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Taiwan, China native bitter melon gourd has 83 times more lycopene than tomatoes

General News By Emily Carter 0 views

In the indigenous tribes of eastern Taiwan, China, there is a mysterious fruit - the mubieguo (Momordica cochinchinensis, also known as gac fruit or sweet gourd), which the Amis people call sukuy

Mubieguo dishes are commonly seen on tribal dining tables. The Amis and Puyuma people often stew or stir-fry the unripe green mubieguo, which tastes like bitter melon; when the fruit ripens, the outer skin turns from green to bright orange-red. At this point the mubieguo is rich in carotene and lycopene, and the lycopene content of its aril (the red fleshy covering of the seed) is even 83 times higher than that of cherry tomatoes.

Chen Xinyan, director of the Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, said that the mubieguo can not only be used as an ingredient in indigenous cuisine, but its aril (referring to the red outer covering of the seed; the seed itself is slightly toxic and not suitable for consumption) is even more nutritious. If processed into juice or health foods, it has great market development potential. In the future, there are plans to expand the mubieguo planting area so that the yield per hectare reaches more than 10 metric tons.

[How to make mubieguo juice]

1. Cut the fruit in half, scoop out the seeds and aril.
2. Weigh the aril and seeds, add water; the amount of water added should be 12 times the weight of the aril and seeds.
3. Stir by hand to wash out the aril. (Be careful not to crush the seeds; the seeds are slightly toxic.)
4. Filter, then heat and boil; add sugar after the first boil.
5. Let it cool, and the mubieguo juice is done; if you put it in the freezer and let it freeze, it becomes mubieguo smoothie.
6. You can add lemon, pineapple, passion fruit and other fruit juices for flavoring, creating mubieguo juice with all kinds of flavors.

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