A Houma, LA, homeowner finds an interesting species of vege-melon growing among her cucumbers and cantaloupes. Thanks to accidental crossbreeding, I'm able to post an article with a silly title.
(AP) They're a yard long and a good few inches across. The skin is waxy, sort of like a cucumber, but yellow and ridged like a canteloupe. A half dozen of them grew between the cucumbers and cantaloupes in a Houma home garden.
"We call it a cuculoupe," Karen Dusenbery said.
As good a name as any.
"Science is strange sometimes," LSU AgCenter agent Barton Joffrion said after examining the whatsits...Both are members of the Cucurbit family, which includes pumpkins and gourds as well as melons and cucumbers.
Cucumbers and cantaloupes are closely related enough to swap genes, Joffrion said. He'd never seen anything like the Dusenberys' whatever.
"In the first generation, they'll cross and you'll get an unusual fruit," Joffrion said.
The firm flesh inside is yellow and somewhat sweet but has a flavor more like cucumber than cantaloupe, Tim Dusenbery said.
The Dusenberys said they are saving the seeds and hope to get more next year...
Full text here. Since I love cucumber melon fragrances, I wonder if Bath & Body Works will come out with a cuculoupe body spray, lotion, body wash, etc. I wouldn't mind tasting a cuculoupe, either. Hear that, Rainbow Whole Foods?
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