balsam pear

9.1

A long green vegetable with bumpy skin and a bitter taste used in Asian cooking

noun
/ˈbɔːlsəm pɛr/

Indian

: pera balsámica

The balsam pear is prized in many Asian cuisines for its distinct bitter flavor.

Examples

She chopped the balsam pear and added it to the stir-fry.
Some herbal remedies use extracts from the balsam pear for their medicinal properties.
The balsam pear is known for its bitter taste.
I bought a balsam pear at the Asian market.
In Vietnamese cooking, the balsam pear is often used to add a unique bitter flavor to dishes.
Many people enjoy the balsam pear for its health benefits, incorporating it into their diets.
She found a recipe that called for a balsam pear as a key ingredient in the sauce.

Synonyms

Momordica charantia

vsbalsam pear

Specialized

9.9

A tropical vine that makes a bitter yellow-orange fruit called bitter melon

is the common culinary and traditional medicine name used in everyday speech

Surface Forms

balsam pear singular

balsam pears plural

Morphology

balsam + pear

The element 'pear' cues a fruit-like object and 'balsam' can suggest medicinal or resinous properties, so a learner who knows both words might infer this refers to a plant/fruit with medicinal use. However the specific referent (Momordica charantia, a bitter melon) and its bitterness are not directly derivable from the constituents, and 'balsam' is relatively low-frequency/unfamiliar, so the meaning is only partially predictable.

Etymology

The compound noun balsam pear probably comes from the words balsam, a healing 'balm' or plant, and pear because the fruit looks like a small pear. So the name gives a simple picture of a small, 'bitter' fruit used in cooking and traditional 'medicine'.