Kiwano (tm) is a registered trade mark of Prinut Inc., a New Zealand corporation who have sense the 1980's been growing the fruit better known as Horned Melon. The Horned Melon originates from Africa.
Appearance As lordsbin has mentioned, they can be quite horny, prickly and down right thorny. Its a good idea in general to store your Horned Melons away from other sensitive produce (tomatoes etc) to prevent it from causing any vicious wounds to such soft skinned comestibles. Inside the kiwano is a totally different thing, no thorns pricks or flesh, just a mass of seeds and a gelatinous substance holding everything in place
Taste - Reportedly a kiwano tastes like the combination of a banana and a lemon or a lime. I wouldn't compare the flavor exactly to such a combination, but it is close. The texture of a slippery mess of seeds and goo almost totally places the flavor experience in a class of its own.
Storage - Don't store in a cool dry place. Keep your kiwanos in a warm dry place. Placing one in a refrigerator will cause the fruit to spoil rapidly. Any safe counter top will suffice.
Preparation & Serving Suggestions - There are many ways to serve your horned melon. Slice like a normal melon, or scoop out the pulp and serve over ice cream (without the seeds, unless you enjoy chewey ice cream). Removing the seeds is simple, either pick them out one-by-one or strain out the juice through some cheese cloth. But, according to Bobby "Slaughtered on Iron Chef" Flay, the kiwano really shines when making sauces to go along with grilled hearty meats.
Go out and try a kiwano today! They're high in fiber and suprisingly tasty!
This node was not funded in any way by the Kiwano consortum or the Egg Counsel