TINDORA - This fruit is hiding something... and I'm going to find out what it is. (Ivy Gourd)

[@WeirdExplorer]

Here's another mysterious green vegetable that you can use as a sponge! LOOFA Review - kzbin.info/www/bejne/l2qXpnmOZZ18idUsi=K8dv7V6_jzn9Kvcw

[@melhawk6284]

Lacto pickle the little suckers, while they're green!

[@Myth1n]

Bitter melon hides a secret too, when its fully ripe it turns orange and splits open and the seeds are covered by a red jelly substance and that red seed coating is super sweet! Thought you should know in case you ever felt adventurous (:

[@huhusmremre]

Yeah I was going to mention the same thing, bitter melon definitely deserves an episode imho!

[@Nvortex15]

He already made a video in those

[@Myth1n]

@@Nvortex15ah didnt know that, but of course he has! Haha.

[@Sgt.Groove]

They're great episodes, you just gotta dig through the channels archives a bit.

[@JTMusicbox]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIXCe2SlZcaNrcUsi=12AhCXx-V8uAgDy9

[@jonathanAdam-vr1qi]

On my farm here in the Cayman Islands I have it growing, even where I don't want it to be growing. A policeman from Goa came to visit and then he brought a plant of the ivy gourd for me. This can be a very pernicious plant for any grower in a tropical region. I like the fruit when green and just eaten out of hand in the field. The whole plant has many uses in Indian medicinal practices as well as its culinary uses. My geese are especially fond of the ripe fruit, which is fine by me.

[@GirishManjunathMusic]

I've always asked my mom about pickling these in vinegar and now I can live that life vicariously through your video!

[@jacejan3128]

🎼🎶Vicariously I eat while the whole world dies.🎵

[@arkesh110]

My mom used to cut these in half, marinate them with turmeric and other spices, anf then pan fry these and have them as a side along with mixed vegetable curries to have with roti as a quick week-day meal

[@jakethomas6123]

He opened Tindora’s Box.

[@luke_fabis]

Man you're thorough. Right as I wondered, 'What about pickles?' boom, tindora pickles. I kinda want to get some of these to see if they make for good fermented pickles. Nice 4 inch joke too. 😏

[@sweetnawesome23]

They do make nice pickles, we eat them with chilli powder and lemon too

[@RM-yf2lu]

Makes great dill pickles and Indian pickles

[@ILiekDeadpplz]

That Thailand trip was a good time, great to see it on YourTube!

[@spidarmanhaloween]

I picked a random video to watch while eating today and saw "oh cool fruit guy made a new video." I had no idea what this vegetable (which i now know is technically a fruit) was or looked like prior to this video but then i got jumpscared at 6:45 because that looked almost exactly like what I'm eating right now 😭 I asked my mom about it and turns what I'm eating is actually slightly different; it's potol bhaja made from pointed gourds, but they're very similar to ivy gourd/tindora. My mom rarely makes this dish but i think it's a cool coincidence that this video happened to come out at the same time since now i know what I was actually eating

[@NamTheDawg203]

PERFECT TIMING LOL :D

[@Tefoe]

These are like the best cucumbers ever! Not to mention how easy they are to grow compared to 2 cucumbers. Nothing bothers them and they taste better most of the time as well, no bitterness. Definitely a crop that everyone should be growing.

[@Aeyo]

One of its name here in India is "Kunndree". It grows a lot during summers which is now and we eat it.😊

[@MattSeremet]

What a great cartoon sound effect it makes when you crunch in. I immediately thought of cucumber

[@Risa_YD]

In Barbados, this is viewed as a vine/weed that no one plants but shows up one day 😅 It's known as lizard food. No one eats it here. Learned something today 😮

[@riaagarwal6840]

There are wild ones that are bitter and not to be eaten. So try a bite first.

[@antoniopanlilio5502]

We have this growing everywhere in my area. Was told it was edible. Didn't believe them. Now i know.

[@thestrangegreenman]

I love the idea of having some Weird Vegetable Explorer episodes!

