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Bitter Melon

Bitter melon is a ridged fruit commonly cooked in stir-fries, curries, soups, and stuffed preparations.

Bitter Melon — illustrative ingredient image

About Bitter Melon

Bitter melon is a ridged, warty fruit cooked as a vegetable, with a green to yellowing exterior, firm flesh, and a seeded central cavity. Its flavour is markedly bitter, while texture ranges from crisp in young fruit to softer when mature or thoroughly cooked.

Bitter melon is used in stir-fries, curries, soups, braises, and stuffed preparations. It may be prepared whole, halved, sliced, stuffed, or with its pith and seeds removed.

Fresh fruit is the common form, but frozen, dried, pickled, and preserved forms are also used in some cuisines. Cultivar, maturity, salting, blanching, and cooking influence its colour, bitterness, firmness, and the amount of edible flesh retained.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where bitter melon appears

2 linked foods

Find foods to recognise by country and type. Recipes and products vary; these are recorded ingredient connections.

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Main dishes

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for bitter melon

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

karela

English

bitter melon

English

Bitter melon, cooked

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Bitter Melon nutrition & diet

Bitter Melon nutritional value

Balsam-pear (bitter gourd), pods, raw

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the recorded food form.

Calories
17kcal
Protein
1.0g
Carbs
3.7g
Fat
0.2g

Reference values for the specific food form shown. Other varieties, brands and preparations can differ.

Portions & preparation

Use the fresh, edible flesh and seeds according to the preparation. Rinsing, blanching, salting, or cooking can alter bitterness, texture, and retained components. Compare references with raw, cooked, stuffed, or stir-fried forms because added oil, sauces, fillings, and discarded seeds change the portion being evaluated.

Compare the right form: Match the reference to fresh bitter melon flesh, with or without seeds, and to raw or cooked preparation; stuffed dishes require recipe-level matching.

Diet considerations

Bitter melon is a plant fruit. Plain fresh or cooked preparations generally differ from versions containing meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, or animal-based seasonings. Stir-fries, curries, soups, and stuffed dishes may also include oils, sauces, grains, or legumes, so compatibility depends on the complete recipe and serving pattern.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: USDA FoodData Central — Balsam-pear (bitter gourd), pods, raw ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .