Hot search! The potassium content is nearly 3 times that of bananas. This melon promotes bowel movements and is very low in calories. I really recommend you try it!

The TV series "People in the Alley" has been very popular recently. In the play, Huang Ling got some snake melon seeds which were said to be very productive. In order to feed her son, Huang Ling and her neighbor Song Ying wanted to save money on vegetables to buy a TV for her son. So the two families hit it off and planted snake melons in the yard.

Picture: Screenshot of TV series plot

Unexpectedly, the snake gourds had a bumper harvest. They were fried, made into snake gourd soup, and made into snake gourd buns. They were so delicious that they could not be eaten up. When we first ate them, everyone praised them highly. But after eating them for several months, the two families wanted to vomit when they saw the snake gourds.

Picture: Screenshot of TV series plot

The wonderful plot unexpectedly made snake melon popular, and it became a hot search topic, attracting widespread attention. Many viewers wondered, what exactly is this snake melon? Is it really so productive? Why have many people never seen or eaten it? What is its nutritional value? Is it delicious and worth eating?

There are also snakes in the plant kingdom

Snakes in the animal kingdom make many animals and people afraid to approach them. Many people feel scared when they see them from a distance. Unfortunately, the appearance of snake melon looks very similar to a snake. It can be said to be a "snake" in the plant kingdom, so many people call it "scary".

This is not the case in the play "People in the Alley", which played out a very interesting plot. Xiao Zhedong (Song Ying's son) was deeply "poisoned" by snake melons. Not only did he write about snake melons in every sentence, he also secretly brought snake melons to school to scare teachers and female classmates, staging a "horror prank".

Picture: Screenshot of TV series plot

Picture: Screenshot of TV series plot

Snake gourd is also called snake bean, snake loofah, snake bean, etc. Its name comes from its appearance. It looks very much like a snake and feels cool to the touch. Snake gourd is a plant of the genus Trichosanthes in the Cucurbitaceae family. It originated in tropical Asia such as India and Malaysia, and is widely distributed in Southeast Asian countries and Australia. It is also cultivated in West Africa, tropical America and the Caribbean. It is also cultivated in my country, but not much.

Snake melons are usually long and cylindrical, tapering at both ends, and the tail end is often bent into a snake shape. They are generally 130 to 170 cm long, with a horizontal stem of 4 to 7 cm. This is just the common size of snake melons, and there are longer ones. On September 18, 2017, a grower named Thangamuthu Arumugam in New Hyde Park, New York, USA, cultivated a 2.63-meter snake melon fruit; according to reports, a 3.2-meter-long snake melon was exhibited in Shouguang, Shandong in 2018, breaking the Guinness World Record.

When the snake gourd is young, its skin is grayish white with dark green and light green stripes, which makes it look like a white snake. When it is fully mature, it gradually changes from green to orange-yellow and then to orange-red, and visually looks like a red snake. It has a certain ornamental value at this time. It can be seen that the snake gourd is comparable to a snake in terms of length and appearance, and it is worthy of being called the "snake" in the plant kingdom.

Snake gourd is very "liveable"

Why do we eat less and plant less now?

Snake melon is very resilient,** and has a particularly high yield, with 25 to 30 fruits on a single plant,** and a single melon weighing more than 600 grams. You can eat as much as you cut, and the plant can heal its wounds on its own and continue to grow. It can be said to be "an indestructible cockroach and an indestructible melon."

Such a high-yield plant should be very popular under normal circumstances, but why is it so rare in the market now? This may be due to the following three reasons:

1

Not easy to grow

Although snake gourd is highly adaptable, resistant to high temperatures and drought, and can grow at 15-40℃, its seeds are large, with a hydrophobic layer on the outer surface of the seed coat. The seed coat is thick and woody, and it is easy to attach more mold spores, making it very easy to mold, so the germination rate and germination potential are low. If you want to plant it, you need to soak the seeds in warm water and sow them after germination, which is more troublesome.

Snake gourd seed picture: TV series screenshot

2

Psychological factors

Snake gourds look scary, but if you successfully plant one or two, the yard will be full of fruits. Imagine a yard full of snake gourds, "like a snake's nest during the day and a snake's nest at night." It's really easy to be scared.

Moreover, if you are in an area where snakes are present and a real one sneaks in, it would be difficult to identify it in a hurry, which would not only be dangerous but could also easily cause psychological trauma.

