The
zucchini (pronounced /zuːˈkiːni/) or courgette
(/kʊǝrˈʒɛt/ or [kɔːˈʒɛt]
is a small summer squash. Along with some other squashes, it
belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Zucchini is the commoner
name in North America, Australia and Italy, while courgette is
more commonly used in Britain, Ireland, France, New Zealand and
South Africa. Zucchini can be yellow, green or light green, and
generally have a similar shape to a ridged cucumber, though a
few cultivars are available that produce round or bottle-shaped
fruit.
In
a culinary context, zucchini is treated as a vegetable, which
means it is usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or
accompaniment. Botanically, however, the zucchini is an immature
fruit, being the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower.
The
female flower is a golden blossom on the end of each emergent
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 are often used 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 from female flowers, and stamens
removed from male 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, 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.
