Squash blooms, or better,  zucchini blossoms

From the zucchini plant (cucurbita pepo), we consume the immature and tender fruits (zucchine in Italian, courgettes in French, calabacin or azuquin in Spanish), the mature fruits (marrows in English), but even the young leaves and, especially, the flower blossoms. Those known as squash blossoms are actually blossoms of zucchini. It should be explained that zucchini is a monoclinous plant of which the feminine flowers (those which we sometimes see with petals attached to the extremities of the fruit) are distinct from the masculine flowers. In fact, the masculine flowers are the ones better adapted for consumtion since they are bigger and lend themselves better to stuffing. When purchasing, the flowers should be puffy and swollen, with the petals laid out and of a bright coloring (sign of freshness). Zucchini blossoms have few calories (12kcal per 100gr), contain Vitamin A, are refreshing and are diuretic.

The use of zucchini blossoms is diffused throughout regional Italian cuisine: notably the preparation in Rome and Liguria. The zucchini blossoms are one of the few remaining examples of flowers being used in the kitchen; in the past, in Italy as in other parts of the world, especially in spring, numerous species of flowers (from roses to acacia) were used both to prepare salads as well as cooked meals, jams and desserts.