Picture: Screenshot of TV series plot

3

Bad smell

Fresh snake gourds emit a fishy smell, which most people cannot accept. This may be the plant's self-defense mechanism. But this smell will disappear after the snake gourd is cooked into a dish, and it tastes sweet instead. It can be regarded as a vegetable that "smells bad but tastes good".

Picture: Screenshot of TV series plot

Picture: Screenshot of TV series plot

In addition, snake melon is delicate and can be easily broken during harvesting and transportation. It has a high market cost, so it is relatively rare.

The nutrition of snake gourd is amazing

Snake gourd is a relatively niche vegetable belonging to the melon and vegetable category. It is somewhat related to loofah. Snake gourd is a plant of the genus Trichosanthes in the Cucurbitaceae family, while loofah is a plant of the genus Luffa in the Cucurbitaceae family.

Snake gourd and loofah have similar tastes, but snake gourd is not as soft and delicate as loofah. Most people think that its taste is not as good as loofah, like a copycat version of loofah. Although snake gourd is not as delicious as loofah, most of the nutrients in snake gourd are much better than loofah.

1

Higher calcium content than milk

**The calcium content of snake gourd is as high as 191 mg/100 g, which is higher than milk, and **nearly 5 times that of loofah. Although the calcium absorption rate of plant-based foods is not as good as that of milk, it is better in terms of high content and is also a good helper for our daily calcium supplementation.

2

The potassium content is better than bananas

**The potassium content of snake gourd is as high as 763 mg/100 g,**which is the best among vegetables,**which is better than bananas with high potassium content, nearly 3 times, and nearly 6 times that of loofah. And the magnesium content of snake gourd is also good, 2.5 times that of loofah, and the sodium content is lower than that of loofah. **Overall, snake gourd is a high-potassium, magnesium-rich, and low-sodium food, which is very suitable for people with high blood pressure and is very helpful in stabilizing blood pressure.

Even if you are not a hypertensive patient, the general population should pay attention to potassium supplementation. According to the data in "Energy and Major Nutrient Intake of Chinese Residents from 2015 to 2017", the average daily potassium intake of Chinese residents is only 1547 mg, which is far from the 2000 mg/day recommended in "Nutrient Reference Intake for Chinese Residents (2023)". Intake of more potassium not only helps prevent high blood pressure, but also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and coronary heart disease.

3

"Constipation Star" suggests staying

The dietary fiber content of snake gourd is quite good among vegetables. According to the data in the Chinese Food Composition Table, ** its insoluble dietary fiber is 2 grams per 100 grams, which is 3.3 times that of zucchini. ** Rich insoluble dietary fiber can promote the mechanical movement of the intestines and promote the excretion of feces.

In addition, even people who are losing weight can eat it with confidence. **The calories in snake gourd are lower than those in loofah, **only 18 kcal/100 g. As long as it is not cooked in a greasy way, there will be no "belly burden" and there is no need to worry about gaining weight.

Tips for eating snake melon

Snake gourd can be used for cooking or making soup. If you want to eat snake gourd, it is best to choose young gourd. This is the best time to eat it. It tastes sweet after being cooked. If you wait until the snake gourd is fully mature and the skin turns orange-red, it will not be delicious at this time. It will have a bitter taste and the flesh is loose, which is only suitable for viewing.

In addition, some people may be allergic to snake gourd. If it is the first time to eat it, it is recommended to try a small amount.

Summarize:

Snake gourd is very nutritious, especially for potassium supplementation, and can prevent constipation. The key is that it is also very friendly to people who are losing weight. However, it is too "productive". If you grow it at home, not only will the whole yard be filled with stench, but it is also easy to vomit after eating it. The key is that its snake-like appearance is simply an artificial "snake nest", which is psychologically unbearable for most people. By the way, would you plant a snake gourd just for the sake of curiosity?

References

[1] Zhang Chaoming, Deng Jianying. Correlation, principal component and cluster analysis of agronomic traits of snake gourd resources[J]. Seed, 2023, 42(9): 86-92F0003

[2] Li Xingxu, Xu Cuirong, Wang Yun, Zou Zhaobei. High-efficiency cultivation technology of snake melon in Wuhan area[J]. Yangtze River Vegetables, 2022(1):41-42

[3] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

Planning and production

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Wang Kang, Director of the Science Museum of the National Botanical Garden

Planning丨Zhong Yanping

Editor: Zhong Yanping

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin