Blog archive: June 2008

Whether you call it a zucchini flower or a courgette flower, this flower is a delicacy lightly battered and deep fried, tempura-style. But have you ever felt sorry for the poor vegetable that will never come to fruit if you pluck this flower and eat it? I always wondered how stands at farmers' markets managed to sell these blooms, when if they just waited a little while they could sell a big beautiful juicy zuccini / courgette instead. Well, I recently found out how they do it. Fact is, if you pluck the flower close to its base, the fruit still develops on the stem behind the place that it once was. So you can eat the flowers and then harvest the zucchini / courgettes later in the season. Of course!