Mary Ann's Blog
Zucchini: Be Careful What You Wish For
July 23, 2024
Harvesting zucchini becomes a Goldilocks moment of when to pick it. Zucchini should be neither too small nor too big but just right; no longer than 6 to 8 inches is ideal. Those jumbos that get away from you and are the size of baseball bats are seedy and dry, but all is not lost if you turn them into soup, add them to stews, or donate them to the compost pile. What about those brilliant yellow zucchini flowers that Italians love to stuff and batter-fry?
Zucchini plants produce male and female flowers that are pollinated by bees or other pollinators. Male flowers appear first on the plant stem end and are not attached directly to the zucchini, but female flowers are. The male flower pollen is transferred by bees and insects to the female flowers, which in turn gives us zucchini! If you want lot of zucchini (and that happens in a wink of an eye), don’t pick too many male flowers. If you harvest too many, pollination will be interrupted and will result in a low yield of zucchini. This almost never happens to me! Make this classic Italian zucchini salad and serve with crusty bread!
Get my recipe for Marinated Zucchini Salad (Zucchine alla Scapece) here.
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