Squash blossom
{{Infobox food
| name = Squash blossom
| image = Zucchini flowers - stierch.jpg
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| caption = Zucchini flowers
| alternate_name = Courgette flowers
| type = Edible flowers
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| serving_size = 100 g
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Short description|Edible flowers of Cucurbita species}}
Squash blossoms (called courgette flowers in Great Britain{{cite web | url = https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/courgette-flower| title = BBC Good Food - Glossary: C: Courgette flower | publisher = BBC | access-date = 3 July 2018}}) 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.
Availability
Squash blossoms are highly perishable, and as such are rarely stocked in supermarkets.{{cite web | url = http://www.seasonalchef.com/recipes/squash-blossom-recipes/ | work = The Seasonal Chef | title = What to Do with Squash Blossoms | first = Mark | last = Thompson | date = 2015}} Male and female squash blossoms can be used interchangeably, but picking only male flowers (leaving some for pollination){{cite book|last1=Pennington|first1=Amy|title=Fresh Pantry: Eat Seasonally, Cook Smart & Learn to Love Your Vegetables|year=2014| publisher = Mountaineers Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GEAUCgAAQBAJ&q=squash+blossoms|chapter=July - Summer Squash|isbn=9781594858185}} allows the plant to also produce some fruit (squash).{{r|SC}}{{r|FP}}
Culinary uses
Squash blossoms may be stuffed,{{r|SC}}{{r|HP1}} battered and fried,{{r|SC}}{{r|HP1}} or made into soup.{{r|SC}}{{cite book|last1=Bayless|first1=Rick | first2 = Deann | last2 = Groen Bayless | first3 = JeanMarie | last3 = Brownson |title=Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen|year=1996|page=138|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JMxLEsZYF2sC&q=squash+blossoms | publisher = Simon and Schuster|isbn=9780684800066 }} The flowers have a subtle flavor, reminiscent of young zucchinis, and can be eaten raw.{{cite news|last1=Clark|first1=Melissa|title=Zucchini's Flower Power|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/dining/enjoying-zucchini-blossoms-without-cooking-a-good-appetite.html|access-date=13 October 2015|work=The New York Times|date=6 July 2012}}
= Stuffed blossoms =
{{See also|Dolma}}
The squash blossoms are frequently stuffed and cooked in some Southeast European and Middle Eastern cuisines. The dish is called Kolokythoanthoi in Greek and {{Interlanguage link|Kabak çiçeği dolması|lt=|tr||WD=}} in Turkish language and such dishes belong to a family of stuffed vegetable dishes, dolma, in the cuisine of the former Ottoman Empire.{{reference needed|date=September 2020}}. The stuffing frequently includes a soft cheese, such as ricotta.{{cite news|last1=Spiegel|first1=Allison|title=Squash Blossoms Prove Some Flowers Are Meant For Eating|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/14/squash-blossom-recipes_n_1679981.html|access-date=13 October 2015|work=The Huffington Post}}{{cite web | url = http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/squash-blossoms-stuffed-with-ricotta-354966 | work = Epicurious | publisher = Condé Nast | title = Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Ricotta | first = Andrea | last = Albin | date = September 2009}}{{cite book|last1=Stone|first1=Martha|title=The Flower Recipe Book: Cooking with Flowers|date=2014|page=9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VCBsBAAAQBAJ&q=squash+blossoms}}
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 zeytinyağlı kabak 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{{Cite book|last1=Kesmez|first1=Melisa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tvBUDwAAQBAJ&q=Kabak+%C3%A7i%C3%A7e%C4%9Fi+dolmas%C4%B1&pg=PA43|title=Rakı Cep Ansiklopedisi: Rakı Cep Ansiklopedisi|last2=Aydın|first2=Mehmet Said|date=September 2013 |publisher=Overteam Yayınları|isbn=978-605-5058-00-5|language=tr}} and associated with the Cretan Turks that migrated to Turkey due to the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.{{Cite journal|last=Oya Berkay KARACA , Oya YILDIRIM , A. Celil ÇAKICI|title=Girit Yemek Kültürü ve Sürdürülebilirliği (Cretan Food Culture and It's Sustainability)|url=https://www.jotags.org/Articles/2015_vol3_issue1/2015_vol3_issue1_article1.pdf|journal=Journal of Tourism and Gastronomy Studies 3/1 (2015) 3-13|archive-date=26 October 2021|access-date=25 March 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026124824/https://www.jotags.org/Articles/2015_vol3_issue1/2015_vol3_issue1_article1.pdf|url-status=dead}}
Both Turkish and Greek Cypriots cook stuffed blossoms in a similar fashion. Cypriot Greek name for the dish is kupepia me anthus.{{Citation|last=Ankut|first=Ziba|title=Kıbrıs Türk ve Rum Mutfağının Karşılaştırılması Üzerine Bir Çalışma|date=2007|url=http://docs.neu.edu.tr/library/6045529289.pdf|pages=57}}
= Other =
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|date=September 2020}}
In Mexican cuisine, especially in Central Mexico, squash blossom (known as {{Interlanguage link|flor de calabaza|lt=|es|flor de calabaza|WD=}} 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. {{cite web |author1=Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural |title=Flor de calabaza, una belleza gastronómica |url=https://www.gob.mx/agricultura/es/articulos/flor-de-calabaza-una-belleza-gastronomica |publisher=Mexican Government |access-date=30 October 2024 |language=Spanish |date=25 September 2016}}
Gallery
File:Kolokythoanthoi gemistoi me giaourti.jpg|Kolokythoanthoi are often served with a dollop of yogurt on the side
File:Kolokythoanthoi - kolokythokorfades.jpg|Kolokythoanthoi prepared for cooking
File:Frittelle di fiori di zucca.JPG|Frittelle di fiori di zucca (pumpkin flower fritters) also in Catalan flors de carbassera or badocs
File:Etli kabak çiçeği dolması.jpg|Kabak çiçeği dolması with meat
Hobak-kkot-jeon 2.jpg|Hobak-kkot-jeon (pan-fried stuffed Cucurbita moschata flowers)
See also
References
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{{Cuisine of Greece}}{{Turkish cuisine}}{{Squashes and pumpkins}}
Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine