WTF Food: Cucamelon

We might have stumbled across the cutest fruit ever. It is a “savory fruit” known as the cucamelon. The little melon that could is the size of a grape but looks like a miniature watermelon. Even more mind-blowing, the cucamelon doesn’t taste what you would expect and actually has the flavors of a cucumber and a lime.

The bizarre fruit is native to Mexico and Central America and not a genetically-modified hybrid that is grown in a cucamelon laboratory. It’s a Central American delicacy we have been missing out on. But not anymore! If you don’t see the baby cucumbers at your farmer’s market, you can purchase the seeds of the rare fruit for just $2.50 and can have a garden of cucamelon glory in no time. The plant grows into beautiful vines and creates a large bounty of bite size melons that are easier to grow than regular cucumbers. Even better, they are resistant to drought, happy to grow outside and pests stay away.

So what do you do with the mouse melon besides pop it into your mouth? You can pickle them, chop them up into a beautiful salad or create a fresh salsa. But we kind of like the idea of spearing one of the adorable fruits and placing it in our martini. Don’t you?

Your summer won’t be complete until you check eating a cucamelon off of your foodie to-do list. Let the hunt (or the gardening) begin.

Have you ever heard of a cucamelon? What is the tiniest fruit that you love?

Feature image via