 Zucchini flowers | |
| Alternative names | Courgette flowers |
|---|---|
| Type | Edible flowers |
Squash blossoms (called courgette flowers in Great Britain [1] ) are the edible flowers of Cucurbita species, particularly Cucurbita pepo , the species that produces zucchini (courgette), marrow, spaghetti squash, and many other types of squash.
Squash blossoms are highly perishable, and as such are rarely stocked in supermarkets. [2] Male and female squash blossoms can be used interchangeably, but picking only male flowers (leaving some for pollination) [3] allows the plant to also produce some fruit (squash). [2] [3]
Squash blossoms may be stuffed, [2] [4] battered and fried, [2] [4] or made into soup. [2] [5] The flowers have a subtle flavor, reminiscent of young zucchinis, and can be eaten raw. [6]
The squash blossoms are frequently stuffed and cooked in some Southeast European and Middle Eastern cuisines. The dish is called Kolokythoanthoi in Greek and Kabak çiçeği dolması in Turkish language and such dishes belong to a family of stuffed vegetable dishes, dolma, in the cuisine of the former Ottoman Empire.[ citation needed ]. The stuffing frequently includes a soft cheese, such as ricotta. [4] [7] [8]
In Turkey, squash blossoms are usually stuffed with rice. There are two variants of the dish; the variant that contains minced meat in its stuffing is usually served hot, meanwhile the meatless zeytinyağlıkabak çiçeği dolması (English: stuffed squash blossoms with olive oil) ) is served cold and consumed frequently as a meze with rakı. The dish is especially popular in the Aegean Region of Turkey [9] and associated with the Cretan Turks that migrated to Turkey due to the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. [10]
Both Turkish and Greek Cypriots cook stuffed blossoms in a similar fashion. Cypriot Greek name for the dish is kupepia me anthus. [11]
In the Campania, Calabria, Latium and Sicily regions of Italy and in some parts of Catalonia (Spain) they are frequently made into fritters.[ citation needed ]
In Mexican cuisine, especially in Central Mexico, squash blossom (known as flor de calabaza in Spanish) is widely used, particularly in soups and as a filling for quesadillas. Traditionally, they are often paired with epazote ( Dysphania ambrosioides ), an herb that enhances their flavor. The use of squash blossoms in Mexican dishes dates back to pre-Hispanic indigenous culture. [12]
Turkish cuisine is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. The cuisine took its current form after numerous cultural interactions throughout centuries, descending from earlier stages of Turkish cuisine, Ottoman cuisine and Seljuk cuisine. Turkish cuisine with traditional Turkic elements such as yogurt, ayran, kaymak, exerts and gains influences to and from Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern European cuisines.
Cucurbita is a genus of herbaceous fruits in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five edible species are grown and consumed for their flesh and seeds. They are variously known as squash, pumpkin, or gourd, depending on species, variety, and local parlance. Other kinds of gourd, also called bottle-gourds, are native to Africa and belong to the genus Lagenaria, which is in the same family and subfamily as Cucurbita, but in a different tribe, their young fruits are eaten much like those of the Cucurbita species.
Acorn squash, also called pepper squash or Des Moines squash, is a winter squash with distinctive longitudinal ridges on its exterior and sweet, yellow-orange flesh inside. Although considered a winter squash, acorn squash belongs to the same species as all summer squashes.
The zucchini, courgette or baby marrow is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are still soft and edible. It is closely related, but not identical, to the marrow; its fruit may be called marrow when mature.
Moussaka is an eggplant (aubergine)- or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.
Dolma is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, typically made with a filling of rice, minced meat, offal, seafood, fruit, or any combination of these inside a vegetable or a leaf wrapping. Wrapped dolma, specifically, are known as sarma, made by rolling grape, cabbage, or other leaves around the filling. Dolma can be served warm or at room temperature and are common in modern cuisines of regions and nations that once were part of the Ottoman Empire it is also popular in Iran.
