Global Growers is a network of community farms and gardens with more than 250 international growers. This network has small and large garden patches all over metro Atlanta, and is responsible for bringing some of the most unusual vegetables to be found at Atlanta’s local farmers markets.
Beginning in mid-August, one of its offerings has been bitter melon, available in booths at the Decatur Farmers Market on Wednesdays and the Grant Park and Clarkston Farmers Market on Sundays. Bitter melon, weather permitting, should be available through the end of September.
Bitter melon goes by many names: bitter cucumber, bitter apple, bitter gourd and more. It’s pale green, looks like a particularly warty cucumber and is used most frequently in Asian and Central and South American cooking. It’s also widely studied for its medicinal qualities, with a 2008 report finding it contains chemicals that can act like insulin and help reduce blood sugar.
Bidur Dangal of Bhutan grows bitter melons for Global Growers. He brought the seed from Nepal, but he is also able to find it in Korean stores locally.
This is no quick-harvest crop. “If we put the seeds in the soil in the month of April, we can get fruits after 90 days,” he said. And depending on the weather, it may take even longer for the plants to set fruit. The plants are trained up trellises to keep the melons off the ground.
Dangal enjoys the melons for their flavor and their medicinal qualities. “The importance of bitter melon is to increase the appetite. They are rich in iron and help reduce blood pressure. We eat the fruit and the tips” of the vines, he said.
Mark Taft, chef of Chicken and the Egg in Marietta says bitter melon is an acquired taste. “If you do not like bitter foods, try picking a riper melon, lighter green. You can also boil the melon for two to three minutes to cut down the bitterness. I urge you to try the melon as is before you alter it. You never know, you might find a new favorite dish,” he wrote. He offered a recipe for Bitter Melon and Pork.
Some sources say that salting the melon, as you might an eggplant, will remove some of the bitterness, but when it’s cut into thin slices and cooked as it is in Taft’s recipe, the bitterness isn’t overwhelming but just one element of a complex array of flavors.
At local farmers markets
Cooking demos:
4 – 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22. Chef Seth Freedman of Forage and Flame offers demos throughout the market. East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.farmeav.com
9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 24. Chef Carvel Grant Gould of Canoe, working with ambrosia melons. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
10 a.m. Saturday, Aug.24. Chef Thomas McKeown of the Grand Hyatt. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 24. Chef Jeffrey Gardner of Alma Cocina. Green Market at Piedmont Park. www.piedmontpark.org
For sale
Vegetables, fruit and nuts: acorn squash, arugula, Asian greens, Asian pears, beets, bitter melon, blackberries, blueberries, carrots, celery, chard, collards, corn, cucumbers, dandelion, eggplant, field peas, figs, garlic, green beans, herbs, kale, leeks, lettuce, Malabar spinach, melons, muscadines, mushrooms, Okinawa spinach, okra, onions, pecans, peaches, pears, peppers, potatoes, radishes, sorrel, spinach, spring onions, summer squash, sweet potato greens, tomatoes, turnips, yard long beans, winter squash
From local reports
Marc Taft’s Bitter Melon and Pork
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2
Marc Taft, chef at Marietta’s Chicken and Egg provided this recipe. He uses Hatcho Miso, a miso made from soybeans with no rice or barley. If you can’t find this particular brand, he suggests using a good all-purpose miso with at least medium salt/sweetness. Serve this dish with rice.
1 bitter melon (about 6 ounces)
1/2 pound ground pork
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons black bean sauce
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
Sliced radishes, slivered green onions and black sesame seeds, for garnish
Cut the ends off the melon, then slice it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and then slice the flesh into 1/8-inch thick crescents. Set aside.
In a large skillet or wok, cook the pork over high heat. If the pork is very lean, you may need to add oil. If it renders any fat, drain the fat off. Add garlic and continue cooking until meat is cooked through and garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add melon and cook 2 minutes or until melon is translucent.
In a small bowl, combine black bean sauce, miso, sugar and oyster sauce. Add to the melon and pork and cook until sauce has caramelized, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with sliced radishes, slivered green onions and black sesame seeds, if desired.
Per serving: 380 calories (percent of calories from fat, 61), 21 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 25 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 82 milligrams cholesterol, 624 milligrams sodium.
