Winter melon

A warm-climate, fuzzy melon used extensively in Asian (frequently Chinese) cooking and the key ingredient in the popular Winter Melon Soup recipe. The melon, actually a gourd, is popular because it can be stored for very long periods of time (uncut). Once cut open it needs to be used within a few days. You can grow this gourd at home depending on your climate (Kitazawa Seed Company is a good source for seeds or buy through winter melon seed  through Amazon.com). Mature fruits can be purchased at most any Asian market.

Winter melon is used in soups and some fresh fruit drinks as well as candied and eaten as a dessert.

Substitute Equal Amounts Of:

Chayote
Zucchini
Bottle Gourd
Fuzzy Melon
Bitter melon (smaller and bitter). Salt the melon and let stand in a colander for at least 30 minutes to reduce some of the bitterness.