PRODUCTS
21-06-2020 di redazione
Perhaps that cucumber aftertaste may leave you bewildered for a moment, but in its bittersweet bouquet you can also taste lime, passion and banana. We're talking about Kiwano, also known as horned melon.
Belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family, the Cucumis metuliferus is the fruit of a climbing plant native to this part of Africa, although its popularity dates back to when it was imported to Australia and New Zealand in the 1930s. There it was baptized like this because once cut it resembled kiwi fruit.
The shape is that of an elongated egg, similar to a prickly pear, but larger.
The skin is hard, smooth and sprinkled with small thorns that look like horns (and make this fruit particularly decorative.
The colour is bright green when it is still unripe, orange-yellow when the fruit is ripe.
Kiwano contains a bright green gelatinous pulp sprinkled with small edible seeds.
The taste is original, pleasant and refreshing, in fact Kiwano is considered a natural thirst quencher.
It is very rich in water and for this rehydrating and remineralizing, in fact it is used as a source of water by the people of the Kalahari desert.
In fact, the fruit can retain large quantities of water during the dry season and grows even in difficult conditions.
It has good amounts of vitamin C and vitamin B6 and is an excellent source of trace elements, especially magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron.
In traditional South African medicine all parts of the plant are used.
The fresh leaves are used against fatigue.
The skin is consumed dried or cooked, it is used for dietary purposes and, thanks to its antioxidant properties, is used to combat free radicals. Even many African tribes use it to treat gonorrhea.
The high content of dietary fiber promotes the intestinal transit of food.
This prevents constipation and the formation of intestinal gas with consequent benefits for the digestive process.
Recent studies have shown that the intake of kiwano has properties useful for the regulation of hormones.
Especially adrenaline and stress hormones.
If you suffer from stress and anxiety, consuming kiwano can help to calm your mind and spirit. It has a good zinc content, an essential mineral in our diet as it plays a role in protein production. It also plays a role in the repair of wounds and the formation of blood cells.
Although in many African countries it is cooked whole (roasted or boiled with vegetables), kiwano is ideal to be eaten fresh.
For opening the skin halfway, it is indispensable to be careful and to equip oneself with the suitable instruments, especially for not pricking with the thorns.
The pulp of the kiwano can be used as an alternative to vinegar for dressing salads, or added to creams, yoghurt, fruit salads.
RECIPES
di redazione
On the African shores of the Indian Ocean, combining fish with fruit is not a gamble, but a pleasant contrast.
On the other hand, if the fish fauna goes so well with lemon, why not also dare with passion fruit,...
PRODUCTS
di redazione
The Dragon Fruit or Pitaya is a tropical fruit belonging to the Cactacaceae family, like the prickly pear. Although it is native to Central and South America, it is now particularly common in Asia and tropical countries where the climate...
Chutney is a typical English sweet and sour sauce made with fruit or green tomatoes. It is excellent as a sauce to flavor meat and fish foods....
CURIOSITY
di redazione
Virgola is one of the most well-known and important Italian brands in the hairdressing arena and its historical founder and owner Rinaldo Rampon is a love of Kenya.
For years he has watched Watamu and his beaches, but not only.
PRODUCTS
di redazione
The passion fruit is also called Maracuja and is the fruit of the Passiflora Edulis, a tropical climbing plant belonging to the Passifloraceae family.
One might think that its name evokes aphrodisiac properti
RECIPES
di redazione
An ancient Swahili legend says that before the arrival of the Portuguese, the natives of the Kenyan coast did not eat avocado but only used oil, because they did not consider it as fruit or vegetables.
When the Portuguese decided...
PRODUCTS
di redazione
You can find it in local markets, or watch it bend the branches of the plant on which it grows, the Annona muricata.
It may seem harsh with its spines and huge (a single fruit can weigh up to 2...
LIFE IN KENYA
di redazione
How much does it really cost to live in Malindi and Watamu without working?
How much can a pensioner or someone who has an income live on while savouring the dolce far niente?
Considering the overwhelming return of the desire...
PRODUCTS
di redazione
Star Fruit, as it is called in English-speaking countries like Kenya, is little known in Italy as Carambola, which comes from its plant, the Averrhoa Carambola.
On the other hand, the name of the plant itself....
RECIPES
di redazione
Fish morsels in mango sauce.
This is a Swahili recipe particularly used in Malindi and Watamu and on the coast of Kenya, where the plants of this delicious tropical fruit abound.
Here is for you the recipe of watamukenya.net
PRODUCTS
di redazione
In Kenya they call it the fruit that protects, but the properties of papaya are many and not only limited to its emollient and anti-burning properties on the body, or to the digestive, purifying and
PRODUCTS
di redazione
Mango ( scientific name Mangifera indica ) is a tropical plant belonging to the family of the Anacardiaceae.
Native to India, it was spread also in Africa and Latin America thanks to the Portuguese.
