It is a product of the earth that, from July to September and especially in Puglia, cannot be missing on the shopping list, but it is also the tasty and in some ways unprecedented topic of the new episode of “Il Gusto della Salute”,
the program of scientific study on good dietary practices curated by the immunologist Mauro Minelli, responsible for Southern Italy of the Foundation for Personalized Medicine.
There are several names by which it is known, mostly of dialectal derivation so that many do not understand what it is, often mistakenly mistaking it for a cucumber. Meloncella or “minunceddrha”, but also “cucumbaro” or “cucumbarazzu” thus recalling the cucurbits, or the botanical family of origin. The species is always the same, but the characteristics change according to the area in which this vegetable is produced. The fact is that the heterogeneous variety of nomenclature reflects the great diffusion of meloncella and its wide and historically rooted food consumption.
Cucumis melo is the scientific name for this cucurbit, just like melon. Yes, because meloncella is nothing but a particular type of melon that is eaten unripe.
In reality, there are also different varieties of the same meloncella that can be found on the stalls of the local markets. Among the many, the elongated one stands out for its diffusion and notoriety, with light green skin alternating with slightly darker bands and with a thin hair on the surface, although other variants characterized by different chromatic shades are also found , others mottled, smooth or more wrinkled.
It is consumed exclusively raw, perhaps in salads, although it is also an excellent refreshing snack in the hot afternoons of the Salento summer, enjoyed as if it were a fruit.
Undoubtedly good, certainly valid for the nutrition of adults and children, but … can people with gastritis, digestive disorders or colitis eat it without fearing any contraindications? What about allergic people? And those who are on a diet can choose meloncella as a low-calorie vegetable? What difference, if any, is there between meloncella and the more common cucumber?
Spotlights turned on, therefore, on this summer vegetable, offered by generous plants, halfway between a fruit and a vegetable, of which, as always, the experts of “Il Gusto della Salute” will draw the profile highlighting its strengths and weaknesses and giving the most correct information for a prudent and informed consumption.
The meloncella in “il Gusto della Salute” on Friday 23 September
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