I've determined that I am a produce junkie

[Ruth n Jersey]

I can't seem to get through the produce department without buying something. Most times I have no idea what it is I'm buying but I can't resist. I tell myself I'll figure it out at home. No smart phone to look it up. I take my chances. We have a few foreign supermarkets around and I find these so intriguing.
Recently I found an Indian supermarket. If the hubby wasn't sitting in the car waiting for me I'd have been in there for hours.
I purchased a cute little thing called a bitter melon. It looked like a baby alligator.
After reading about it back home I found that it is mainly for medicinal purposes. Actually it is said to cure most everything. I'm not sure if I will try it. Maybe I don't want to live that long.
Has anyone heard of this? Do you like to try different produce?

 

[Marie5656]

OK, that is different. We have an Indian market here too. Some Asian ones too, How do you use it? Is it eaten raw, cooked or what? Let us know if you use it.
Gee, and I thought I was being exoctic because I bought a couple blood oranges the other day

 

[RadishRose]

Yes, it's at our Indian grocery. I haven't tried it yet- actually I forgot all about it, so I'll have to look it up. It is supposed to be good for diabetes I think.

 

[RadishRose]

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-795/bitter-melon
https://www.drugs.com/npc/bitter-melon.html

 

[Kaila]

I can't seem to get through the produce department without buying something. Most times I have no idea what it is I'm buying but I can't resist.

This is an unusual problem, you have!

I don't think I have heard this before, and do not know if there is any treatment or cure for it.

 

[Ruth n Jersey]

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-795/bitter-melon
https://www.drugs.com/npc/bitter-melon.html

Sorry for the double photo. RadishRose after reading about it I think I'll just throw it in the compost heap. Way to many possible side effects. Cute little thing though. I've grown attached to it sitting in my veggie bin.

 

[StarSong]

When in an ethnic market I ask other shoppers what various produce and products are for. People are generally quite helpful and enjoy explaining their foods, including warning me off of things that are acquired tastes, spicy, or bitter.

 

[Marie5656]

When in an ethnic market I ask other shoppers what various produce and products are for. People are generally quite helpful and enjoy explaining their foods, including warning me off of things that are acquired tastes, spicy, or bitter.

I have done that too. I have gotten some good cooking tips.

 

[Aunt Bea]

That's a new one for me.

I wander through the produce aisle looking at all of the exotic items wondering who buys them and how they are used.

I stick with what my mother and my grandmother fed me but I do like to sample new things or new ways of preparing the old favorites when I get the chance.

 

[treeguy64]

I am also a produce junkie. I, too, cannot help myself, when it comes to perusing grocery stores that cater to those from far-flung parts of our planet, and buying a few new items in the produce section. I have made some interesting discoveries, the very, very long green beans being my latest. I found them inferior to good old green beans, texture and taste wise.

 

[RadishRose]

I bought a piece of jackfruit once; it was pretty good. Starfruit is pretty; tastes little like a sweet cucumber. Purple potatoes are fun.

One time when the boys were small, a store was offering real sugar canes. I bought a few, tried my best to hack them into pieces outside for the boys to get the juice. They were just amazed to learn where sugar came from.

 

[Pappy]

Overview Information

Bitter melon is a vegetable used in India and other Asian countries. The fruit and seeds are used to make medicine.

People use bitter melon for diabetes, stomach and intestinal problems, to promote menstruation, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

 

[Ruthanne]

I guess I'm just used to buying the "usual" produce and I don't buy a lot. I make very little last pretty long the way I manage it. I sometimes look at the strange produce items but that's about as far as I go.

 

[terry123]

I buy just what I can use so it will not go bad. When I had a house I had a compost bin that was so handy. I bought more than with a husband and kids to feed.