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Comments

angela

Oh, how cool. I love these things. I had them for the first time in Italy when I was about 22 and I had dreams about them ever since. Bravo!

littlebouffe

Too bad. Fried zucchini blossoms are definitely something I've wanted to try but have no expectation of being able to anytime soon. At least now I'll know not to hold my breath.

Still impressed with your frying capabilities.

discount family oracle online

If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to fry some flowers when you're there...

the bee

These look yummy. Did you try them w/ apricot jam ? It makes them very good especially if ou heat the jam 1st. Did you give some to Jack the food tasting dog?
I have to say that my heart felt for the dog. Dog food is bland looking and tastes like dog food.
When you have a good cook under your roof there is no reason to be eating dog food. He could give reviews in our blog . Just a thought.

Cazza

I'm with the bee. I think we should have an independent food reviewer ... Jack. He could include ease of access.

Is $2 for 7 flowers expensive? We're paying $7 for 2 bananas.

Bananas are like gold in Australia at the moment.

Julie

Angela - I need to try them again. Mine seemed to be mostly about texture. I loved the fact that they were so delicate they were like crispy air but I wouldn't say there was a lot of flavor there.

littlebouffe - most people seem to adore them. I'm now anxious to try them again and see if my first impression holds.

DFO, always with the good advice. Thanks.

Bets, I don't know if you'd want to take Jack's advice on things because he's not too discerning. If it's food he'll eat it. And even if it's not food he may eat it.

Cazza - $7 for 2 bananas! Holy hell, they are like gold! I don't know if $2 for 7 blossoms was a good price or not because I've never priced them before. But seven flowers made a whole plate of fried zucchini blossoms which were enough for two people.

bonnie

Almost too pretty to eat! Love your adjectives! Perhaps a fine olive oil would help the flavor?

My kiddos are cooking from a French cookbook this summer. Salad Nicoise is tonight's dinner.

Julie

Bonnie, salad nicoise sounds like a nice summer evening's dinner. I'm impressed your children are making it. I hope you post about their cooking sometime.

Rebecca

Let's face it, zucchini doesn't have much flavor. Fried zucchini tastes like whatever the batter and the oil it was fried in tastes like; zucchini bread tastes of all the ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini. I'm probably making myself unpopular here, but I've always thought the zucchini was an overrated vegetable. It doesn't even have much to offer in the way of nutrients.
So I'm not surprised that the blossoms didn't taste like much, just sorry you went to all that trouble and expense.

lindy

IMHO, the blossoms are wa-aay more tasty than the zucchini itself. They are so good. Perhaps you got duds? Or maybe you just don't like em, of course.It could be that I'm just crazy...I love them.

While I adore them batter fried-especially stuffed with ricotta and herbs,but also plain, I think they are lovely in a chiffonade form in scrambled eggs, frittatas, quiches..on pasta.

The zucchini squash itself needs a lot of help, I do agree, to be interesting.It's too watery by half, unless it all gets squished out and concentrated, somehow.

Vanessa

I'm totally ignorant. I've never even heard of zucchini blossoms. Now I want to try them.

Julie

Rebecca - I agree with you that zucchini is sort of tasteless, although I think to a lot of people that's part of the zucchini's appeal. I am not that crazy about zucchini but not because of flavor -- it's the mushiness that turns me off.

Lindy - I need to try them again. It wasn't that I just didn't like them -- I liked their texture (the delicate crispy-shattery thing) a lot but the only flavor that was there was that of the batter and oil.

Next time I try them, I'm going to do something other than frying them. The pasta idea sounds good. Have you posted that recipe?

Vanessa - yes! try them and let me know what you think of the flavor.

lobstersquad

last summer we house-sat a house with a kitchen garden. I was so excited about the zucchini flowers, and so dissapointed. they really are the most tasteless thing.They only taste of the stuffing and the fried batter. But so pretty!

Julie

Ximena, I'm glad someone else thought the flowers didn't have much flavor -- now I know it's not totally my tastebuds. I still want to try them prepard another way just to give it a second chance. And you're right, they are pretty.

tejal

You're right, fried is not a bad flavour in the end, but still, what a disappointment!

THE BEE

CAZZA- i LIKE YOUR STYLE
JUJUBEE- ARE THEY GOOD IN A SALAD ?

Julie

tejal, it was a disappointment -- I'd read so many wonderful things about zucchini blossoms that I had very high hopes for them. And I still want to try them again, just to see if I feel differently about them on second tasting.

Bets, don't know whether or not they'd be good in salad. I'll have to try.

chatty

That looks delicious! Visiting from my pal Margaret's site. Love Baltimore. My folks are in NoVa.

Julie

Hi, Chatty -- always glad to hear about someone loving Baltimore. Thanks for stopping by.

Luisa

My Sicilian uncle stuffs his zucchini flowers with a small sliver of mozzarella and a tiny strip of anchovy before twisting each blossom up, dredging it and frying it. They are a REVELATION.

Stefanie Noble

I've made zucchini blossoms twice so far this summer. They do have a very delicate flavor, but I really appreciate the texture (I like to leave the stamen/pistil/whatever intact, as well as the green base, snipping the stem close) and the ability to act as a vehicle.

I don't dredge mine, instead just stuffing with a bit of mozzarella (like the Sicilian uncle above). I've also added escarole for more greenery. Then just pan-fry in a small amount of oil. There's mostly a cheese flavor, but without the deep-fried oil and flour of, say, a mozzarella stick.

Michael

Hi Julie,

It is always great to hear about someone when they discover zucchini flowers! As an American living in Italy I've been enjoying this great Italian secret for years.

Try frying them with less oil and use "good" olive oil at that. My wife just puts enough to cover the bottom of a skillet and then cooks them one side at a time.

The flavor is delicate and though the fried taste is there so is the flower flavor.

Keep trying!

Term Paper

Its looks very testy Fried Zucchini Flowers, ,I feel hungry to see that, let me have one, Thanks for share this Yummy article.

KMBN

My mom's cousin made these all the time when I was a child, but instead of putting salt on them, she would instead sprinkle a little bit of sugar on them...I still can taste them. Yumm.

lastofthezucchiniflowers

ok, here's what I did (borrowed from the Soprano's Family Cookbook, which actually IS a cookbook!)

Batter is 1/3 all purpose flour, 1/3 cornstarch and 1/3 club soda, add salt and pepper to taste mix and let sit for one hour. The batter becomes rather pasty - but is DELICIOUS

Make sure the flowers don't have bugs. ALL 10 of mine had a litlle honey bee inside, I suspect the bees land to pollinate and the flower, sensing an irritant, closes. I just let bees go outside. (When I picked up the flower,it BUZZED!)

Flatten them out (I did NOT remove the stamens - I think that is where a lot of the flavor resides?)

cover them in batter

deep fry in veg oil until golden and drain on paper towel (for extra fun, I put a bit of ricotta cheese in a few, some leaked out, but I'm not Artie Bucco!)

My husband and kids LOVED them, they were gone in SECONDS. Anything but bland!

TravelDoc

Try them again, only this time stuff with Boursin cheese (room temp, put in a tiny baggie, clip corner and pipe into the flower), dip in egg wash, then lightly dredge in seasoned (your choice here. We like adding Mrs. Dash's Italian seasoning) flour, and lightly fry in a good olive oil. Delicioso! Often times I will saute small strands (1 - 2 inch) of thyme w/ the blossoms. You can also saute sage leaves. Let me know what you think!

doudoune moncler

What about using an immersion blender for the hollandaise? Looks fab! Thanks for sharing.

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