How to Pick Zucchini Flowers

As zucchini plants grow, they produce zucchini flowers. These flowers are the edible blossoms that will eventually become zucchinis, if left to grow in a garden. Zucchini flowers are delicately soft and taste faintly of zucchini. Many gardeners enjoy harvesting and eating these colorful, golden blooms. Zucchini flowers can be picked from the garden and used in salads, sautéed or battered and deep fried for a tasty summer delicacy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Garden shears Paper towel Paring knife

1. Separate the male blossoms from the growing zucchinis when the zucchinis begin to emerge.

2. Use the garden shears to cut the zucchini flowers from the stems in the middle part of the day. This will ensure that the blossoms are open. Leave approximately 1 inch of stem under the flowers.

3. Wash the blossoms immediately with cool water. Examine the flowers for any bugs while rinsing them. Pat the flowers dry carefully with a paper towel after rinsing.

4. Remove the zucchini flowers from the stems and make a slice into one side of the base of the flower to prepare it for cooking.

Tips & Warnings

• Picking zucchini flowers won't damage the zucchinis and will not affect zucchini yields.
• Zucchini flowers are very delicate and do not keep longer than a few hours in the refrigerator. For best results, pick them immediately before preparing them for eating.