Known in Italy, North America, Germany, and Australia as zucchini (it is an Italian word) and in France, South Africa, Belgium, New Zealand... as courgette (French).
It is a fruit which is treated like a vegetable - it can be eaten raw (usually in salads) but is usually cooked. It is often found in stews, it is also sauteed, grilled, stuffed, fried, barbecued, baked...
As you might anticipate, zucchini has few calories. It is a good source of Vitamin A.
Cucurbita pepo, sometimes you can’t give this squash away. Zucchini is easy to grow and extremely productive - when a number of people have gardens the local “market” is swamped. The productivity of the plant has led to being used in:
- Zucchini bread
- Tempura
- Quesadillas
- Stews
- Pan-fried dishes
- As the enclosure for stuffed meats etc.
- Zucchini pancakes
- As part of baked casseroles
- Tortilla de calabacin
The flower is edible and often used as an ingredient in soup, in dishes like quesadillas, or stuffed and deep fried.
Although all squashes originally came from the Western Hemisphere, the varieties of squash were developed primarily in Italy.