Zucchini

Cucurbita pepo

vegetable

A summer squash picked young, most often eaten cooked, with its skin, which carries fibre and lutein; of the same species as the pattypan and the pumpkin.

Origin

Central America, selected in Italy

Season (United States)

May to September · grows in your region

Preparation

The seeds are eaten, and so is the flower, stuffed or fried in batter. If it is truly bitter, throw it out without tasting more: that is cucurbitacin, which makes you seriously ill, and cooking does not remove it. Its skin is eaten, and that is where its polyphenols sit: worth keeping, then — but under running water, rubbing it, which is what takes off most of what settles there, organic or not.

Molecules

Lutein and zeaxanthin · ChlorophyllIn small amounts, not counted Pectins · Insoluble fibers

Did you know?

On Réunion Island, its leaves are eaten too: brède citrouille.