Zucchini

Zucchini (US, Australian, and Canadian English) or courgette (New Zealand and British English) is

a small summer marrow or squash, also commonly called Italian squash. Its Latin name is Cucurbita

pepo. It can either be yellow or green and generally has a similar shape to a ridged cucumber,

though a few cultivars are available that produce round or bottle-shaped fruit. Unlike the cucumber

it is usually served cooked, often steamed or grilled. Its flower can be eaten fried or stuffed.

Zucchini is commonly thought of as a vegetable, and in layman's parlance, of course, this is more

useful; however, by strict definition, the zucchini is a fruit, being the swollen ovary of the

zucchini flower. Zucchini are traditionally picked when very immature, seldom over 8in/20cm in

length. Mature zucchini can be as much as three feet long, but are often fibrous and not appetizing

to eat.

Zucchini is one of the easiest vegetables to cultivate in a temperate climate. As such,

zucchini has a reputation among home gardeners for overwhelming production, and a common type of

joke among home growers revolves around creative ways of giving away unwanted zucchini to people

who already have been given more than they can use.

In 2005, a poll of 2,000 people revealed the courgette to be Britain's 10th favourite

culinary vegetable. In Mexico, the flower (known as Flor de Calabaza) is preferred over the fruit,

and is often cooked in soups or used as a filling for quesadillas.

Closely related, to the point where some seed catalogs do not make a distinction, are

Lebanese summer squash or kusa, which closely resemble zucchini but often have a lighter green or

even white color.

The zucchini flower is in reality just a "different cut" of the zucchini plant. The fruit of

the zucchini may be separated from the bloom that is commonly ignored by shoppers. The blossoms

themselves may be identified as the golden blossoms on the end of baby zucchini. The larger male

blossoms may also be used.

When buying flowers, one should look to see that the blossoms look firm and fresh and that

they are only slightly open. Because the flowers don't keep well, they should be bought for

same-day use and refrigerated. Once one is ready to cook, the stems will need to be clipped, and

the pistils removed. Like most fresh vegetables and fruit, they will need to be washed and dried.

Be gentle or the blossoms may be destroyed.

The zucchini flower must be cooked before it is eaten. There are a variety of recipes and

the flowers may be stuffed, sautéd, baked, or even used in a soup.

Check out the following recipes that are tagged "Zucchini":
Four Dead In O-Hi-O Chili, Shrimp & Scallop Kabobs, Quick Veggie Chili Con Queso, Vegetable Kabobs with Herb Butter, Summer Chili, Vegetable Chili, Vegetable Chili, Vegetable Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings, Zucchini Chili, 15-Minute Tomato Soup, Ann's Seafood Chowder (Halifax Version), Blender Gazpacho, Cattle Kings' Ranch Hand Chicken Soup, Cheesy Cioppino, Chef Dennis's Albondigas Soup, Chicken& Zucchini Soup, Chilled Summer Squash Soup With Fresh Herbs, Chunky Minestrone<R T>, Chunky Peanut Soup, Classic Minestrone Soup Con Pesto Alla Genove, Cold Zucchini And Leek Soup, Cold Zucchini Soup, Cold Lemon Soup with Zucchini, Corn And Red Lentil Soup, Corn, Tomato & Summer Squash Soup, Classic Minestrone Soup Con Pesto Alla Genovese, Creamy Vegetable Soup, Creamy Turkey-Veggie Soup, Spicy Zucchini Cookies, Curried Spinach& Chick Pea Soup, Dilled Vegetable Soup, Dilled Vegetable Soup, Denise's Diet Soup, Easy Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup, Fennel, Zucchini, And Tomato Soup, Lemon-Zucchini Cookies, Four-Day Vegetable Soup By James Beard, Chef, Fresh California Tomato Summer Soup, Fresh Tomato-Vegetable Soup, Fresh Vegetable Basil Soup, Garden Vegetarian Chowder, Garlic Soup, German Sour Cream Soup, Gingered Vegetable Soup, Green on Green Pasta Soup, Harvest Chicken Soup, Hearty German Sour Cream Soup, Hearty Italian Bean Soup, Hearty Vegetable Soup, Hearty Tortellini Vegetable Soup