Kiwano (Horned Melon): Nutrition, Taste and How to Eat It

Kiwano (Cucumis metuliferus) is the spiky orange fruit sold as horned melon, African horned cucumber or jelly melon. Cut it open and you find bright green jelly wrapped around soft, edible seeds. USDA SR Legacy lists it as Horned melon (Kiwano), at 44 calories per 100 g, with magnesium as its standout mineral and only modest vitamin C. It belongs to the gourd family, so one safety point matters: a kiwano that tastes strongly bitter should not be eaten. This guide covers kiwano nutrition, how it compares with cucumber and kiwi, whether kiwano is healthy, and how to eat kiwano.

Peptide Labs does not sell kiwano or kiwano products. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

What is kiwano?

Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks) describes Cucumis metuliferus as a climbing vine in the Cucurbitaceae family, native to southern and central Africa, that can reach about 3 meters. Its common names include African horned cucumber, kiwano and jelly melon. The fruits are spiky and cylindrical or egg-shaped, and inside them flat seeds sit in a light green jelly. A 2024 study in the journal Plants describes the plant as an annual and the fruit as moving from green when immature, through white-yellow, to yellow-orange when mature.

The gourd family also includes cucumbers, melons and squash, which explains the cucumber-like look of the seeds. Despite the name, kiwano is not a kind of kiwifruit; the two are unrelated plants that both happen to have green flesh. Most people describe the flavor as mild and lightly tart, somewhere between cucumber and a squeeze of lime, with a slippery, jelly-like texture.

Kiwano nutrition (USDA SR Legacy)

The values below come from the USDA SR Legacy entry Horned melon (Kiwano) (FDC 167791), using USDA portion weights of 209 g for one fruit and 233 g for a cup. %DV uses FDA Daily Values. SR Legacy reports no fiber, sugar or vitamin K value for kiwano, so those rows say Not reported rather than zero.

Magnesium is the clear standout in the USDA entry: a whole fruit gives a fifth of the Daily Value, with iron close behind at 13%. For a fruit, kiwano is also unusually low in carbohydrate, at under 8 grams per 100 grams in USDA data. See foods high in magnesium and foods high in iron for how it ranks against other foods.

Vitamin C is the surprise. Its jelly looks a lot like kiwifruit, but USDA lists only 5.3 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams of kiwano, against 92.7 milligrams for green kiwifruit. Because SR Legacy gives no fiber value, do not assume the seeds make kiwano a high-fiber food; the data simply are not there.

Kiwano vs cucumber and kiwi

The table compares 100 g of each food using USDA SR Legacy entries: Horned melon (Kiwano) (FDC 167791), Cucumber, with peel, raw (FDC 168409) and Kiwifruit, green, raw (FDC 168153). %DV uses FDA Daily Values.

In USDA data, kiwano sits between its two look-alikes. It has about three times the calories of cucumber but fewer than kiwifruit, and two to three times the magnesium of either. Kiwifruit wins easily on vitamin C, fiber and potassium. Our kiwi guide and our cucumber guide cover those two foods in detail.

Is kiwano healthy?

Kiwano can be a reasonable part of a varied diet, with limits on what the evidence shows. Based on USDA SR Legacy data, it is mostly water, low in calories and carbohydrate, and a fair source of magnesium and iron for a fruit. It is a weak source of vitamin C, and USDA has no fiber or sugar data for it. Most published kiwano research is laboratory work on extracts of the peel, pulp and seeds, which says little about what happens when people eat the fruit. No human trial we read tested kiwano for any health outcome, so this guide makes no claims beyond its nutrient values.

If you are looking for fruits that are rich in vitamin C, our foods high in vitamin C list is a better place to start; kiwano works well as a novelty fruit that adds color and texture.

Why a bitter kiwano is a warning sign

Plants in the gourd family can make cucurbitacins, intensely bitter compounds that discourage animals from eating them. NParks notes that Cucumis metuliferus has bitter forms, which may be toxic, and non-bitter forms, which are the edible ones. A 2020 review of South African gourd-family plants used in traditional medicine, which included this species, reported that cucurbitacins were implicated as a major class of toxic compounds behind cases of poisoning and death.

Store-bought kiwano should taste mild. The case literature on bitter squash shows why taste matters: a 2020 case report described a woman who needed hospital care after eating a bitter zucchini, and the authors called the bitter taste essential to the diagnosis. Our zucchini and spaghetti squash guides cover the same warning for squash.

• Taste a small piece first: mild and tart is normal.
• Strongly bitter means stop: spit it out and discard the fruit.
• Never eat wild horned melons unless an expert has confirmed the plant is a non-bitter form.
• If someone feels unwell after eating a bitter gourd-family fruit, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 in the US, or seek medical care.

How to eat kiwano

Kiwano is easier to eat than it looks. NParks notes that the jelly-coated seeds can be eaten raw or added to fruit salads, and that the pulp can be pickled or made into a jelly.

• Pick a ripe one: choose a fruit with bright yellow-orange skin and no soft spots; green fruits are not yet mature.
• Handle with care: the horns are firm and pointed, so hold the fruit with a towel.
• Cut it: slice it in half lengthwise, then squeeze the jelly into a bowl or scoop it out with a spoon.
• Eat the seeds: they are soft and eaten together with the jelly, much like cucumber seeds.
• Season it: a pinch of salt or a little sugar brings out the flavor; it also works in smoothies, salsas, drinks and fruit salads.
• Serve it in the shell: the empty half makes a striking bowl for fruit salad, but the rind itself is not eaten.

For another unusual fruit with edible seeds, see our passion fruit guide, or try feijoa, a fragrant fruit also known as pineapple guava.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a food allergy. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Feijoa: Nutrition, Taste and How to Eat Pineapple Guava, Cucumber Benefits: USDA Cucumber Nutrition, Calories and Safety, Passion Fruit: Benefits, USDA Nutrition, Juice and How to Eat It, Kiwi Benefits: USDA Kiwi Nutrition, Green vs Golden and Research.