Introducing, Baker Creek's top 10 most unusual vegetables.
Heirloom vegetables are known for being out of the ordinary,
traits like gourmet flavor and eye-catching color
are treasured above mundane characteristics
like shipping quality or a shelf life,
and that's exactly what makes them so interesting
Here are our top 10 picks for most unusual vegetables.
Number 10, Pink Celery.
The brilliant bubblegum pink stems make this celery completely unique.
Pink Celery is popular in northern China, especially Beijing,
where it's served in high-end restaurants.
This tasty Asian-type celery is a great choice for
beginning gardeners as it's much easier to grow than European-type celery.
Number 9, Purple Sweet Potatoes.
These potent purple-fleshed sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidants.
Molokai Purple is a deep purple local variety from Hawaii.
The Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato is a cornerstone of the famously healthy diet
of the people of Okinawa, where more people live to one hundred
than anywhere else on the planet.
Number 8, Carolina Reaper.
The world's hottest pepper, this scorcher tops at over two million Scoville heat units,
which is several times that of the habanero.
These devious little peppers are fiery red with a little scythe-shaped tail at the base of many fruit,
hence the name "reaper."
Number 7, Bitter Melons.
Bitter Melon is a potent medicinal food originally from India but enjoyed widely across Asia.
The unusual, bumpy fruits are known to help treat type 2 diabetes and to
have anti-cancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Bitter melon is also a major part of the ultra healthy traditional Okinawan diet.
Young fruit have an intense bitter flavor but when fully ripe the fruit turns a deep
orange and bursts open revealing seeds covered in a sweet red, cherry-flavored pulp.
Number 6, Zucca Gourd
These monstrous gourds easily reach 30-100 pounds
making them the largest gourds in the world.
They're big, but they're also delicious.
You can pick them young, cook them like zucchini.
Number 5, Black Corn Maiz Morado.
This is the world's darkest corn, absolutely packed with antioxidants in
In South America, it's brewed into a special and highly revered drink called Chicha Morada.
This beverage had ceremonial importance in the Incan Empire and civilizations before it.
We love to make purple corn juice with cinnamon, clove,
and pineapple, a refreshing elixir bursting with antioxidants.
Locals also use it to dye fabrics and cloth.
Number 4, Python Snake Bean.
This unusual and delicious gourd relative is referred to
and used as a bean in its native China.
It tastes a lot like green beans, but even more delicious and tender.
Snake bean is is almost completely absent in U.S. markets.
because it doesn't ship well.
The long, slender fruits are truly stunning making snake bean a perfect edible ornamental.
Number 3, Cannibal Tomato.
A native to Fiji and Tahiti, this plant has quite a history
as it said that the fruit was made into a
sauce and used on a cannibal's meal.
The leaves were also traditionally prepared as cooked greens.
One of the more interesting and infamous plants we've grown.
Number 2, Reisetomate.
The most novel tomato we've seen,
it looks like a big bunch of cherry tomatoes all fused together.
It's also called "Traveler Tomato"
for the ability to tear it apart a piece at a time with no need for a knife.
This type of tomato traces its roots to Central America
where the native people would carry Traveler Tomatoes on trips to eat as they walked.
And finally number 1, Jelly Melon.
Native to Africa, the Jelly Melon is an unusual-looking fruit with spiny "horns."
The green yellow skin turns a bright deep orange when ready to harvest,
and the pulp inside the fruit resembles lime green Jell-O.
The fruit has a sweet-sour, banana-lime tropical fruit taste.
They taste amazing juiced, especially when combined with other sweet fruits