[@NikhillRao27]

I'm sitting at home recovering from covid (again...) and this video is making crave a home-cooked Indian meal. I need to get my kitchen set up!

[@alexdrockhound9497]

hopefully it isnt affecting your taste/smell

[@NikhillRao27]

@@alexdrockhound9497 not yet thankfully but it's taking longer to bounce back otherwise

[@rajeshnair1192]

Tindora , the raw one is used as a vegetable in South India, especially in Kerala. Locally, known as 'kovakka/kovakkai' , these are thinly sliced and fried . Somewhat cucumbery in taste. Some folks consume it cooked with anchovies and grated coconut , with an ample dose of tamaraind.

[@SimpleIdeaz]

I have this growing in Brooklyn. Just need to bring in for the winter. Hopefully this year they fruit

[@Erewhon2024]

In cold areas, wouldn't annual cucumbers and/or Melothria scabra be easier? I thought this was just a crop people turned to in the tropics because pests or other factors made familiar cukes too difficult.

[@SimpleIdeaz]

I'm doing it for fun. Plus many Indian families in the area bring them in during the winter

[@erzsebetkovacs2527]

Thank you for this video as well as the sabji and achar recipes. I have bought these unripe once or twice when I was looking for chate melon in the local Indian supermarket, but they were called something else than tindora, and I actually had no idea. Back then, I had them cooked and spiced, and I agree about their cucumber-ness. I wonder if you might want to try them as lactofermented pickles, too. That's a real easy method, just add brine and a piece of sourdough bread to start the fermentation. You just need to work scrupulously clean and rinse the jar with boiling water, too, in order to sterilise it beforehand. Have the filled jar stand in a warm place for a couple of days, and when fermentation is already underway, move it to the fridge. Unfortunately, it does not keep and can be unpleasantly soggy, too, if overfermented, but if all goes well, it's even more delicious and healthy than pickled in vinegar. I also experiment sometimes and add fresh green herbs such as dill and mint.

[@Alina-ws6ob]

Love the crunching sound 😊

[@simeonellinger2064]

This episode is also a cooking show too, nice! Not sure ive ever seen these but it seems like something my wife would love to cook with. I'll keep an eye out next time I'm at the Indian market.

[@Gentleman_r07]

Ello WE I've been to India (Bangalore) and have tried this as a fried Ivy Gourd dish. It's absolutely delicious with a hint of watery (like cucumber) flavor to it and crunchy texture. You need nothing more than a pinch of salt, some oil(whichever), a bit of shallots, garlic (if you will, I prefer it) and pepper. It goes really well with rice alone. I highly recommend this. Cheers

[@riteshyeddu]

I remember that being my fav dish when I was a kid, loved it more than chicken curry haha

[@lindenlonstrup3326]

The Parbal is one of my favorite - when cooked it has little seeds which are filled with liquid

[@Sergei_WHY]

Crunchier, more vegetal cucumbers sounds great. Speaking of hing, is an episode dedicated to asafoetida in the realm of possibility? It's not fruit, not exactly a vegetable even, but it is a bit weird.

[@JulioAvalos3000]

LOL @ "more than adequate".

[@thedude4063]

You should try Jamaican Cherries. They taste like cotton candy and vanilla cake

[@repeat_defender]

That is a very satisfying crunch.

[@Magmafrost13]

Normally mouth noises would gross me out, but in this kind of video it is genuinely helpful information

[@hollywebster6844]

The sound of those pickles! Wow! Super crunchy! I might search these out just to make pickles.

[@WeirdExplorer]

You should! one thing I discovered though is to make sure they are not getting ripe at all. once they start getting a little red or wrinkly on the outside the inside gets slimy.

