Bitter melon

A tropical vine bitter melon is prized by cultures around the world for it’s health benefits and unique taste.

The bitterness is most likened to dandelion greens with the crunch of celery.

It grows decently well as an annual at least as far north as Iowa

This variety Abashi, has excellent heat tolerance and comes from Okinawa

I like bitter melon best cooked in strong curry where the bitterness isn’t really noticable, and prepared like that I find it absolutely delicious. I plan to grow it for the rest of my life

There’s lots of health claims related to it, and I’ll be one more anecdote for you, it feels healthy, you feel good with bitter melon