Topic: Can you use the unwanted small fruits as courgettes

[chriscross1966]

I'm growing a big one for the family competition (and also to be the first member of the family to crack a 100lb one too)..... so I'm removing the other small fruits now that a big one seems to have got going.... is it OK to eat them as a small round courgette?..... THe variety would appear to be either Hundredweight (hope not) or Atlantic Giant from the description of the pumkin they were saved seed from (I didn't grow the plant, it came from my sis-in-law and they just saved seed from a big pumpkin they bought last year for Halloween...

chrisc

[simmo116]

you ask this now after i've just thrown all mine in the composter!!!!!!....lol....

[Duke Ellington]

Last year i tried my small undeveloped green butternut squashes as courgettes and thought it tasted horrible!! :-X I sliced and fried them in some olive oil and garlic and felt it was a waste of olive oil and garlic. A lot of pumpkins tend to be lacking in flavour even when ripe.....but you wont know until you try.

Duke

[Suzanne]

The immature winter squash I use for cooking generally are from winter squash varieties that have some good flavours - so baby butternuts, crown prince etc which won't have time to mature when i harvest the whole crop. I have never grown the for decoration only or giant types of pumpkin, but I can't imagine that they would taste too good  :-\

[OllieC]

I've tried before, and found the taste to be roughly like a not very nice courgette... If you're very hungry & broke it might be worth trying?!?!  :P

[chriscross1966]

Hm... I might give one a go but as I will soon be resorting to Courgette Surprise (see posting in Courgette recipes in Recipes section) I doubt it will become a staple.....

[Duke Ellington]

I grew these last year and they were only suitable for carving. I made soup with lots of other flavours but it was still pretty boring and tasteless! This year I am only growing squashes.

Duke

[Vinlander]

I mainly grow turk's cap and various unintended crosses from it, and I find the baby pumpkins taken at any seedless stage (normally between 75mm and 150mm) are delicious cooked like courgettes - in fact they are better than any cooked pumpkin I've ever tasted.

They are so good they are always our first choice for making fritters (served with  tzatsiki/raita) - this is the best way to appreciate the extra nutty taste they have.

On the other hand I've tried babies of delicata tribe, crooknecks, crown prince, and every conceivable cross between them. Most aren't as good as turk's cap but I've never found one that wasn't perfectly acceptable as a courgette substitute.

BTW Turk's cap also produce nice fat seeds of a good size - which are the best tasting part of any pumpkin.

I don't grow pumpkins just for fruit size so I have no experience of those kinds.

[Digeroo]

I also liked Turks Turban small, rather disappointing bigger except the large seeds which are lovely roasted.