Zucchini

History

Despite its strong Italian identity, zucchini represents a remarkable culinary roundabout—native American squash that returned to the Americas as an Italian vegetable centuries after Columbus. Wild Cucurbita pepo squash was domesticated in Mexico around 7,000-10,000 years ago, making it one of humanity's oldest cultivated crops. Spanish and Portuguese explorers brought squash seeds to Europe in the 16th century, where Italian gardeners in the regions of Milan, Genoa, and Florence began selecting for smaller, tender fruits eaten immature rather than the large, hard-shelled winter squash. By the late 19th century, Italians had developed the cylindrical green summer squash they called "zucchina" (little squash) or "zucchino." The plural "zucchini" was adopted in American English, while the British use the French term "courgette." Italian immigrants brought zucchini seeds to America in the early 20th century, and by the 1920s it was appearing in American seed catalogs. The real breakthrough came during World War II when Victory Gardens popularized home vegetable growing and zucchini's productivity made it ideal for wartime gardening. The vegetable's legendary abundance has inspired countless jokes about neighbors avoiding gardeners in August and zucchini appearing mysteriously on doorsteps. Italian varieties like Costata Romanesco, with their ribbed skin and nutty flavor, represent the vegetable at its finest—far superior to the watery commercial types bred for yield over taste. The zucchini flower (fiori di zucca), stuffed and fried, is a beloved delicacy in Italian cuisine, and the male flowers are abundant since only female flowers produce fruit. Today, zucchini's mild flavor, versatility, and prolific nature make it the gateway vegetable for countless beginning gardeners.