Zucchini flower is the flower of the zucchini (of the same family, the Cucurbitaceae), which develops at the lower end of this vegetable. Yellow-orange in color, with green veins and a fragile consistency, the flower should be picked early in the morning, when it is still open and turgid and eaten within a very short time.

It can be prepared breaded and fried, stuffed and also inside omelettes.

They are already on sale in spring, due to greenhouse crops, but it is in the summer that those grown in open fields arrive on the market. They can be of two types: female flowers (attached to the apex of the vegetable) or male (which grow on long stems), recognizable by the peduncle. They both grow on the same plant.

Bright orange in color, the courgette flowers are picked in steps, almost daily, and by hand, due to their delicacy; then they are packaged on the same day, usually in trays, to be marketed without spoiling. After purchase, they can be kept in the refrigerator for a maximum of 1-2 days. Their use in the kitchen, exquisitely Italian, traditionally involves preparing them stuffed (classic the combination of anchovies and mozzarella), fried in vegetable oil, in risotto or in pasta sauces. They should be gently rinsed, eliminating internal stamens and pistils, left to dry and consumed immediately.