Calabaza is the generic name in the Spanish language for any type of winter squash. Within an English-language context it specifically refers to the West Indian pumpkin, a winter squash typically grown in the West Indies, tropical America, and the Philippines. Calabaza is the common name for Cucurbita moschata in Cuba, Florida, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Philippines. C. moschata is also known as auyama in Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela; ayote in Central America; zapallo in certain countries of South America; and "pumpkin", "squash", or "calabash" in English-speaking islands.
A marrow is the mature fruit of certain Cucurbita pepo cultivars used as a vegetable. The immature fruit of the same or similar cultivars is called courgette or zucchini. Like courgettes, marrows are oblong, green squash, but marrows have a firm rind and a neutral flavour, making them useful as edible casings for mincemeat and other stuffings. They can be stored for several weeks after harvest, to be processed for food when required. They are a vegetable used in Great Britain and areas with significant British influence, though their popularity is waning in favor of immature summer squash like courgette.
A cabbage roll is a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. It is common to the cuisines of Central, Northern, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and much of Western Asia, Northern China, as well as parts of North Africa. Meat fillings are traditional in Europe, and include beef, lamb, or pork seasoned with garlic, onion, and spices. Grains such as rice and barley, mushrooms, and vegetables are often included as well. Fermented cabbage leaves are used for wrapping, particularly in southeastern Europe. In Asia, seafoods, tofu, and shiitake mushrooms may also be used. Chinese cabbage is often used as a wrapping.
Iraqi cuisine is a Middle Eastern cuisine that has its origins in the ancient Near East culture of the fertile crescent. Tablets found in ancient ruins in Iraq show recipes prepared in the temples during religious festivals—the first cookbooks in the world. Ancient Iraq's cultural sophistication extended to the culinary arts.
Sarma is a traditional food in Ottoman cuisine – nowadays, Turkish, Greek, Levantine / Arabic, Armenian, etc. – made of vegetable leaves rolled around a filling of minced meat, grains such as rice, or both. It is commonly marketed in the English-speaking world as stuffed grape leaves, stuffed vine leaves, or stuffed cabbage leaves. The vegetable leaves may be cabbage, patience dock, collard, grapevine, kale or chard leaves. Sarma is part of the broader category of stuffed dishes known as dolma, and has equivalents in Eastern European cuisines from the northern Baltic through Romania.
Stuffed peppers is a dish common in many cuisines. It consists of hollowed or halved bell peppers filled with any of a variety of fillings, often including meat, vegetables, cheese, rice, or sauce. The dish is usually assembled by filling the cavities of the peppers and then cooking.
Neapolitan cuisine has ancient historical roots that date back to the Greco-Roman period, which was enriched over the centuries by the influence of the different cultures that controlled Naples and its kingdoms, such as that of Aragon and France.
Stuffed squash, courgette, marrow, mahshi, or zucchini is a dish common in Egypt, the Balkans and the Ottoman cuisine, a kind of dolma. It consists of various kinds of squash or zucchini stuffed with rice and sometimes meat and cooked on the stovetop or in the oven. The meat version is served hot, as a main course. The meatless version is considered an "olive-oil dish" and is often eaten at room temperature or warm.
Kamokamo is a variety of Cucurbita pepo, grown as a summer or winter squash in New Zealand. Commonly used in Māori cuisine, the Kamokamo is a heavily ribbed oblate or prolate shaped stocky fruit with speckled green skin, ripening to an orange colour. It is thought to have been introduced to New Zealand during European settlement around the late 19th century and was readily adopted by Māori, displacing the calabash as a food source. Its name originates from the Māori language.
Aehobak, also called Korean zucchini or Korean courgette, is an edible, green to yellow-green summer squash. Although nearly all summer squashes are varieties of Cucurbita pepo, aehobak belongs to the species Cucurbita moschata. Commonly used in Korean cuisine, an aehobak has the shape of zucchini, but with thinner, smoother skin, and more delicate flesh. It is usually sold in shrink-wrapped plastic.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)| Species |  | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cultivars |
| ||||||
| Related topics |
| ||||||
