What to do with my overgrown zucchini?

Mi Budare
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16 Comments

Diana B. September 14, 2013
Gourmet Metrics, that's exactly what the L.A. Times article recommended!
 
Linn September 14, 2013
Too late now, but for the next big one, consider stuffing it. Dig out the innards, throw out the seeds, choose one of the many palatable recipes for spicing, seasoning, and masking the tasteless zucchini. Put it back in the shell and bake it.
 
Diana B. September 14, 2013
It's probably too late for the particular baseball-bat zucchini you had when you first posted this question, but in today's Los Angeles Times, there are two recipes for salvaging those monsters: http://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-calcook-20130914,0,5988736.story
 
patriceratops September 10, 2013
I've never done it with zucchini but blanching removes bitterness from vegetables. You can blanch and shock multiple times, each time veggies will get slightly less bitter.

If you've never blanched before, bring water to a boil and drop in veggies for 30 seconds. Then with a slotted spoon remove the veggies and put them in a bowl of ice water to shock them.
 
Mi B. September 10, 2013
Thank you for all your suggestions. I decided to dispose them, because I did not want to risk wasting even more food with no good tasting zucchinis.
 
Pegeen September 8, 2013
Lots of ideas here:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/09/08/magazine/bittman-zucchini-recipes.html
NY Times Magazine article, "Zuke Alors"
 
mainecook61 September 8, 2013
The best application for overgrown zucchini is the compost heap. I would never donate to a food pantry something I would not eat myself, and watery (or bitter) zucchini baseball bats don't qualify. Yes, you can make zucchini bread, but it won't use up very much of a big zucchini. As for the bitterness, I have never had that experience, but I suspect plants grown in a drought might not taste as good. Zucchini that have sat around, improperly stored, won't taste good. Also, summer squash plants eventually quit, and squashes from the end of the plant's life cycle aren't as sweet and tender.
 
WannabeBaker September 7, 2013
Did a little bit more research, and it turns out extremely bitter zucchini has been known to cause bad stomach pains that can send you to the hospital because of toxic affects of cucurbitacin. Sounds like it's not common, but I would still just avoid eating those zucchinis.
 
Mi B. September 7, 2013
This is interesting. Who would have thought a zucchini can send you to the hospital? I made a zucchini the other night. it wasn't that big, but still was very bitter. My husband and I stopped eating it at some point because we could not enjoy it. Maybe it was a way of our body to tell us do not it that!!! it is poisonous!!!!!
 
WannabeBaker September 7, 2013
Ah, I see. I thought by overgrown you meant you had too many. As for the bitterness, you can try scooping out the seeds, but that's probably not your problem. Zucchinis and other plants in the same family produce a bitter compound called cucurbitacin. From what I've read, this is not relegated to just the seeds (or even in the seeds at all) but really the whole thing. It happens for various reasons - sometimes because you went through a drought, others because your particular type of zucchini produces it. Alas, I could not find an answer to getting rid of the taste, which is said to be one of the bitterest for humans. Sorry.
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx September 7, 2013
make a batch of potato zucchini pancakes and freeze.
 
David September 7, 2013
Yes it will. My grandmother used to slice them in half and scoop out a channel and then stuff them...garlic and parmesan breadcrumbs, olives and herbs, sweet sausage and onions. Then she would bake them and the flavorings in the stuffing would flavor the zucchini.
 
Mi B. September 7, 2013
Thanks for all your answers. I forgot to mention that this zucchinis do not taste like your regular size ones. This ones are bitter and drier. Can I still use them for your applications? Would its bitterness affect a zucchini bread badly?
 
WannabeBaker September 7, 2013
Zucchini bread! And cake (think as a replacement for carrot). I've heard zucchini fritters are also good.
 
Declan September 7, 2013
Make a ratatouille . If you have lots of them, use ratatouille to make a veg lasagne, which freezes great, so no waste
 
David September 7, 2013
Donate to your church or local food pantry. If you don't know of one ampleharvest.org can help
If you want to eat them just peel the ones with thick skins.
 
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