Blanche Nonken > wrote:

> Once in a rare while, I make a recipe that calls for bitter melon. It
> was originally one of those "I doubt they'll like it" things, but they
> did.
>
> The melon itself requires salting, rinsing and blanching before use,
> because it really *is* quite bitter.
>
> I picked up a few of good, fresh quality at the Halal market in Reston
> VA on the way home today, planning to can it in half-pint sizes to have
> portions of just the amount I need without having to drive miles to
> Shiva Grocers and find half-wilted stuff that's only barely what I want.
>
> I'm planning on using the PFB recipe for pressure-canning zucchini; any
> other comments or suggestions?
>
> ...Blanche

Follow-up:

Three nice, fresh "melons" (more like warty, nobbly cucumbers) slightly
longer than 12 inches long after cleaning and slicing yielded 5
half-pints. I salted them down last night, rinsed well this morning
then blanched them before canning. There was enough residual salt left
in the melon to salt the water.

40 minutes left them a little pale, but not mushy-looking. I'll make
that recipe in the next few days, and I'll let you all know how they
came out.