[@maobfh]

A quick word of CAUTION about this vegetable. It was taken to several places such as the UK, Hawaii and Texas as well as several smaller tropical islands and it has proven to a very aggressive and damaging weed, killing off native vegetation because it grows quickly, covers areas like a blanket, steal soil nutrients and chokes off established vegetation. It is considered noxious in Texas and Hawaii and they have since introduced a couple of weevils and a moth in an attempt to get it under control and remove it. Introducing vegetation and then killing insects to counter such mistakes can become a destructive cycle. Please be very careful about trying to grow them and how you dispose of them because the results of letting this vegetable loose can have devastating effects on local farmers, organic farmers and native vegetation. If it’s not too late, anyway. It may get stopped in customs but often not. I don’t want to be a party pooper but the more I read, the scarier it got. Think kudzu. Fortunately, it is hardy to zone 9, which means it might devastate the very southern states (Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, and California. ALL productive agricultural areas except Arizona which would devastate our food supplies!). It might die off in the winter in the more northerly regions and mountainous regions. I say might, I don’t know or know if they know. It grows all over India and the mountains can be very high in parts of India. I get the curiosity. Me too. But be very very careful playing around with it. A cucumber like fruit can hold over a hundred seeds in a single fruit. :::jumping off my soapbox before I say too much::::

[@Ultracity6060]

Cutting the tips off for pickles is also done with cucumbers because if you don't... I don't know, something bad.

[@kayagorzan]

I have a lot of ivy gourds growing on my fence and have only really used the young shoots in soups. From what I’ve seen, the fruits are really popular with birds.

[@cathyburrows8162]

Love these, good for controlling blood sugar.

[@Ari-jj9op]

That fried version is what i learned in the Indian temples, almost exactly the same spice mix as bitter melon. LOVE bitter melon, though they often use fenugreek in the fry.

[@Realatmx]

If cut bitter melon thin and fry it it taste so good and I guess it's healthier than potato fries

[@takashi0770takashi]

In my place im malaysia, the green one is highly bitter and the ripe one is sweet. We use to eat the red one and ussually give it to the singing bird ( merbah jambul). They love to eat it.

[@naninani1549]

What they don't taste bitter atall atleast here in india we eat raw like cucumber

[@DianeGraft]

Ah, something I've tried before you did the video! I had some of this from an Indian buffet, loved it, and decided to look for it. My local Indian grocery had it, of course, and I stir fried it and it came out very well. I will definitely be having this again.

[@Natepwnsu]

Don't clip the ends, that will make the pickles get really soft inside. Just use stronger or more vinegar, i mix a Little red vinegar in when i make pickles to give them more umph

[@pattheplanter]

Called grandis because the flowers are large, up to 7cm across. Linnaeus classified it as a bryony, Bryonia grandis, so compared to that the flowers are big. Shame you didn't find another fully ripe one to try.

[@arnoldmmbb]

9:06 Kitty moment

[@alexdrockhound9497]

the important comment! 😻

[@noahgreene7282]

Thank you so much. Goijg to use these extenesively

[@trex70]

The ripe Tindora. The fibre and color reminds me on a Rose hip

[@tcltv-ei2eu]

cook it first. Then heat coconut oil, add black mustard, when it almost solutters add tiny pieces od red onion, dried red chillies crushed and garlic crushed. Then eat it like this after adding salt. Healthy diet food

[@lightfusegetaway]

Love the vid... I get these and eat them raw with salads occasionally. Wondered how they pickled, thanks for giving it a go. Guess I'll be trying that next time I hit the Asian market!

[@zarina6432]

Loved this video ❤

[@katherinevallo2326]

I like pickling tindora. If I ever find it ripened I'll try making it into a fruit "butter". I love making fruit butters even yam and sweet potato and squash butters. Maybe try making it into a curd if I can find it ripened.

[@jrcorsey]

I appreciated the crunch crunch asmr, and that's not normally my jam. Or my pickle, whatever.

[@shokka3]

Have them all over south Florida. Delicious!!!

[@August0Moura]

It looks similar to "Melothria Cucumis" here in Brazil, it also tastes like cucumber, but it's yellow when ripe

[@pattigibson4396]

I have this growing everywhere in my garden on ivy vines. The birds don't seem to like them. I always thought they were toxic.

[@singagency1481]

I used to grow the vine once. Very easy and very abundance. Eventually, birds keep coming to my house and propagate the seeds. Now my whole neighborhood is lush with them and I was blamed. The leaves does look like ivy.

