Bitter Melon

Put the trellis up before you sow. The vine reaches two metres and is a nuisance to train once it is running.

Soak the seed overnight, then sow 2cm deep into warm soil from October.

Space the plants 50cm apart along the trellis.

Keep the water up once the fruit is setting. A dry spell now means small bitter fruit and not many of them.

Pinch out the growing tip once the vine reaches the top of the trellis. Side shoots carry most of the fruit.

Pick while the skin is still pale green and firm. The fruit only gets more bitter as it ripens.

About 15 to 20cm long is the usual picking size.

Harvest every few days. Regular picking keeps the vine producing.

A fruit that has turned orange is past eating, but the red coating around the seeds inside is sweet and worth trying.

Slice, salt the pieces and leave them ten minutes, then rinse. That takes the hard edge off the bitterness.

Stir-fry with egg, garlic and a little chilli.

Or stuff the whole fruit and braise it slowly.

Pair it with something rich or salty. On its own the bitterness has nothing to push against.

Let one good fruit stay on the vine until it turns orange and starts to split open.

Scoop out the seeds with their red coating.

Rub the coating away under water and rinse the seeds clean.

Dry them fully on paper, out of the sun, then store in a paper envelope.