PARE : PART 7

Pare is so tasty when it's cooked well.
Although the taste is bitter.

We can reduce the bitterness using salt. 
The traditional way is washing the pare using salty water.

The other way is crushing the sliced pare using ground salt, until we get the 'foamy green water', then wash it on the flowing water twice. 
The picture below is sliced pare that ready to be cooked after crushed using the ground salt and then washed.
The bitter taste is disappear now.

Actually, behind the bitterness, we can find so many benefit for our body health.
Each 100 grams of fresh pare consists 19 calories, and 2 grams dietary fiber.
It also contains vitamin A, B, C, E and K.
High in minerals content such as Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosporus, Potassium, Sodium and Zinc.
Diabetics are usually drink juice from the fresh raw pare to reduce the glucose level on their blood, cause pare has hypoglycemic effect.
Here, we can find so many medicines that made from pare, are sold on the drugstore or pharmacy.  

Pare is well known as medicinal plant that used in traditional medicine.

It used to relieve diabetes, stomach complaints, cough, respiratory disease, skin disease, wounds, ulcer, gout, rheumatism, also as a laxative and anthelmintic agent.

Some researches shown that pare to be beneficial including cancer prevention, fever, HIV and AIDS, and other viral infections.

It has clinically potential activity in laboratory experiments.

But I think it needs further studies, especially about the how to use it and the dosage.

I think all of plant have so many benefits if we explore them.

Thanks reader for following this series.

Keep healthy and have a nice weekend.

PARE : PART 6

Actually, Pare is an easy growing plant.
As an annual, the life time is about 5-8 months.
I often find self seedling plant on my raised bed, even more on the path way on my garden.

The ripen fruit will be cracked, and the seeds will be fallen down onto the ground.

When the weather, especially the humidity is suitable, the seed will be germinated about 7-10 days after self sown.

Look the self seedling on my raised bed...
Look so lush during the rainy season.

This one is growing on the path way.

The little plants from self sown, grow so well on the path way.

The new plants from self seedling under the old pare vine.
Grow so jostle, I guess they are from the same fruit that fallen down on to the grown several weeks before.

With the minimal handling, this plant can grow well, even on the bare land.
On the better land that have lot of organic material and good watering, this plant will grow so well and so productive.
This plant is adaptable on the part shady area, but on the full sun area we  can find lot of  fruits hanging on the vine.

PARE : PART 5

The ripen fruit will turn yellow.
The skin and flesh will be smoother and sometimes cracked.
We can peek the inner side of the fruit...

When the immature fruit is split, we can find lots of white seeds and pith.
They still tender and smooth.
Actually it's usually removed when it will be cooked, cause it's  non edible part of this fruit.

On the medium maturity, the pith is turn reddish.
And the seed become a little harder.

Through the time, the fruit will get ripen and the seed turn harder.
The pith will turn red and become softer also juicier.
The seed will turn creamy into brownish.

Look the differences between the young, medium and ripen seeds.

The pith on the young pare is so difficult to be removed from the seed, but on the medium stage the pith is fairly easy to be removed.

I use to wash the ripen seeds, and cleans from the red pith.

Then, it will be dried and then saved for the next planting.

An easy way to get pare seed from our own garden.

PARE : PART 4

Pare plant will set the fruit so fast.

Three  days after pollination, the petal will be withered and then fallen.

The fruit will grow so fast, so we can harvest the fruit about 10 - 14 days after pollination.

Pare fruit is usually harvested when it has on medium maturity or nearly ripen.

When the skin is still greenish.

Actually, there are so many variety with different color of the skin.
The color tone is from deep green until creamy.

The shape and size is so various, depend on the variety.
Look a few of my collections...

The length is about 4-60 cm, and the diameter is about 3-6 cm.

And the texture of the skin also so various, depend on the variety.

To make the fruit long and straight, farmer usually use rope and give a load on the end of the fruit.
It's the same way with the oyong that we have talked last month.
I have never done that.
I only do wrapping to keep the fruit from the fruit flies attack.
Next, we will talk about the seed.

PARE : PART 3

Look the bright yellow color of the pare flowers...

So beautiful...

There are male and female flower on the same vine.
The flower blooms on the afternoon until the morning time.
It has a good smell, soft-sweet fragrance.

The picture below is a male flower.

And this one is female flower with the little fruit set below.
Look the difference...

The male flower is much more than the female flower.
The female flower is about 10-20 percents from total flowers on the vine.

When the pollination is success, the fruit will be formed.

The first flower bears on the second month after planting.

Next, we will talk about the fruit.

PARE : PART 2

Pare plant is herbaceous vine more than 7 meters.
Pare leaf has a unique shape.

The leaves bear simple, alternately.
The diameter is about 5-12 cm.
Each leaf has three to seven deeply separated lobes.

It has tendrils on the nodes.

The vine with its leaves are so beautiful foliage for me.

The leaf has a little bit bitter taste, but some times it has plain taste.
It's not just beautiful, but also so tasty.
On some place the leaves are cooked as curry, stir fried or tempura.
You can see my recipe from pare leaves here.

The leaves are sometimes used to treat diabetes, cause the juice of the leaves can reduce glucose level on the blood.

.
Look my pare vine...,  the leaves look so dense.
I have to give more support to keep pole sturdy.
Next we will talk about the flower.
Thank you for following and have a nice week!

PARE : PART 1

Last month, we have talked about oyong or looffah.

Now, for the monthly series we will talk about Pare.

Pare (Momordica caranthia) is a popular vegetable in Indonesia.

Here, we call it as pare, paria or parai.

It well known as bitter gourd, bitter melon, bitter squash or bitter cucumber.

The name according the taste, bitter.

On some variety the bitterness is so varies.

From a little bit bitter until very bitter.

But the bitterness will be reduced through a good processing.

This is my favorite vegetable, not just tasty but has a lot of benefit for our health.

This plant is a member of Cucurbitae family, a close relative to cucumber.

The plant is a dense vine, so I have to spruce the vine every week to keep them tidy and productive

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I grow almost all year round on my garden.

So I can pick them almost every week. 

It grows well on the warm weather.

On tropical area, this plant is only grown on the lowland until middle land on with the altitude up to 800 meters from sea level.

Next, we will talk about the leaves.

Enjoy the day, and have a wonderful week.

TAPAK DARA PINK : PINK PERIWINKLE

These are my pink periwinkle or here we call it as Kembang Tapak Dara.

A drought tolerant plant on my hot climate.

So lovely...

This is one from three varieties that I have.

Beautiful flowers...

ASTER

On so many party or ceremony, I find 'once used flower arrangement'.

For me it's not good enough.

Sometime we still find some fresh and beautiful flowers are wasted.

So, I take the fresh parts and re-arrange them into a new flower arrangement.

A cheap way to get the beauty that I couldn't find in my own home garden.

These are the aster on my new flower arrangement that I took it from a planting ceremony.

Actually, they were wasted before...

Now, just beautiful and fresh...