A few days ago in north London I bought some courgettes cheaply. They were
bigger than i normally buy (about three quaters of the size of a cucumber).

They turned out to be quite bitter. Is this because large courgettes are
like this or is there a way of cooking them to remove this bitterness
please?

On Dec 9, 5:01 pm, "sam coleridge" > wrote:
> A few days ago in north London I bought some courgettes cheaply. They were
> bigger than i normally buy (about three quaters of the size of a cucumber).
>
> They turned out to be quite bitter. Is this because large courgettes are
> like this or is there a way of cooking them to remove this bitterness
> please?


For those of us far from London, that's an eggplant, right?

They are like that, especially the skins. I generally salt them, let
them sit for a bit, and rinse off the salty, bitter seepage.

B

On Dec 9, 2:24 pm, bulka > wrote:
> On Dec 9, 5:01 pm, "sam coleridge" > wrote:
>
> > A few days ago in north London I bought some courgettes cheaply. They were
> > bigger than i normally buy (about three quaters of the size of a cucumber).
>
> > They turned out to be quite bitter. Is this because large courgettes are
> > like this or is there a way of cooking them to remove this bitterness
> > please?
>
> For those of us far from London, that's an eggplant, right? [snip'
>
No, it's a zucchini. Nowadays it is rare to get a bitter zucchini.
It may be that large size, greater age facilitates it, I don't know.
Peeling would probably have helped, maybe even would eliminate the
problem. Best advice is that the best zucchini are small and young,
no matter the price. When we grow them in the summer we try hard to
pick them before they exceed six inches in length. -aem

"sam coleridge" > wrote in message
...
>A few days ago in north London I bought some courgettes cheaply. They were
>bigger than i normally buy (about three quaters of the size of a cucumber).
>
> They turned out to be quite bitter. Is this because large courgettes are
> like this or is there a way of cooking them to remove this bitterness
> please?
>

Larger courgettes (aka zucchini squash) have a more bitter taste because the
grower waited too long to pick them. In their opinon size apparently was
more important. I'd suggest splitting them lengthwise and oven roasting or
grilling them (brushed lightly with oil and whatever herbs you like) to
lessen the bitter taste. Or you could stuff and bake them. There have been
a number of threads here recently about stuff squash that included
courgettes but you'd have to look them up as "stuffed zucchini" or "stuffed
courgettes". There are tons of recipes out there. Good luck!

Jill

sam coleridge > wrote:

> A few days ago in north London I bought some courgettes cheaply. They were
> bigger than i normally buy (about three quaters of the size of a cucumber).
>
> They turned out to be quite bitter. Is this because large courgettes are
> like this or is there a way of cooking them to remove this bitterness
> please?

I'd say, you just got unlucky with those courgettes. Bigger, i.e.
generally riper, courgettes are also called vegetable marrows and tend
to be blander, if anything, than smaller specimens.

Big green (there are also yellow ones) courgettes are good for vegetable
caviar.

Victor

On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 22:01:38 -0000, "sam coleridge"
> wrote:

>A few days ago in north London I bought some courgettes cheaply. They were
>bigger than i normally buy (about three quaters of the size of a cucumber).
>
>They turned out to be quite bitter. Is this because large courgettes are
>like this or is there a way of cooking them to remove this bitterness
>please?
>
It's the luck of the draw and you won't know they are bitter until you
cook them. FWIW: I think the bitterness is in the skin. Do you
remember noticing that?

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

"sam coleridge" > ha scritto nel messaggio
...
>A few days ago in north London I bought some courgettes cheaply. They were
>bigger than i normally buy (about three quaters of the size of a cucumber).
>
> They turned out to be quite bitter. Is this because large courgettes are
> like this or is there a way of cooking them to remove this bitterness
> please?

In my experience, those have been kept too long after picking. They are
just old in that way. Bigger ones are actually often tasteless.

sam coleridge wrote:
>
> A few days ago in north London I bought some courgettes cheaply. They were
> bigger than i normally buy (about three quaters of the size of a cucumber).
>
> They turned out to be quite bitter. Is this because large courgettes are
> like this or is there a way of cooking them to remove this bitterness
> please?

Large courgettes/zucchini can be quite bitter. Try salting them (as one
would aubergines) and rinsing. That often removes bitterness.

On Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:02:41 +0100, "Giusi" >
wrote:

>In my experience, those have been kept too long after picking. They are
>just old in that way.

My grandfather used to grow zucchini. He was not italian and I doubt
he knew any italians. He picked them bigger, not 'ini size. Most
were just fine but every now and one would have a bitter skin. He
picked all of his vegetables just before cooking, so "old" as in
sitting around too long had nothing to do with it.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.