then hollowed out and used as bottles, kitchen utensils, musical instruments, floats for fishermen, and even as gunpowder flasks. In India, bottle gourds traditionally provide the body for a musical instrument known as the sitar. The leaves were used by natives as a protective charm when elephant hunting.
The fruits are pale green to cream or yellow, with a narrow neck. The inner flesh is white and spongy, containing flat creamy-coloured seeds. Only young, unripe small fruits with soft rinds are eaten. The firm flesh is very mild, tasting reminiscent of cucumber, and is good stuffed and then baked, but can also be prepared in the same manner as summer squash. It is not suitable for eating raw. These gourds are slender and light green. Their close relationship to the zucchini is revealed in their appearance and taste. This variety can be prepared with the skin on, if young, and is exported mainly by India; but Sicily also has especially long varieties.
Mild, versatile, and adaptable, the bottle gourd appears on daily menus from India to Italy and from China to Mexico. They are also eaten around Naples, Sicily, and in Sardinia but rarely elsewhere. The traditional squash preserve called zuccata, or in Sicily, cucuzzata, is made from the mature gourd. When used in cooking, young fruits are peeled and any large seeds removed. It is then sliced, diced, or cubed and sautéed with spices to accompany curries. Young shoots and leaves can be steamed or lightly boiled. In Africa, the seeds are used in soups; but, in India, they are boiled in salt water and eaten as an appetizer. The seed oil is also extracted and used for cooking. "
Does that about cover it?
Chantal
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I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
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Primrose
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Gosh Chantal. I'm very impressed !!
The other half of the doodhi is now on the compost heap. We roasted it in olive oil but it had none of the sweetness or texture of the British winter squashes, and as we still have a large pile of cougettes and marrows to eat our way through, I decided it was expendable. If I get a strange rogue plant appearing from my compost next year maybe I'll be able to see how it grows for myself.
The other half of the doodhi is now on the compost heap. We roasted it in olive oil but it had none of the sweetness or texture of the British winter squashes, and as we still have a large pile of cougettes and marrows to eat our way through, I decided it was expendable. If I get a strange rogue plant appearing from my compost next year maybe I'll be able to see how it grows for myself.
