Giant Zucchini
The Specimen
Over-large Zucchini. (species Cucurbita pepo) Friut or, in culinary terms, a vegetable. Botanically, the zucchini is an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of the female flower. Length: 44.25 cm. Weight: 2.49 kg. Tunbridge, Vermont. First Branch Memorial
—Temporary, or seasonal specimen, part of the Sagan/Dworsky botanical specimen workshop.
Origins of the Squash
Squash itself has its origin in the Americas, being one of the Three Sisters along with corn (maiz) and beans (including nitrogen-fixing bacteria).
Zucchini itself is European in origin, the result of spontaneously occurring mutations (also called "sports"). Evidence indicates that this mutation occurred in the late 19th century, probably near Milan; early varieties usually included the names of nearby cities in their name. The alternate name Courgette comes from the French name of the fruit, with the same spelling, and is used in France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. "Courge", French for squash. "Zucca" is the Italian word for squash; the feminine diminutive plural "zucchine" is preferred in most regions of Italy. The masculine diminutive plural "zucchini" is used in the United States. The first records of zucchini in the United States date to the early 1920s. It was almost certainly brought over by Italian immigrants, and probably first emerged in the United States in California.
Domestic Uses
Usually the immature fruit of the plant is presented as a savory dish or accompaniment, boiled or quickly pan-fried, with or without herbs.
The sample in the Museum collection is over-large. This indicates a more limited culinary use, the large fruits being fibrous, and really quite nasty.
Other specimens of over-large zucchinis have, from time to time, been left with the Museum, and at our colleagues homes in late summer, at our kitchen doors, sometimes anonymously, in the middle of the night.
fl.727.b08.temp
