Achocha
Cyclanthera pedata, locally known by its Quechua names kaywa (pronounced kai-wa, hispanicized spellings caigua, caihua, caygua, cayua) or achuqcha (also spelled achocha, achogcha, achojcha, achokcha), is a herbaceous vine grown for its edible mature fruit, which is predominantly used as a vegetable.
This Andes curcubit has many names and some recognise it as stuffing cucumber. My Caigua is originally from Bolivia and is of a variety that tends to be nice and smooth and crunchy. There are other cultivars apparently that can get spiny and some even hairy.
It is a spreading fairly tough but thin stemmed vine that grows to about 3m x 3m.
I find it grows best planted in a nice big pile of manure and grown along a trellis or fence. This is a good companion to plants like pumpkins as the vine will twine between the large stems and fill gaps.
Food uses
Typically, the fully grown, mature fruits are eaten cooked, raw in salads, and
pickled. The kaywa has a subtle flavour similar to
cucumber. The fruit has a large cavity in which the seeds develop, and this can be filled with other foods to make kaywa dishes. This may have inspired the local Spanish name pepino de rellenar ("stuffing cucumber"). The young shoots and leaves may also be eaten as greens.
