Salad, Pickles, or Skyscrapers?

What looks like an elongated watermelon, is shorter than my index finger, and is sometimes referred to as a perennial cucumber? If you know the answer, then you may be from the Indian subcontinent where it is grown and eaten widely. Its scientific name is Coccinia grandis, but we generally call it tindora or ivy gourd in Florida.

By way of introduction, tindora is juicy and crunchy like a cucumber. It is a bit more crisp and tart with a stronger overall flavor. Unlike a cucumber, tindora stands up well to cooking. It doesn't turn to mush and it retains its color. The plant is quite handsome with its graceful, curling tendrils and ivy-like leaves. Different parts of the plant have medicinal properties that are still being explored by modern science. Finally, a tindora vine grows happily during our hot summers … (Read more from GroundBreaking Roots)