Calabash. Some types of gourd are described as calabashes. There is a sweet calabash used from the United States to Africa and Sri Lanka. In Japan the flesh of some calabashes is dried, cut into thin strips and used to garnish soups. When dried the fruits can be hollowed out and used as bowls or formed into kitchen utensils.
Prickly pear. The delicious but risky fruit of a cactus. The sweet, juicy flesh ripens from green to a deep apricot-pink colour. It is sensible to use leather gloves when dealing with these fruit as they are covered in fine, penetrating prickles. They are normally eaten raw but can be cooked, with the edible seeds becoming hard with cooking.
