Kiwano Syrup
Kiwano peels make excellent serving dishes. The unique orange, spiky skins of the fruit, (also known as the African Horned Melon ‘Cucumis metuliferus‘), certainly make a stunningly unique presentation. Here is a simple recipe for Kiwano Syrup:
Fruit of 1 kiwano
1/4 sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. flour
1/2 tbp. butter
Cut African Horned Melon in two, lengthwise. Into a bowl, scoop out pulp, (all seed capsules and juice). Use a melon baller or spoon to remove any remaining fruit/pulp from kiwano skins. Set aside.
Make a roue out the butter and flour. (Cook in small skillet until bubbly. Butter and flour are optional, as fruit and syrup will thicken into a syrup, but cook time will be longer.) Add bowl of fruit, sugar, and lemon juice to pan, and stir well. Allow syrup to continue to simmer (hot enough to be bubbling), stirring occasionally, for approximately fifteen minutes.
At this point, you will probably notice the seeds begin to separate from the gelatinous “capsules”. If you wish the syrup to be seedless, strain syrup through colander. Fill kiwano “boats” with ice cream or sherbet of your choice. ( I used vanilla ice cream this time, but I imagine a bright lime or raspberry sorbet would be much more visually stunning.) Top ice cream with cooled syrup and serve.
The syrup does not need to be strained in a colander. If you want more texture to your syrup, simply omit that step. I tasted some of the fruit/seeds that remained in the colander after straining, and I think I liked it even better. If you prefer a super simple dessert, simply top ice cream with freshly scooped kiwano fruit sweetened with a little sugar.