CASSABANANA II

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sicana odorifera
FAMILY: Cucurbitaceae

A striking member of the cucumber family, the Cassabanana, Sicana odorifera is a native of Brazil. It can also be called Sikana or Musk Cucumber.

It is a fast-growing perennial vine. Its young stems are hairy and it climbs using tendrils that attach themselves to the smoothest surfaces. The leaves are grey and hairy and can grow to 30 centimetres wide. The flowers are urn-shaped and can be white or yellow. The male flower is 2 cm long while the female is 5 cm long.

The fruit requires a high temperature during the ripening season to ripen perfectly. The fruit is like a large cucumber, 30 to 60 cm long and 7 to 11 cm thick. The hard shell can be orange-red, maroon, dark purple with tinges of violet or jet black. Cut in half, lengthwise the fruit presents a 2-cm-thick wall of orange-yellow flesh with a thickly packed central code of seeds and juice. The flat seeds are oval and light brown with a dark brown stripe.

Eating it has been a problem to members growing it in Australia. The way it has been eaten was to slice thinly and eat. But those who tried it this way did not enjoy it. At the Ekka in 1994, a South American lady told us the way to use it was to make a drink using milk and sugar. So we tried it out the next time we received some fruit.

To a quarter of a cup of Cassabanana juice I added ¾ cup of milk and sugar to taste. The resulting drink was delicious - just like a rock melon milkshake. Other ways to use it is for jams or preserves. The immature fruit can be cooked as a vegetable in soups or stews.

The fruit can be kept for some months as long as it is kept dry and out of the sun. In fact, some people like to put it in their linen closets as they believe that it repel moths.

In Puerto Rico, the flesh is cut and steeped in water with a little sugar. Overnight and at room temperature, the mixture will ferment slightly. This liquor, if sipped frequently, will relieve sore threats as will eating the flesh.

Capricornia Branch Newsletter, Vol. 13 No.4

DATE: November 1996

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