This unusual vegetable, which ranges in size from as small as baby courgettes to as large as cucumbers, is very much an acquired taste. It has as many detractors as it has fans, even among the Chinese, but those who love it insist it is worth the effort to appreciate its taste. Bitter melon has a bumpy dark to pale green skin, and a slightly bitter quinine flavour that has a cooling effect in one’s mouth. Not surprisingly, it was originally prized for its supposed medicinal qualities: something so bitter had to be good medicine. Used unpeeled, this tropical vegetable has a fibrous seed core, which is usually cut away, leaving a thin ring of flesh. It is used in soups, stir-fried, steamed or quick-braised. A popular preparation, which reduces its bitterness, is to stuff it with seasoned pork and steam it. It is often paired with strong, pungent ingredients, such as black beans, garlic or chilli, whose flavours also tone down the melon’s bitterness. In some parts of China it is often dried and used as a medicine. It is also thought to purify the blood and to cool the digestive system. The greener the melon, the more bitter its taste; most cooks wisely look for the milder yellow-green varieties.