If you are following our journey then you know that we love growing exotic and unusual foods. We have our share of failures in our endeavors but on that rare chance that we do find success, we excitedly harvest! Then there is the the huge question – what do I do with it?

Our Kiwano Melons were no different! The first time we grew these in 2018 it wasn’t an epic fail but we only harvested one – 1. We took what we learned and made the best success last year – epic success! Due to weather challenges and pest issues, we had to harvest them before they turned their beautiful golden-orange. That took FOREVER! Fortunately they taste good green too. They tasted well enough to eat on their own but as you can see in the video clip below, they are quite seedy. Much like a pomegranate the Kiwano Melon is a lot of work to eat!

So what would we do with all of these little spiky aliens? We scoured the internet in search for recipe ideas. Sadly very little was found. On a blog about the fruit they suggested making jam. There was however not the first recipe. What’s a girl to do? Well this girl made her own recipe! Quite honestly it was touch and go there for a minute. I thought I was going to have to scrap the whole thing, throwing all our homegrown goodness down the drain! Somehow, though, around the third tasting it began to shape up into something quite palatable! We played off the lime – banana flavor that the Kiwano Melons naturally have. Now I see just why there are no recipes online. Once you get a recipe right with these guys YOU EARN THE RIGHT TO KEEP IT SECRET!

Today the kids opened the first pint. They are quite pleased to say the least. The first question was “Mom, how much are you selling these jellies for?” The second question, “Well, are there more growing?” These kids kill me! They felt much better to know that we already have more planted. So be on the look out for these on our weekly listings page while I negotiate with my family about how many we can “actually” list – from our family to yours!