Incredible Edibles

I've just bought "Incredible Edibles" by Matthew Biggs. "Grow something different in your fruit and veg plot".
Some of the plants he mentions I've grown, some I've considered growing and others are new to me. I'm going to ask you all what you think about his suggestions and whether you would grow them. 

1. Snake Gourd. Trichosanthes cucumerina var. anguina.  
(Looks a bit like a trombone squash.) "The fruits, if left to their own devices, will coil up like a bedspring or like a snake wrapped around a tree branch". 
"Young fruit can be eaten like courgettes while the red pulp of the mature fruit makes a good substitute for tomatoes.
Young shoots and leaves are also edible and, although all parts of the plant taste bitter when raw, this disappears after cooking. 
Leave a few mature specimens to paint up and turn into colourful snakes. "

A friend of mine brought back some seeds of these from a holiday abroad and gave me some. I tried them but without success. I think they would be beteer grown in a cold frame or greenhouse.