Upo

Upo is a type of gourd which grows to enormous length and size and sometimes, outrageous shapes. Typically, its skin is pale green or pale yellow in color and its eaten when it is unripe. If you let it ripen, the fleshy pulp becomes fibrous an when the tough outer covering is stripped away, the fibrous part then becomes the familiar luffa (although I think patola is the more popular plant used for luffa). The skin of the gourd also hardens when ripe and you can take the entrails out and fashion stuff out of the gourd. My father had this huge upo which he fashioned into some kind of a handbag. They've been also made into water carriers and who knows what else. But since food is our topic, we'll talk about this vegetable as food, not as material for a cottage industry.

I think upo is also known as winter melon because of the snowy consistency or color of its pulp (or maybe because they last long after harvest in summer and become a staple food in winter, in China that is, I don't know). Not really sure about that. But it is one vegetable that I hated when I was a kid, because it has a peculiar smell and taste to it that is not very enjoyable for a kid. But it's an acquired taste. It's good sauteed with shrimp, or as an additive to misua noodles. I think they also make candied upo which is quite good.

More information about upo and similar vegetable:

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