[@andrewwinson5866]

I made an impromptu curry with it the one time I found it in a store around here (Boston area)

[@kromaveil]

Tindora is really good sauteed with other vegetables in a Jalfrezi.

[@akiraotoishi5756]

itd be really cool if you tried making real deserts like a cake with fruit. i think this might provide some really good ideas. dont worry if youre not a good baker we support you.

[@phoenixpinkmyn5535]

Given their high-crispness, I'd love to use these for sandwich-style sliced pickles. They tend to get much softer in the pickle process.

[@Melissa0774]

Do you think the ripe version would be good for juicing? I have a big Indian supermarket near me in central NJ, called Patidar, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen these in there.

[@protocetid]

one of the crunchiest vegetables or fruits I’ve ever heard

[@zacharybenson6195]

You gotta review the root of another Coccinea: the anchote (Coccinea abyssinica). I may try to grow some this year!

[@meisteremm]

Finally! People are starting to realize that 4 inches is more than enough!

[@jenm1]

Indian and Chinese grocery stores have the coolest veggies and fruits. It's always an adventure going into them and patronizing a much needed market since we're oversaturated with bananas and apples. Granted, those are more seasonal, but I need variety :(

[@Jawnexplores]

1:20 perfect comedic timing 🤣

[@paulus.tarsensus]

...still waiting for the spin off cooking show, *Jared's Kitchen* . You would need a side kick, of course. I see a bigger role for THE CAT, lol.

[@cd-zw2tt]

Cucurbitae seem to be a large family that do have similar-tasting juicy members. It’s also interesting because they have fatty-tasting members as well.

[@iaw7406]

parvats have an amazing texture, please try/review

[@DanielLLevy]

Wow! One of the worst mistakes of my life was planting Coccinia grandis in my Ramat Gan, Israel, community garden. This is an exceedingly weedy creeper, and each node of the runner stalks on the ground sends down a thick, tough taproot. This thing climbs up trees and smothers them! If you disconnect the thick, corky liana from its root at the base of the tree, it does not die, even in the hot and dry weather that we customarily call "Summer". In Winter, Coccinia just sits quiet within its taproots and waits. It took me over two years to completely extirpate it, and it kept coming back from its seeds in the ground many years after that: a total nightmare of a plant! The ripe red fruits are, as you said, edible. Well, barely. Nobody among us took any liking for them. I tried to make pickles in a similar way you have, but without boil-killing anything and without any sugar (none of us is German!), so that a lactic fermentation is allowed to go partway in an initially acidic brine. I also use whole Coriander fruits! The result was a total disaster! The outside remained crunchy as you said, but the inside, oh boy! It was a totally repulsive, hyaline, bitter mucilage-like ooze, and the whole jar went straight to the thrash bin since tossing anything that salty in a community garden composter is a major sin! I should have listened to the bloke at the Tel Aviv University Botanical Garden that answered me laconically, "just don't!", when I asked him about this plant!

[@aza8800]

Wow talk about a crunch on that !fruit!

[@Lia-ij5fn]

I'm curious about the American style pickle, but I love achar, and with the crunchy texture, tindora would seem so good. I could live off of various achar and good rice, though. I want this with green chile!

[@arcane3464]

In North East India, it's called potol, and if it's a little sour then it's called koondooli. There are two types of species found here.

[@Atomic_Mushroom]

in india we stirfry tindora with chilli and garlic, really good

[@geneard639]

Ive seen these at my local Indian Farmers Market, both fresh green and pickled, and wondered what they were.

[@splendidcolors]

They are probably crunchy enough to stay crisp if you can your fresh-pack (vinegar brined) pickles in a hot water bath.

[@richardbernard6845]

Bravo Jared!

[@naninani1549]

As far I know there are edible one and another wild one grows every where which are not edible and are bigger in size , one of the most common vegetable in indian cooking especially in the south indian cooking just pan fry them some chilies,onions, peanuts add Sesame powder or peanut 🥜 powder at the end tastes wonderful.

