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Can you use marrows for cooking purposes as soon as you pick it??


I went away for the weekend and told my friends to pick the courgettes at 4-6 inches.

BUT went to lottie yesterday and have now got four huge marrows...They say they never saw them!!!!!!! :o :o

Can i make them into chutney and jam today...

Sam

Of course! Or leave them to ripen & store them?

thanks..

gonna get the beast now...... 8)

Tim, when you say 'ripen' what do you mean?  Do they change colour or something?

Does this help??

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growingmarrows.shtml

I've now picked 5 marrows, though have given two of them away! Of the other three, one has a softish skin and so is no good for storing. The other pair have tougher skins (though not solid!) and will therefore not rot in storage.

As they store, they go bright yellow. So does the flesh.

I usually cook a stored marrow on Christmas day!

moonbells

That was an interesting link Tim although a little confusing ::)

Quote•   With marrows, if you cannot easily cut into the skin with your thumbnail, they are past their best.
•   If you want to store marrows, wait until the stem is just starting to dry out, at which point the skin will be quite tough.

Is that not contradictory or have I missed something? ???  If the skin is quite tough then according to the Beeb it’s past its best. :)

Problem I have now is that I have cut about 3 Marrows fresh from the plant, how long will they last as the stem hadn’t started drying out? But at least they’re fresh. ::) ??? ;D

As a courgette-novice ( I've harvested 2 so far !! )...

How long does it take for a courgette to grow into

a marrow??

Debs ;D

Hi Debs, leave your courgettes for 4 or 5 days and you'll be on your way to having a marrow. I have one Beast of 2 weeks old that Cinderella could use as a boat ;D

A week will see them turning into pretty hefty marrows.

I just cut them off when they're as big as i want them, them keep for ages without doing anything special.

I have kept a marrow for atleast 4-5 months

They are nice baked in the oven with sea salt and olive oil. If you can use flavoured olive oil ( ie oil flavoured with chillies fresh if you like it hot oe oil flavoured with herbs for that mediteraniam taste.) Or just use plain olive oil.

The_Sexy_Snail (aka The_Snail)

Thanks y'all.

I shall have a sneaky peek tomorrow and see if there are any

courgettes-to-be  ;D

Debs

Quote from: moonbells on August 09, 2005, 19:39:01
I've now picked 5 marrows, though have given two of them away! Of the other three, one has a softish skin and so is no good for storing. The other pair have tougher skins (though not solid!) and will therefore not rot in storage.

As they store, they go bright yellow. So does the flesh.

I usually cook a stored marrow on Christmas day!

moonbells

Moonbells, where do you store them?

Do  they need to be kept cool or dark or anything?

Roy - only just saw that.

Agree - I think they mean past their pristine prime of moist flavourness, but still well worth storing!

I just tap them for a hollow sound.

Patience is definitely a virtue !!

From worrying whether or not my courgette plants would produce fruit, I now have two

monsters which I haven't used yet - and probably more when I visit my plot!

Debs

I keep my marrows under the stairs! It's about the coolest place in the house and so  things last a long time, and aren't at the mercy of various shed invaders like squirrels and snails.

Marrowed up at the moment - not able to get to lottie much due to large amounts of work and the courgettes keep turning into marrows when I blink!

Still. have now discovered marrow and ginger jam which is a swine to make without splashing yourself with boiling gloop but delicious! And a very good way to get shot of a few marrows... providing you use some pectin-enhanced sugar else it doesn't set.

moonbells

Try adding a couple of hands full of gooseberries or  a squeeze of lemon if you dont like to use pectin enhanced sugar this is a natural pectin.

Quote from: wardy on September 15, 2005, 12:20:05

Been raiding pantry for empty jam jars.  Will a pickled onion one do  ;D

Gosh, do I need a special pan?  Hope not :)

Well, I am no expert!!  But, I have made jam and savoury jellies in the past, and I think you need to be careful that the jar is odour free!  Pickled onion jar would be ok for chutneys though I think.  However, run through the dishwasher a couple of times should get rid of smells.  Lids another matter again!  I did re-use the lids (rightly or wrongly) - often over some waxed paper.  Also sterilised the jars in the oven.  The lids often retain the smells no matter how much you try to get rid of them!  Like I say, I'm no expert, but the savoury jellies kept for at least two years without going off. 
Good luck with it!
Oh, and I just used a large stainless steel stock pan - but you have to beware of spitting jam - causes nasty burns!

I work on the assumption that jam and honey and mayo jars are ok for jams, and pickle and cooking sauce and mayo jars are ok for pickles etc.

But hemajo is right about lids - if one looks even slightly manky, ditch it.  I just ordered 24 new jam jar lids from Lakeland (£1.85 for 12) to go with a lot of recycled jars with mouldy-looking lids.

I second the burns warning too - especially as the marrow and ginger jam is the worst I've ever encountered for spitting boiling goo at you! It also catches really fast so you have to stir pretty much constantly, preferably with one of those wooden spoons which have a flat end.  And wear oven gloves as you do so!

*Don't* do what I did and have an open topped shirt on... I have a nice blister scar now on my chest.

I too have a heavy stainless steel stock pan and it's great - the very tall sides allow me to use it for bottling stuff as well as keeping the jam splashes under control.

moonbells

quote]Can you use marrows for cooking purposes as soon as you pick it??[

Quote

Moonbells, I try to keep up with Lottie production and use as many as I can as they get big enough.  This means the skin is totally useable, and not at all  tough.

So far I have used them in ratatouille, stuffed rings, pot roast chicken with mxd veg, frittata and also in white sauce, all without problem or complaint from the eating department!! ;D