Cucumis Species, Apple Melon, Lemon Melon, Mango Melon, Orange Melon, Vine Peach

I've grown half a dozen of these plants after being given an old packet of seed by my mother-in-law. They grow extremely well... prolific...Read More is a very good description! We must have some 50 melons in varying stages of ripeness right now! I'm not particularly fussy on the taste - I'm not sure what I expected, but they're a bit bland with a slight tartness, and there's not much flesh to them as the seeds take a lot of space.

Like everyone else whose comments I've read here and at other sites, it seems difficult to find suitable recipes to use them in - I'd LOVE to find one of the old pickling recipes but might just "have a go" by myself without following a stated recipe. I did just find this site, which has some interesting info and comments...

http://thegardenersrake.com/heirloom-seeds-vine-peach-a-hist...

I've given the vine peach a positive rating, purely because they're so pretty and do grow so well. I hope I can do something with them that does them justice. :)

We've used these melons in jelly and butter (as in apple butter) and curd (as in lemon curd). We substituted the melons for some of the ...Read Morecrabapples/apples in the recipes; I don't recommend using only the melons, as the flavor is pretty bland on its own. We just started a batch of homemade wine from the melon; I think it might make an interesting white wine.
Our vines were very prolific. If the wine turns out well, we might plant again, but certainly not as many seeds as we did this year!

I received these Vine Peach seeds as a purchase gift from Burpee. I decided to plant them since I had room and was just curious as to ho...Read Morew they would look and taste. WELL... they grew they look great and smell great kind of like an overripe cantaloupe. The only problem is I do not know what to do with them. I have checked all my old food preserving books and nothing mentions vine peach or mango melons? I have cut one open and they are white inside like an overripe cucumber but have a bland taste. I have searched the web for and recipes that include either pickling them as I have read that the Chinese did years ago or finding a way to make some sort of Jelly out of the juice of many vine peaches. but since I cannot find anything on these good smelling fruits I do not feel comfortable preserving them the way I normally do cucumbers or cantaloupes. anyone have any ideas or was this just a way to make my garden smell great and look colorful but the fruits have no practical purpose and just need to be tossed out when overripe or starting to spoil?

Trooper

Vine Peach is a vegetable. Scientist can't provide correct information on this plant because its been cross pollinated several times. I...Read Moret's not of its own kind they say. USA patient is still pending and It's known to cause allergic reaction, anaphylaxis and possible death in some people. They say If you personally are allergic to latex DO NOT TOUCH or attempt to go near this plant. Smelling it alone can cause a reaction because of the cross pollination problem this veg. is linked to potatoes, kiwi's, peanuts, bananas, tomato, apples & pea's, People with allergic reaction to grapes MUST NOT eat this veg. Grass, mugwort, birtch, ragweed pollen are also linked so be advised. Belongs to the gourd family and PH tests were found HIGHLY acidic and is said allergic reaction happen almost immediately. (urticaria, gastrointestinal symptoms, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea,Dermatitis, angioedema.) My personal experience with this veg. was a 3 day event. 20 min after ingesting my neck started to itch, full body sweat which turned into then full body tremors, In and out mental confusion, RANDOM muscle lock in four arms and wrist and vomiting with a break between white foam expelling from my nose and mouth and back to violently vomiting again all of this lasting for 2 hours. I could hear and understand my family but could not respond vocally when asked serious questions. Felt mentally paralyzing but alert & trapped at the same time. Trying to physical speak was very challenging and still couldn't communicate. slept for more then 9 hours after wards then woke up and found the foaming slowed down but didn't stop from the mouth. 2 days of spitting every 3 to 4 min. but no ill effect and had no urge to eat or drink. 3rd day I ate. after all that I research and read that this is an ornamental plant used for landscaping and in Asia they are picked only for there aromic smells. Some people eat them here in the states and are totally fine. Im not saying this is a bad plant. Friends who shared this to me had no ill reaction what so ever and found them quite yummy & still eat them. Im also not allergic to any of the following food I list above and still had a reaction. Go figure. It took a savvy computer wiz 2 hour to find just general REAL info on this plant. Which I still can't remember how to get to. Good luck if you plan on researching. I remember they also talked about the vine it self playing a major role in the improper balance in this veg. aiding to allergic reactions in people. Do what you wish but please be advised especial if your sensitive or have ANY allergic reactions of any kind. I also heard about the seed thing and Im beginning to wonder if they aren't GMO. It would make sense or unless it's so rare & special that it naturally made its own breed off of other grains veggies pollens and fruits??? that would explain why they can't say it's its own kind. One site said vine peach was tested positive for similar cell structures found in shrimp!!! YEAAAAHHHHHH. So unless you've never eaten it. I would just be cautious unless you find looking like a rat that just ate stric-9 some what glamorous all the power to ya :)

Mango melon is in the same group as canteloupe .... it is said to be smaller (mango sized) and taste somewhat different. It is supposed...Read More to have a more mangoey flavor and texture. It is said to have naturalized in some parts of north america and I think is native to (north america) here. It so far has proved easy to grow in average garden soil in full sun. I am trellising it. It is supposed to respond well to trellising because the fruits are small and will not snap the (trellised) plant. I'll give a better rating when I harvest the fruits. :)