Pepino. Melon pear. Pepino is the Spanish for cucumber, which is confusing. However, the pepino is a cream coloured, melon-like fruit with purple splashes, but less sweet. It can be refreshing but may also be bitter. It is a good addition to bulk up a fruit salad, adding an interesting, if mild, flavour.
Ivy gourd. A small crunchy gourd reminiscent of a gherkin, green ripening to red, popular in the cuisines of India, Thailand, Indonesia and other South East Asian countries. The shoots and leaves can also be eaten.
A small variety of chilli which is one of the fieriest. They are green maturing to bright red or reddish-orange and are about 1-2 cm long (½-¾") and 75 cm (¼") and oval in shape. The pequin has a complex, smoky, citrus, nutty flavour. They are commonly used in salsas, soups, vinegars and pickles but are used mainly for liquid hot-pepper seasoning. Green fruits are usually pickled while the red ones are mainly dried. Heat = 8-9, registering 30,000 - 50,000 Scoville Units. There are many varieties, some round and some conical. Among them are Bravo, Mosquito, Pequeno, Turkey Pepper (Texas), Grove Pepper (in orange groves, Southern Florida), and Pring-kee-new [Rat-turd pepper] (Thailand), Birds Eye, Amash, Amomo, Chilillo, Chilipiquin, Chilpaya, Chilpequin, Chiltipiquin, Del monte, Huarahuao and Tuxtla. They are related to the wild form called Tepin/Chiltepin and grow throughout the mountains of Mexico.
Redfish. A short, thick-bodied marine fish up to 25 cm (10 inches) long. It is found in the North Atlantic. It has an orange-red skin and delicately flavoured white flesh.
Monk’s beard. A thin, wild spring grass, a type of chicory, looking like a cross between samphire and tumbleweed, from northern Italy. It has a bitter flavour, bearing some relation in texture and taste to samphire, succulent and pleasantly resistant to the bite, and is eaten raw, blanched for seconds and dressed, or stewed in olive oil. It is also a useful addition to salads. It has a very short season which seems to be quite specifically five weeks in spring.
