Ash Gourd / Winter Melon Smoothie

Imagine a melon that tastes just like a mild cucumber. Since it doesn't have much flavor of its own, it's a great addition to smoothies. It can be a little bit hard to come by here in America, but as I will show you, it's super easy to grow. It also can be found in Asian markets.

While it looks almost exactly like a honeydew on the outside, the winter melon smells and tastes like a cucumber. It even looks like a cucumber once cut open.

It isn’t sweet at all, so don’t try to put it in a fruit salad or eat it like a watermelon.

It’s more watery than a cucumber, so it wouldn’t be a good substitute for cucumber in salads.

Google “winter melon” and 90% of sources are from people in India. Winter Melon is readily available in India, Bangladesh, and all Southeast Asia. In America, you can find it at Asian markets, or you can grow one. Mine came up literally on accident. I did absolutely nothing except water it a couple of times. I live in the Southeast USA. It appeared in June and I got the first full grown gourd off it in September.

Winter Melon is so popular in Southeast Asia because it’s easy to grow and has a lot of vitamins and minerals. It is used to help settle the stomach. It’s also viewed as lucky and there are a lot of health claims made about it. You can read more about that here. While I don’t think it cures cancer or anything, it’s always good to try new things and who knows, it might just become your favorite thing.