[@ralphmueller3725]

Haven't seen one of these in my feed for a while. I was getting worried.

[@themadscientest]

How about "smite and salt"? Would you say these would be good enough to just split down the middle, sprinkle salt on it, and eat?

[@ongoingplague3148]

since soft pickles are a textural nightmare for me i think i'd absolutely LOVE some dill tindora pickles. that crunch though.

[@flyingflowers1889]

Do try pointed gourd also Looks similar But taste is different

[@rocketamadeus3730]

"That's me flickin' it. Like that sound?"

[@BoannBoyne]

I bet those would make a great pickle

[@laurajames8071]

I probably would like the tindora because my favorite vegetable is the cucumber.

[@cat3crazy]

How many different spices do you have? I've never heard of several of the spices you used while making the stir fry. Do you use a spice after you've had it quite some time. I heard that you should replace your spices once a year to always have fresh spices on hand. I don't do it. Some of my spices are really old because I don't use them. I would like to do more cooking for myself. I can not handle anything spicy. Can you recommend a site where I might find some simple dishes to make. Vegetarian is fine. I'm not much of a meat eater.

[@garydeforve5055]

What about the cucamelon? Extremely similar, no?

[@WeirdExplorer]

those have less of a vegetal taste but yeah similar. I linked my episode on them in the endscreen.

[@cd-zw2tt]

an incredible new picklable vegetable

[@bigbear2310]

There's nothing quite like a warm, cooked tindora to enjoy with chapati. I miss having it.

[@paulus.tarsensus]

Nice vid, Jared. The ripe fruits look amazing, but apparently are nothing special from your assessment and other posts online. The tindora stir-fry you made looked good, but my eyebrows kept rising more with each new 'input' of spices and herbs and especially the sea salt: less is more.

[@lowpoul5552]

Hi where is that floating market? Next to bangkok?

[@glossaria2]

Wow. You've either got a spectaculat mike, or those are REALLY REALLY crunchy.

[@sajadsalam]

Watermelon's taste + cucumber scent + Prickly pears texture

[@test74088]

Is that a vintage Wegman's plastic shopping bag at 3:10?

[@Smex]

WHOAAAA it grows so huge

[@domo5458]

Sick content bro! Very detailed and intresting. :)))

[@WeirdExplorer]

Glad you liked it!

[@CoperliteConsumer]

I would say larger than adequate, some may even say its too much even!

[@fburton8]

That wasn't Indian supermarket musak though, was it? 😄 ETA: Well, I thoroughly enjoyed that!

[@snehamandal4361]

You should try to male kimchi whit it

[@na195097]

I wonder how it would be in a bread and butter pickle instead of dill.

[@davids9027]

Tindora seems to ripen similarly to bitter melon which stays green ans crunchy until it ripens by reddening and softening at the tip then peeling back to drip bloody olooking red seeds. btw i do not recommend eating ripe bitter melon.

[@muralip2052]

You should really pick one that is lightly yellowish on the outside. They have a yellow to reddish flesh. That’s sweeter than cucumber.

[@KurtWickham]

My mom told me about the red ones, when she was a little girl in the Philippines, she and her friends used to find these in vacant lots and next to canals in the city. They were kid's snacks - adults really didn't eat them. She called them susu ng carabao - ie; " water buffalo teats"

[@naninani1549]

Actually there are wild ones grows every where which are not edible for atleast to humans and ones that edible you find in Markets,

[@KurtWickham]

@@naninani1549 Coccinia grandis has a lot of cultivars - some which are bitter when mature or bitter when immature, or neither- some are grown mainly for their leaves and not the fruits - my mom never had a problem with bitter ones, she never mentioned that

[@RolloTonéBrownTown]

Michael looks so much like this one actor. I actually had to double take!

[@fierygamingzilla69]

I bet these would be amazing pickled

[@ameythegooner]

Even Bitter Gourd and Snake Gourd fruits turn vibrantly red and explody / extremely fragile when ultra ripe.