Zucchini

From Free net encyclopedia

This article is about the fruit. For the 1982 book, see Zucchini (book).

{{Taxobox | color = lightgreen | name = Squash | image = Courgette.jpg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = Zucchini or Courgette | regnum = Plantae | divisio = Magnoliophyta | classis = Magnoliopsida | ordo = Cucurbitales | familia = Cucurbitaceae | genus = Cucurbita part | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = C. maxima - hubbard squash, buttercup squash
C. mixta - cushaw squash
C. moschata - butternut squash
C. pepo - most pumpkins, acorn squash, summer squash
References:
ITIS 22365 2002-11-06
Hortus Third }}

Image:Baby zucchini.jpg Image:Zucchini flower.jpg 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 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.

1 The zucchini flower
2 History and Etymology
3 Nutrition
4 External links

[edit]

The zucchini flower

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.

[edit]

History and Etymology

Zucchini, like all summer squash, is native to the Americas and was introduced to Europe during the time of European colonization of the Americas. In Europe, the plant acquired its current names. Courgette comes from the French name of the vegetable, with the same spelling. It is a diminutive of courge, meaning ‘marrow’. Zucchini is the plural of zucchino (IPA: /tsuk'kino/), the Italian for courgette (alongside the more common zucchina), in turn a diminutive of zucca, ‘marrow’. American familiarity with the plant (and the nickname Italian squash) came about when an improved version of zucchini was re-introduced into the United States by Italian immigrants in the 1920s.

[edit]

Nutrition

The zucchini fruit is low in calories (approximately 15 food calories per 100 g fresh zucchini) but contains useful amounts of folate (24 mcg/100 g), potassium (280 mg/100 g) and vitamin A (384 IU [115 mcg]/100 g).[1]

[edit]