General Information
Snake gourds are long and curved vegetables that fall into two different categories. There are the extremely long varieties that are grown for ornamental purposes and have hard skin and there are those grown for eating and medicinal purposes. These Snake gourds have a waxy green skin and are often speckled or striped with a lighter shade of green. The fruit is eaten when young.
Longer varieties are best harvested when they are between 16 and 18 inches long. Smaller varieties are best harvested at 6 to 8 inches in length. When the gourd is young, the seeds are fairly nonexistent and the pulp around the seed mass is firm. The taste of a Snake gourd is similar to that of a cucumber. As a Snake gourd gets older, the rind gets hard and turns red. The taste becomes bitter and the insides gelatinous. The seeds are very hard and look similar to jagged-edged watermelon seeds.
Snake gourds are native to southeastern Asia, Australia and the islands of the Western Pacific. Originally domesticated in India, the serpent-like gourd can be found growing in Africa and other tropical and sub-tropical areas around the world. Botanically known as Trichosanthes cucumerina, Snake gourd seeds traveled from China to Europe via traders in the early 18th century, and were believed to have been planted at Monticello by Thomas Jefferson in 1820.
