Squash blossoms (called courgette flowers in Great Britain) are the

edible flowers Edible flowers are flowers that can be consumed safely. Flowers may be eaten as vegetables as a main part of a meal, or may be used as herbs. Flowers are part of many regional cuisines, including Asian, European, and Middle Eastern cuisines.Lauderd ...

of ''Cucurbita'' species, particularly ''

Cucurbita pepo ''Cucurbita pepo'' is a cultivated plant of the genus ''Cucurbita''. It yields varieties of winter squash and pumpkin, but the most widespread varieties belong to the subspecies ''Cucurbita pepo'' subsp. ''pepo'', called summer squash. It has b ...

'', the species that produces

zucchini The zucchini (; plural: zucchini or zucchinis), courgette (; plural: courgettes) or baby marrow (''Cucurbita pepo'') is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are stil ...

(

courgette The zucchini (; plural: zucchini or zucchinis), courgette (; plural: courgettes) or baby marrow (''Cucurbita pepo'') is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are stil ...

), marrow,

spaghetti squash Spaghetti squash or vegetable spaghetti is a group of cultivars of ''Cucurbita pepo'' subsp. ''pepo''. They are available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours, including ivory, yellow and orange, with orange having the highest amount of c ...

, and many other types of

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

Availability

Squash blossoms are highly perishable, and as such are rarely stocked in

supermarkets A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

. Male and female squash blossoms can be used interchangeably, but picking only male flowers (leaving some for

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...

) allows the plant to also produce some fruit (squash).

Culinary uses

Squash blossoms may be stuffed, battered and fried, or made into soup. The flowers have a subtle flavor, reminiscent of young zucchinis, and can be eaten raw.

Stuffed blossoms

The squash blossoms are frequently stuffed and cooked in some Southeast European and Middle Eastern cuisines. The dish is called ''Kolokythoanthoi'' in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and ' in

Turkish language Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...

and such dishes belong to a family of stuffed vegetable dishes,

dolma Dolma (Turkish for “stuffed”) is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, and common in modern national cuisines of regions and countries that once were part of the Ottoman Empire. Some types of dolma are made with whol ...

, in the cuisine of the former

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

.. The stuffing frequently includes a soft cheese, such as

ricotta Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the ...

. 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 Meze or mezza (, ) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in the Levant, Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Iran. It is similar to Spanish tapas and Italian antipasti. A mezze may be served as a part of a multi-course me ...

with

rakı Rakı or raki (, Turkish pronunciation: ) is an alcoholic drink made of twice-distilled grapes. It is the national drink of Turkey. It is also popular in other Balkan countries as an Apéritif and digestif, apéritif as well as in Kazakhstan. I ...

. The dish is especially popular in the

Aegean Region The Aegean Region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya. Located in w ...

of Turkey and associated with the

Cretan Turks The Cretan Muslims ( el, Τουρκοκρητικοί or , or ; tr, Giritli, , or ; ar, أتراك كريت) or Cretan Turks were the Muslim inhabitants of the island of Crete. Their descendants settled principally in Turkey, the Dodecanese ...

that migrated to Turkey due to the

population exchange between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

. Both Turkish and

Greek Cypriots Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...

cook stuffed blossoms in a similar fashion.

Cypriot Greek Cypriot Greek ( el, κυπριακή ελληνική or ) is the Varieties of Modern Greek, variety of Modern Greek that is spoken by the majority of the Cyprus, Cypriot populace and Greek Cypriot diaspora. It is considered a divergent dialect ...

name for the dish is ''kupepia me anthus.''

Other

In the

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

regions of Italy and in some parts of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

(Spain) they are frequently made into

fritters A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been battered or breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-fried. Fritters are prepared in both sweet and savory var ...

. Its use is extensive in

Mexican cuisine Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and M ...

, especially in

Central Mexico Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, where it is used for soups and as a filling for

quesadillas A quesadilla (; ; Mexican diminutive of ''quesada'') is a Mexican dish consisting of a tortilla that is filled primarily with cheese, and sometimes meats, spices, and other fillings, and then cooked on a griddle or stove. Traditionally, a co ...

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'' File:Etli kabak çiçeği dolması.jpg, ''Kabak çiçeği dolması'' with meat Hobak-kkot-jeon 2.jpg, ''Hobak-kkot- jeon'' (pan-fried stuffed ''

Cucurbita moschata ''Cucurbita moschata'' is a species originating in either Central America or northern South America. It includes cultivars known as squash or pumpkin. ''C. moschata'' cultivars are generally more tolerant of hot, humid weather than cultivars of ' ...

'' flowers)

References