Salusk

Salusk was a species of human head-sized melons that grew on creeping spindly vines all over Faerûn.

Description
The fruit was oblong in shape with two bumps or "horns" on its opposite sides. Salusk fruit's sweet and succulent flesh was beige and tasted reminiscent of a pear when it reached ripeness. As they matured, their skin turned from pale to emerald green. Unripe salusk had thick and oily skin with a tough and bitter-acidic taste. If left unharvested, the fruit eventually turned brown, oversoft, and sour. Its skin turned maroon and ripped, attracting swarms of hungry wasps and hornets.

Usages
Unripened salusk could be cooked in oil. The fruit's flesh absorbed the flavor of anything it was fried in, often making it a substitute or addition to meat products if fried in animal fat. The fruit's tough leathery rind was rich in fiber and edible, yet held no flavor.

Availability
Salusk grew abundantly throughout Faerûn, reaching as far south as Calimshan. Cultivated salusk was planted along long fences the vines could cling to and it was fertilized with cattle dung. Because of the fruit's tough rind and resistance to bruising, salusk was easy to transport, keep, and trade. Even unrefrigerated and exposed to sun, salusk fruit could keep for two tendays.