Name Variations[]
- pepino melon
- mellow fruit
- tree melon
- melon pear
- sweet cucumber
- melon shrub
- pear melon
- pepino dulce
About Pepino[]
The pepino dulce fruit resembles a melon (Cucumis melo) in color and flavor and thus it is also called pepino melon or melon pear, but pepinos are only distantly related to melons and pears. Another common name, "tree melon", is more often used for the Papaya (Carica papaya) and the pepino dulce plant does generally not look much like a tree.
A tropical fruit, native to South America, that is a small egg-shaped melon with a mildly sweet cantaloupe and pear flavor. The purple-lined outer skin ripens from a pale green to a golden yellow and can be eaten raw, similar to an apple, consuming both the skin and the orange to yellow inner flesh. The inner fruit is juicy and contains edible soft seeds. When served, an unripe pepino can be baked like a squash or when ripe, cut in half and served like a melon. This melon can also be used as an appetizer or an ingredient for salads, beverages, and sorbets. For storing, the pepino can ripen at room temperature or when ripe, can be stored in the refrigerator.