There’s a reason this fruit is named bitter melon. When I was a kid, I thought I was being punished when my parents asked me to eat karela. As an adult, I find its bitterness intriguing, so unpalatable that with every bite, I seriously question my taste for enjoying something so ridiculously bitter. I wonder if other bitter melon fans feel the same way. Maybe we’ve learned to like it because of its supposed health benefits?
A strange analogy, but I’m going to compare bitter melon to beer.
I hated beer the first time I tried it, and truthfully, I still do… but most people eventually learn to love it. So, if you hate karela now, maybe one day you’ll wake up and decide that you’re in the mood for something extremely bitter – or maybe not. An interesting little fact – in China, bitter melon is sometimes used in place of hops in beer. So, maybe the beer analogy isn’t so strange after all. 😉 You don’t have to peel the karela when you make it, but doing so helps remove some of the bitterness. I love pairing bitter melon with sweet caramelized onions. Have you tried karela before? Like this recipe? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board now so you will remember to make it later!
