Exploding cucumber (Cuchinito)

Cuchinito or exploding cucumber is a tropical fruit that’s often enjoyed as a vegetable. The plant is native to warm and humid regions from Mexico to Ecuador. The fruits are light green and covered with long and soft spines. When ripe, the fruit bursts open and expels small seeds.

Once fully grown, but still unripe, the fruits are often enjoyed raw in salads or pickled. They can also be steamed, boiled, or fried as a vegetable, along with the young shoots and leaves. The cuchinito plant is often cultivated in gardens throughout Central America and in the Andean region of South America.