What is this

A lady gave this to my wife today at work and told her it was okra. It sure doesn’t look like any okra I have ever seen. Pepsi can for size comparison. image

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Armenian cucumber?

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Angled gourd or angled loofah, same thing. Eat like loofah/gourd. Peeled and cut up for stir frying.

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Thank you mamuang

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I have seen loofah sold as “Chinese okra.” Not sure why.

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It has a slippery texture like okra.
I really like winged Luffa ( angled luffa , Chinese okra .,…)

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ridged gourd would be the more recognizable name in south asia

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I made some into a veggie stir fry , I thought it tasted just fine

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I have it in my garden this year. I’ve heard many names for it including ridged loofah which is what I call it, but I think the okra name they told you comes from the name Chinese Okra. If you let them mature on the vine, they will be fibrous inside and can be used as scrubbers like regular loofah which is a close relative.

Although some seem to like to harvest them larger to get more food per fruit and take off all the skin, I like them at the size in your picture when the skin is a bit more tender. I just run a carrot scraper lightly over the ridges to take the harder edge off and then cut them in rounds like a zucchini. They stay firmer than zucchini in soups, etc. I just used some last night in a curry, substituting some sliced ridged gourd and some bottle gourd greens for the malabar spinach in this recipe:

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Like @zendog, we only eat younger ones. They are less fiberous and more tender.

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A question for any others who grow these. I’m getting a few a week now, but although the vines flowered starting in the beginning of August, it didn’t start setting the gourds until September. Are they short-day plants and that is to be expected or if I just get them going a little earlier next year I can get fruit earlier?

Here is today’s pick.

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A little nursery near me used to sell this edible gourd plant as “vining okra.” Apparently another common name for it.