But then again, there’s a lot of stuff in our homes and yards that could be dangerous – cleaning products, alcohol, castor oil, holly, magnolia, poinsettia. This year I made Indian style pickle with them. The Chinese variety are best harvested light green possibly with a slight yellow tinge or just before. People use Canada balsam for burns, sores, cold symptoms, pain, and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. But I do enjoy a good tell-me-something-I-don’t-know post!That’s great.. sharing is knowledge.. even I do the same thing in my health tips..Thanks for visiting and the follow. At this stage, the fruit's flesh is crunchy and watery in texture, similar to Some sources claim the flesh (rind) becomes somewhat tougher and more bitter with age, but other sources claim that at least for the common Chinese variety the skin does not change and bitterness decreases with age.

In others, scary. I took all the medicine given to me by my eldets. I’d want to know what those were if I saw them too. More than I would have thought.

More research needs to be done on this plant to find out about its usefulness. I have never in my life seen or heard of these before! Farm stand finds!A funny thing happened on the way to the drug store…ah, When I came back from my walk, I searched the web for more info. How interesting!

Me neither. I almost felt like if I wanted to seriously even get close to the recommendations I’d have to eat spinach everyday. On looking it up, I find it is a close relative, monordica charantia. The young shoots and leaves of the bitter melon may also be eaten as Bitter gourd is commonly eaten throughout India. Easy ideas to make hectic lives healthier. Best eaten with the hell fried out of it!That’s right! Positive: On Jan 2, 2007, marylouhermann from Springfield, OH wrote: Our family, starting with my grandmother, have made a great Balsam Salve using this plant as a basis. I imagine kids think it’s terrible. I’ve lost 60 plus lbs and over 10 years maintained the loss so it’s more a lifestyle of good choicesThat’s wonderful. Bitter melon requires tropical conditions for growth and as such is found in parts of Asia, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. How to use a balsam apple. Ha! What a shame we don’t have more variety in our fruits like that, but it’s a self-perpetuating cycle…don’t have them, don’t learn about them, don’t try them, don’t have them. The possible low temperatures are in the 5ºF to 10ºF range. How long has it been since you had a Cerassee?Enter your email address to follow farmstand culture and receive notifications of new posts by email. Awesome stuff. While I wouldn’t recommend eating random vines you find growing on the side of parking lots, I did taste the leaves. Never thought of them being harmful.I think it’s just the seed pods. I just did it yesterday because I wanted to see if my perception of the flavor was the same. I’m wondering how well balsam apple grows in different zones. Canada balsam is … It is a rare and fascinating herb.

It’s my whole inspiration for creating this blog. In the English language, the bitter melon is also known by several names: bitter squash, bitter gourd, wild balsam apple, balsam pear, bitter apple, carilla gourd, wild cucumber, and others. It will Once a featured conversation-starter in a president’s garden, balsam apples now grow in complete anonymity in the bushes along the drugstore parking lot. Rediscover forgotten herbs. This tropical vine grows to about six to eight feet in height and each node on the vine has a lobed leaf and a tendril. And was the plant pretty productive for you? I grew up in the Caribbean and remember this plant and fruit. So fascinating! All throughout the different parts of the world, it is also referred to as ampalaya, karela, kor-kuey, peria, salsamino, melón amargo , cundeamor chino, balsamina, bejuco condeamor, cosquelite, … Plant Description. They’re bitter. I get the munchiesCould be. My aunt just reminded me last evening when I shared this story with her that I was always the “good child”. Really bitter. Well my story about it is very interesting and memorable.

I think they would be good to grow just so that we don’t lose them to the more popular herbs and plants offered. The Bitter melon is generally consumed cooked in the green or early yellowing stage. Just to preserve the memory and knowledge of the balsam apple. In Punjab we call it Kerala. So they’re like eating a puffer fish, only eat here, here, here and here! I know bitter melon is packed with vitamin A, C and B-6.

Its called Cerassee in Jamaica. I felt the same way. Thank you so much for sharing your research and experience with this interesting but almost forgotten herb. Either way, I figured it was better to have more awareness about than less.This looked and sounded very much like a vegetable we use in India, the bitter gourd. Even though I enjoy strong flavors, I am not so sure about eating any quantity of balsam apple raw. :0) more of an upset stomach than skulls and bones.
Momordica charantia (colloquially: bitter melon; bitter apple; bitter gourd; bitter squash; balsam-pear; with many more names listed below) is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit.Its many varieties differ substantially in the shape and bitterness of the fruit. I’m always intrigued by new fruits or herbs I am Indian so I am familiar with the cousin of Balsam Apple. She was not very find of the medicinal foods we were given to eat and would oftentimes put her portion on my plate.

Its kinda sweet.Thank you, Chad! Sorry I couldn’t resist! Lessons from my gardenlife. Did you ever taste it? Young, green fruits and leaves can been eaten raw, stewed or fried. Easy ideas to make your hectic life healthier.

The true benefits and risks of balsam apple vines remain Great to maintain lifestyle changes like that and over a decade, impressive!Listen I try. They are then washed, dried and cooked with a spicy onion mixture. They are de-seeded and salted first to remove the bitterness.