Bitter gourd is the most bitter.

bitter gourd (scientific name: Momordica charantia? L.) Bitter gourd (Cucurbitaceae) is an annual climbing tender herb with many branches; Stems and branches are pilose. Tendrils are slender and undivided. Petiole slender; Leaf blade membranous, green on top, pale green on back, palmately veined. Monoecious. Male pedicels slender, puberulent; Bracts green, slightly ciliate.

calyx lobes ovate-lanceolate, white pilose; Corolla yellow, lobes pilose; Stamens free. Female flowers solitary, pedicels puberulent; The ovary is spindle-shaped and the stigma is enlarged. The fruit is spindle-shaped or cylindrical, wrinkled and orange-yellow when ripe. The seeds are oblong and engraved on both sides. Flowering and fruiting period may-October.

Momordica charantia is native to East India and widely cultivated in tropical to temperate regions of the world. China is widely cultivated in both north and south. Bitter gourd is sweet and bitter, mainly used as a vegetable, but also as a sugar stain; Mature pulp and aril are also edible.

Extended information:

Function of Momordica charantia:

Clearing away heat and toxic materials: Momordica charantia can relieve the vexation in the heart and eliminate toxins in the body. The best way to eat bitter gourd is cold salad. Cold salad can well retain the vitamins contained in bitter gourd. If the method of stir-frying is used, these vitamins will be lost in the process of stir-frying, and the content of oil after stir-frying is relatively high, so people will consume more oil after eating, which can not play a role in cooling down the fire.

Beauty and skin rejuvenation: Eating bitter gourd often can enhance the vitality of cortex and make skin tender and fit. Pouring fresh bitter gourd juice or decocting soup is a good supplementary food therapy for liver fire, epigastric pain and damp-heat dysentery; Fresh bitter gourd is mashed and externally applied to treat carbuncle and furuncle; Children are prone to prickly heat in summer. Slice bitter gourd and try to wipe the prickly heat on the body, which can be cured as soon as possible. Bitter gourd can dissipate heat and relieve summer heat by boiling water or cooking food.

lowering blood sugar: mussel and bitter melon soup is the top grade for lowering blood sugar. The crude extract of Momordica charantia contains substances similar to insulin, which has obvious hypoglycemic effect. Chinese medicine believes that bitter gourd is sweet, bitter and cold, which can clear away heat, relieve annoyance and quench thirst; The clam meat is salty and cold, which can clear away heat and nourish yin, quench thirst and induce diuresis. The combination of the two can clear away heat and nourish yin, which is suitable for diabetes patients with stomach yin deficiency and heat.

nourishing blood and liver: bitter gourd tastes bitter, cold when it is born, and warm when it is cooked. Raw food clears summer heat and purges fire, and relieves fever and annoyance; Cooked food nourishes the blood and nourishes the liver, moistens the spleen and tonifies the kidney, and can eliminate pathogenic heat, relieve fatigue, clear the heart and improve eyesight, invigorate qi and strengthen yang. Although the weather is hot in summer, people should not eat too much bitter food, and it is best to mix it with spicy food, so as to avoid bitter taste and help to replenish lung qi.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Bitter Melon.