Envoy at 04:21, 1 August 2007

2007-08-01T04:21:04Z

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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Winter melon''
| image = W tougan4091.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Nearly mature winter melon
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Cucurbitales]]
| familia = [[Cucurbitaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Benincasa]]''
| species = '''''B. hispida'''''
| binomial = ''Benincasa hispida''
| binomial_authority = [[Carl Peter Thunberg|Thunb.]]
}}

The '''winter melon''' ({{zh-cp|c=冬瓜|p='''dōngguā'''}}, [[Japanese language|Japanese]] 冬瓜（とうがん）'''tougan''', '''tormuj''' in [[Bengali]] and पेठा in [[Hindi]], Boodagumbala in [[Kannada]], Boodida gummadi kaaya in [[Telugu language|Telugu]] or Kumbalanga in Malayalam, Upo in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]), also called '''white gourd''' or '''ash gourd''' or '''petha''', is a [[vine]] grown for its very large [[fruit]], eaten as a [[vegetable]]. The fruit is fuzzy when young. By maturity, the fruit loses its hairs and develops a [[wax]]y coating, giving rise to the name '''wax gourd''', and providing a long [[shelf life]]. The melon may grow as large as 1-2 metres in length. The word "[[melon]]" in the name is somewhat misleading, as the fruit is not sweet.

Originally domesticated in [[Southeast Asia]], the winter melon is now widely grown in [[East Asia]] and [[South Asia]] as well. In North [[India]] it is cut into rectangular pieces and boiled in a sugar syrup to create a translucent, almost clear candy or sweet, and is often flavored with [[rose water]]. In this form it keeps and cans well allowing it to be sold in canned form around the world. In South [[India]] it is used to make curries.

The winter melon requires very warm weather to grow but can be kept through the winter much like [[winter squash]]. The winter melon can typically be stored for 12 months. The melons are used in stir fry or to make [[winter melon soup]], which is often served in the scooped out melon, which has been intricately decorated by scraping off the waxy coating.

Occasionally, it's used to produce a [[fruit drink]] which has a very distinctive taste. It is usually sweetened with caramelised sugar, which enhances the taste.

The [[shoot]]s, [[tendril]]s, and [[leaf|leaves]] of the plant may also be eaten as [[leaf vegetable|greens]].
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'''Winter melon''' is a [[common name]] for the '''inodorus''' [[cultivar group]] of the [[muskmelon]] (''Cucumis melo'' L), or one of its members alternatively known as '''casaba''', '''[[Honeydew (melon)|honeydew]]''', or '''Persian'''.

==Vernacular names==

* '''[[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin Chinese]]:''' [[wikt:冬|冬]][[wikt:瓜|瓜]] ([[Pinyin]]: dōng guā, [[Wade-Giles]]: tung¹ kwa¹)
*'''[[Japanese language|Japanese]]''' 冬瓜（とうがん） tougan
* '''[[English language|English]]''': ash gourd, Chinese winter melon, fuzzy melon, petha, wax gourd, winter melon, white gourd
* '''[[French language|French]]:''' courge cireuse, bidao, courgette velue
* '''[[India]]:''' petha, pethakaddu
* '''[[Indonesia]]:''' beligo
* '''[[Kannada]]:''' boodagumbala
* '''[[Malay]]:''' kundur
* '''[[Malayalam language|Malayalam]]:''' kumbalanga
* '''[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]:''' abóbora d’água, comalenge
* '''[[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]:''' upo
* '''[[Telugu Language (Andhra Pradesh)]]:''' booDida Gummadikaaya
* '''[[Thai language|Thai]]:''' ฟัก
* '''[[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]:''' bí đao
* '''[[Bengali]]:''' Tormuj

==References==
*[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/Crops/MelonWinter.html Melon, Winter] (Purdue University)

==See also==
* [[Double steaming]] for a Cantonese dish called ''Winter melon urn'' (冬瓜盅).
* [[Sweetheart cake]], a famous sweet Chinese pastry made with winter melon.

== External links ==
* [http://database.prota.org/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=QBE_QUERY&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fdatabase.prota.org%2Fsearch.htm&TN=PROTAB~1&QB0=AND&QF0=Species+Code&QI0=Benincasia+hispida&RF=Webdisplay PROTAbase on ''Benincasia hispida'']
* [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Benincasa.html Multilingual taxonomic information from the University of Melbourne]
* [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Benincasa+hispida Benincasa hispida]
* [http://www.cucurbit.org/family.html Benincasa hispida] Click on Benincasa in the list on the lower left. 

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Winter melon.jpg|Winter melon. Diameter of the bamboo is about 2 cm.
</gallery>

[[Category:Vegetable-like fruits]]
[[Category:Melons]]
[[Category:Filipino cuisine]]

Winter melon - Revision history

Envoy at 04:21, 1 August 2007