Cooking with Bitter Melon ( Momordica Charantia) One of my favorite TV show is the Food Network's "Chopped". The basket intrigues me and the chefs' response to a challenging basket and a ticking clock is nothing short of dramatic. On one episode the chefs were challenged with the Bitter Melon, an ingredient I grew up knowing as "Foo Gaw". The Bitter Melon is from the same family as the Jamaican herbal tea Cerasee and has an equally acerbic taste as the dreaded tea that we would have to drink whenever we had a bellyache or needed some form of "washout". Anyway, back to "Chopped", the Bitter Melon bowled over a few of the chefs who had no idea how to cook it. One chef just sliced it up and put it in a salad, I felt sorry for the judges who would have to taste that because I am all too familiar with its taste. Needless to say, that episode brought back memories of my father and his love for the bitter melon and how much that influence...
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