• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Salads with Anastasia logo
  • SALAD RECIPES
  • COLLECTIONS
  • DRESSINGS
  • SALAD VEGGIES
  • ABOUT
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
Home » Kitchen Basics

Zucchini Flowers, Squash Flowers & Pumpkin Flowers

Made by Anastasia Papapetros - Serves Filed Under: Kitchen Basics

Share
Pin3
Post
Share

Zucchini Flowers are bright and cheery and only available a few months of the year. You can enjoy them raw, stuffed or fried and preparing them will be a breeze if you follow our step-by-step guide.

A bouquet of zucchini flowers.

The first thing this morning, our wonderful Portuguese neighbour Maria came knocking on our door with a basketful of these golden beauties in her arms - what a treat!

So we donned our aprons, got the chopping boards and paring knives out and got stuck into prepping them so that they could stay fresh and we could enjoy them throughout the week.

Whether they be zucchini, squash, courgette or pumpkin flowers, they are all prepared the same way; they are, after all, members of the curcubit or gourd family.

In This Post:
 [hide]
  1. Did You Know 🤔
  2. How to Choose Zucchini Flowers
  3. How to Prepare Them Step-by-Step
  4. How to Store Your Zucchini Flowers
  5. Ok, Now They Are Prepped. What Do I Do With Them?
  6. OR Try Them in One of Our Mouth-Watering Salads…

Did You Know 🤔

That pumpkin, squash or zucchini/courgette flowers are called cucurbit flowers.

How to Choose Zucchini Flowers

If you are not lucky enough to have a generous Maria in your midst or if you don't grow them in your own garden, you are most likely to find these pretty blossoms at a farmers market or at your greengrocer during the summer months.

Your sunny blossoms should be brightly coloured with no shrivelling or wilting.

How to Prepare Them Step-by-Step

1Use kitchen scissors to cut off the stem, then gently remove any spiny leaves around the blossom as they can sting. 

cutting off the stem from a zucchini flower
CUT OFF THE STEM
REMOVing THE SPINY LEAVES from a zucchini flower
REMOVE THE SPINY LEAVES

2 Gently open up the blossom and cut off the stamen/pistil with your kitchen scissors, or you can gently reach into the flower to remove the pistil and stamen. The flower is very delicate, so take care not to break it. 

cutting off the stem from a zucchini flower
CUT OFF THE STEM
REMOVing THE SPINY LEAVES from a zucchini flower
REMOVE THE SPINY LEAVES
using scissors to cut off pumpkin flower stamen
WITH YOUR SCISSORS
cut pumpkin flower stamen
CUT OFF THE STAMEN

How to Store Your Zucchini Flowers

As these delicate blossoms tend to close up soon after picking, we place them inside each other and then stack them up.
Then we wrap them in paper towels so they stay fresher for longer and store them in a plastic bag in the fridge.
It is very difficult to open them up to stuff them once the flowers have closed up.

placing pumpkin flowers inside each other to store
PLACE ONE INSIDE THE OTHER
stacking up pumpkin flowers to store
STACK THEM UP

Ok, Now They Are Prepped. What Do I Do With Them?

There is a multitude of ways that you can enjoy these delicate blossoms; you can :

  • Roll them in pancake batter and fry them just like you would your pancakes, then serve them with fresh berries, maple syrup, whipped ricotta or fresh cream as a sweet treat.
  • Stuff them with rice or ricotta and goat's cheese as a great starter or light lunch.
  • Snack on them raw; they are low cal and delicious!

OR Try Them in One of Our Mouth-Watering Salads…

ZUCCHINI SALAD WITH GREEN MANGO & COCONUT
ZUCCHINI GREEN MANGO
An aerial view of fried zucchini flowers on labneh and zucchini ribbons on the side.
MIDDLE-EASTERN-SALAD
ARUGULA SALAD RECIPE CLOSE UP IN PORTRAIT
ARUGULA SALAD

Share
Pin3
Post
Share

More Kitchen Basics

  • Three different types of cabbage halves with a shreds in front on a wooden board.
    How to Cut Cabbage for Slaw
  • Cut rosemary in a wooden bowl with a wood background.
    How to Chop Rosemary
  • An aerial view of rocket/arugula in a white bowl.
    How to Prepare Arugula and Rocket
  • Dry chickpeas in a brown bowl on top of a pile of chickpeas.
    How to Cook Chickpeas Stovetop

About Anastasia Papapetros

Anastasia has been passionate about cooking since she was eight years old, and hasn't left the kitchen since! With over a decade of experience running her own coffee shop and catering business, Anastasia has developed a true love for salads - especially for family get-togethers and friends' functions. She's the go-to for bringing the perfect salad to any occasion!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Photo of Anastasia.

Hi, I'm Anastasia! Let me show you how to transform your salads from boring and limp to bright, fresh and exciting using in-season fresh produce.

More about me →

Our Latest Posts

  • Green and red cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts cooked, cut and raw on a wooden surface.
    What Goes Well With Cabbage
  • A pile of different types of cabbages.
    Discover 10 Cabbage Varieties (NEW)
  • Kale Greek salad on a white plate with a blue napkin on the side.
    Kale Greek Salad
  • Oregano vinaigrette in a small blue ceramic bowl with dried oregano, sprigs and a small olive oil jug on the side.
    Easy Oregano Vinaigrette

Welcome

ANASTASIA FROM SALADS WITH ANASTASIA

Hi, I’m Anastasia,
Let me show you how to transform your salads from boring and limp to bright, fresh and exciting using in-season produce.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Looking for a recipe?

Greek Salad Collection

NARROW PICS OF VARIOUS GREEK SALADS WITH A TEXT OVERLAY

Cheesy Salad Collection

Various salads with cheese and a text overlay.

Green Salad Collection

VARIETY OF GREEN SALADS WITH TEXT OVERLAY

Asian Salads

ASIAN SALAD COLLECTION WITH TEXT OVERLAY

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About Me
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Site Credits
  • Contact Me

Get our guide for common salad fails and their fixes...

Recipes & Tools

  • Salads
  • Dressings
  • Spices & Condiments
  • Salad Tools
  • How to Guides
  • What's in Season

Copyright © 2024 · Salads with Anastasia · All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsOKAY
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT