The family of melons, squashes, and cucumbers has the Latin name Cucurbitaceae. In English this family is commonly known as the melon, or gourd, family. Most plants in this family grow for only one year, as annuals.
Is watermelon a melon or a gourd?
Like the pepper, tomato, and pumpkin, watermelon is a fruit, botanically. It is the fruit of a plant originally from a vine of southern Africa. Loosely considered a type of melon (although not in the genus Cucumis), watermelon has a smooth exterior rind and a juicy, sweet interior flesh.
Is a pumpkin a melon or a gourd?
The Melon Family, Cucurbitaceae, is a plant family commonly known as melons, gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like cucumbers, squashes (including pumpkins), luffas, melons (including watermelons).
Is cantaloupe a melon or a gourd?
The word melon refers to both the fruit itself and the plant that it comes from. The most defining feature of a melon comes from its sweet and fleshy fruit. Some common melons in the genus Cucumis include cantaloupe, honeydew, sugar melons, tiger melons, and casaba melons, among others.
What makes something a gourd?
More specifically, gourd refers to the fruits of plants in the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita, or also to their hollow, dried-out shell. There are many different gourds worldwide.
Is bottle gourd a melon?
Bottle gourd is also known as calabash, opo squash, and long melon. It is another vine crop grown for its fruit, which can be harvested young as a vegetable or allowed to mature, dry and be used as a utensil or musical instrument. It is a tropical/subtropical plant typically grown in China, South Asia and Africa.
Is a pumpkin a gourd?
The thing we call a pumpkin is, in fact, a type of squash. But it’s also a gourd, mainly due to the fact that it’s used as both an ingredient and as a decorative piece. Here’s the gist of what you should know: Many squashes are gourds.
Can you eat a gourd?
Gourd Edibility – Are There Ways to Eat Gourds? The flesh won’t kill you and probably has some nutrient benefits just like squash. If you wish to attempt the dish, select young fruit that hasn’t fully ripened and is not dry. You can prepare it just like you would pumpkin, by paring away the rind and removing the seeds.
What makes a melon a melon?
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word “melon” can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a “pepo”.
Is a zucchini a gourd?
zucchini, (Cucurbita pepo), also called courgette, variety of summer squash in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), grown for its edible fruits.
Is a cucumber a gourd?
Formally known by their scientific name Cucumis sativus, cucumbers are a member of the gourd, or Cucurbitaceae, family of plants ( 1 ). They originated in various parts of Southeast Asia but are currently grown all over the world.
Is a zucchini a melon?
Zucchini, Cucurbita pepo, is a member of the cucumber and melon family and is harvested while immature, making the rind tender and edible, like all summer squashes. Botanically, zucchini is a fruit, but it’s treated as a vegetable.
What vegetables are in the gourd family?
The gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, encompasses five vegetable crops of worldwide importance, the melons, cucumbers, watermelons, squash, and pumpkins. These five crops belong to three genera, Cucumis, Citrullus, and Cucurbita, and originated in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Are gourds melons?
Plants in the cucurbit (gourd) family include melons, pumpkins, squash and cucumbers. Each of those different cucurbits includes plants of different species and genera (plural of genus).
What is another word for gourd?
In this page you can discover 13 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for gourd, like: melon, pumpkin, bottle, gourd vine, spikenard, squash, calabash, dipper, flask, cup and lychee.
Can you cook a gourd?
You do want to cook gourds, not that raw is bad, but cooking will help improve the flavor and texture of the gourd. If your gourd is getting harder, you will treat it more like a winter squash. Roast it in the oven and scoop out the flesh, discarding the tough, bitter skin.
What is a gourd in the Bible?
However, in a number of biblical translations, including the King James Version of 1611, qiqayon is translated as “gourd”: And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
What is bottle gourd called in USA?
Calabash (/ˈkæləbæʃ/; Lagenaria siceraria), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean and Tasmania bean, is a vine grown for its fruit.
What is a gourd used for?
Major species and uses
Dried gourds can be made into a wide variety of useful objects, including utensils, cups, bottles, scoops, ladles, fishnet floats, and birdhouses. Numerous musical instruments made from gourds are found on nearly every continent.
What is Ash gourd called in USA?
All You Need to Know. Ash gourd, also known as Benincasa hispida, winter melon, wax gourd, white pumpkin, and Chinese watermelon, is a fruit native to parts of Southern Asia (1). It grows on a vine and matures into a round or oblong melon that’s approximately the same size and color as a watermelon.
Is a potato a gourd?
It Turns Out the World’s Largest Potato Is Actually a Gourd, Guinness World Records Says – WSJ.
Elvira Bowen is a food expert who has dedicated her life to understanding the science of cooking. She has worked in some of the world’s most prestigious kitchens, and has published several cookbooks that have become bestsellers. Elvira is known for her creative approach to cuisine, and her passion for teaching others about the culinary arts.