Gac Live Plant ( Momordica Cochinchinensis)

A robust, perennial climbing melon called gac (Momordica Cochinchinensis) is grown in Northeastern Australia and Southeast Asian nations. Gac is distinguished by its brilliant orange-reddish hue, which is the result of its high beta-carotene and lycopene concentration. In cooler or drier climates, the plant may go dormant, but in the equatorial zone, it flourishes all year long. The plant is occasionally grown for its edible fruit and the oil that can be extracted from the seeds in China and India. cooked fruit The young, immature fruit can be stuffed, stir-fried, cooked in curries, or boiled and eaten as a vegetable. Although not as bitter as M. Charantia’s fruit, the fruit has a bitter flavour. The fruit can be salted to get rid of this harshness.

The 20 cm long, oval fruit is yellow to crimson. The crimson, oily pulp that surrounds the seeds is cooked along with the seeds to flavour and give the rice dish “xoi gac,” which is eaten at celebratory events like weddings in Vietnam, its red hue. The seeds are also used to make an edible oil. Infantile rickets, xerophthalmia, and nyctalopia are all treated with the beta-carotene-rich oil that is derived from the seed membrane.

Common Name: Baby Jackfruit, Spiny Bitter gourd, Chinese Cucumber, Balsam Pear

Botanical Name:  Momordica Cochinchinensis

Bloom Time/Fruiting: 1 to 2 years

Maintenance Required: Moderate