Another despatch just in from our correspondent in Puglia, last seen checking out the olive plague. This time she sends us pictures of something called “cumazzi,” which is a new one on me.
They are not cucumbers exactly. Easy to digest and sweeter than cucumbers. Really crunchy and refreshing.
It turns out they are the immature fruits of a vegetable race of the melon, Cucumis melo, probably in the “adzhur group.” They go by a long list of names, but they seem to be restricted to Puglia (the heel of Italy), where they come in all shapes and sizes.
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I love these carosello. They are so much better than other cucumbers! I love how they remain bitter-free and burpless.
If you posses a garden, you can try growing some of your own. Seeds for carosello cucumbers can be found in quite a few places online.