Achocha as an alternative crop
The achocha experiment 🔗
Achocha (Cyclanthera pedata) is a traditional cucurbit crop grown in regions of South America. It is often touted to have the taste of a cucumber and the texture of a pepper.
We wanted to see how feasible it was to grow achocha as an outdoor UK crop as an alternative to produce that might be grown in a heated glasshouse or imported. Is it dependable everywhere in the UK? How did people rate its taste?
Summary 🔗
We tested the spiny ‘Fat Baby’ achocha (Cyclanthera brachystachia) with 61 growers distributed around the UK. This variety was chosen as it is thought to have more resilience in UK growing conditions.
In a growing season beset by slug damage, achocha seemed to fare well, with some reporting that the plants were left alone when everything else was attacked.
Yields were respectable, with 50% of growers achieving yields of 0.4kg – 2.8kg from a wigwam of 4 plants over the summer period. Some of the highest yields were from sites in Scotland, showing that this crop is well adapted to UK conditions and poor growing seasons.
The eating qualities drew a mixed opinion, with the majority reporting that they had a very mild flavour. The harvest stage is a very important factor determining the quality. If you want to eat them raw, it is best to eat them at a small stage (less than 3 cm) before the seeds have developed. At this stage they taste more like a cucumber.
If you let the fruits get larger, it is much easier to allow them to reach 5 – 7 cm when the fluffy central tissue has dried out so that the seeds fall out freely. At this stage, it is better to stir fry them, and they will taste more like a green pepper.
It we are going to introduce a new crop, growers generally want to see an obvious benefit of growing it, aside from its novelty value. Participants were evenly mixed as to whether they would grow them again. Their resilience in a poor season is a plus point, so if space allows, it is worth growing some to ensure that you get something to eat.
Find the full report of the experiment here.
