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'Zucchini' (IPA: , in North American and Australian English) or 'courgette' (IPA: , in New Zealand and British English) is a small summer squash. Its Scientific name is ''Cucurbita pepo'' (a species which also includes other squash). It can either be yellow, green or light green, and generally has a similar shape to a ridged cucumber, though a few cultivars are available that produce round or bottle-shaped fruit. Culinarily, zucchini is treated as a vegetable which means it is usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or accompaniment. However, biologically, the zucchini is an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower.

Contents

Flower

History and etymology

Cooking

Nutrition

Cultivation

References

Flower

The Zucchini flower can be male or female. The female flower is a golden blossom on the end of each baby zucchini. The male flower grows directly on the stem of the Zucchini plant in the leaf axils (where leaf petiole meets stem) on a long stalk and is slightly smaller than the female. Both flowers are edible, and provide a great way to dress a meal or garnish the cooked fruit.
Firm and fresh blossoms that are only slightly open are cooked to be eaten, with pistils removed (for female flowers) and stamens removed for male flowers. Inspect and remove any insects from inside the flowers. The stem on the flowers can be retained as a way of giving the cook something to hold onto during cooking, rather than injuring the delicate petals, and also gives a way of delivering the morsel to the mouth, or they can be removed prior to cooking, or prior to serving. There are a variety of recipes in which the flowers may be deep fried as fritters or tempura (after dipping in a light tempura batter), stuffed, sautéed, baked, or used in soups.

History and etymology

Zucchinis, like all summer squash, has its ancestry in the Americas. But while most summer squash―including the closely related cocozelle and marrow―were introduced to Europe during the time of European colonization of the Americas, zucchini is European in origin, the result of spontaneously occurring mutations (also called "sports"). In all probability, this occurred in the very late 19th century, probably near Milan (early varieties usually included the names of nearby cities in their name). The alternate name ''Courgette'' comes from the French name of the fruit, with the same spelling. It is a diminutive of ''courge'', meaning squash. "Zucca" is the Italian word for squash; while the feminine diminutive plural "zucchine" is preferred in most regions of Italy, the masculine diminutive plural "zucchini" is used in other areas of Italy, Australia, and the United States. The first records of zucchini in the United States date to the early 1920s. It was almost certainly brought over by Italian immigrants, and probably got its start in California.

Cooking

''Zucchini'' are usually picked, when used for food, when the seeds are soft and 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. Zucchinis with the flowers attached are a sign of a truly fresh and immature fruit, and are especially sought by many people.
Unlike cucumber, courgette are usually served cooked. It can be prepared using a variety of cooking techniques, including steamed, boiled, grilled, stuffed and baked, barbecued, fried, or incorporated in other recipes such as souffles. It also can be baked into a bread. Its flowers can be eaten stuffed and is a delicacy when deep fried as tempura.
The zucchini has a delicate flavor and can be appreciated with little more than quick cooking with butter or olive oil, with or without fresh herbs. There is no need to remove the skin. Quick cooking of barely wet zucchini in oil or butter means it can partially boil and steam and then the juices are concentrated in the final moments of frying when the water has gone prior to serving. Variations on this are to use the zucchini as a vehicle to enjoy the flavor of a simple or well prepared sauce. Zucchinis can also be eaten raw, in a cold salad, as well as hot and barely cooked in hot salads, as in Thai or Vietnamese recipes.
Zucchini fruit should not be stored long, up to three days. They are prone to chilling damage which is expressed as sunken pits in the surface of the fruit especially when brought up to room temperature after cool storage.

In 2005, a poll of 2,000 people revealed the Zucchini to be the Britain's 10th favourite culinary vegetable. In Mexico, the flower (known as ''Flor de Calabaza'') is preferred over the vegetable, and is often cooked in soups or used as a filling for quesadillas. In El Salvador, ''calabaza'' is a common ingredient in pupusas, usually with cheese as ''calabaza y queso''.
In Italy, zucchini are served in a variety of ways, especially breaded and pan-fried. Some restaurants in Rome specialize in deep-frying the flowers, known as ''fiori di zucca''.

Nutrition

The zucchini vegetable is low in calories (approximately 15 food calories per 100 g fresh zucchini) and contains useful amounts of folate (24 mcg/100 g), potassium (280 mg/100 g) and vitamin A (384 IU [115 mcg]/100 g.
1/2 cup of zucchini also contains 19% of the recommended amount of manganese, which activates the body's fat burning enzymes, resulting in a faster metabolism.

Cultivation

Zucchini is one of the easiest vegetables to cultivate in temperate climates. As such, it 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 more than they can use. One good way is to harvest the flowers, which are a very expensive delicacy in markets because of the difficulty in storing and transporting them. The male flower is borne on the end of a stalk and is longer-lived.
While easy to grow, zucchini, like all squash, requires plentiful bees for pollination. In areas of pollinator decline or high pesticide use, such as mosquito spray districts, gardeners often experience fruit abortion, where the fruit begins to grow, then dries or rots. This is due to an insufficient number of pollen grains delivered to the female flower, and can be corrected by hand pollination or by increasing bee populations.
Closely related to zuccini are Lebanese summer squash or ''kusa'', but they often are lighter green or even white. Some seed catalogs do not even distinguish them.

References

★ ITIS 22365 6 November 2002