Zucchini squash is the favored jewel of the summer squashes. Its flavor is light and sweet with flesh as delicate as a flower and texture that makes it almost melt in the mouth. Zucchini's many varieties offer the cook countless opportunities to prepare a varied menu of colorful summer dishes. Farmers' markets are the best source of the freshest squashes and frequently offer unique varieties as well as those organically grown.

Summer squashes, as well a winter squashes, are native to the Americas and belong to the family of curcurbita. Archaeologists have traced their origins to Mexico, dating back from 7,000 to 5,500 BCE, when they were an integral part of the ancient diet of maize, beans, and squashes. That pre-Columbian food trio is still the mainstay of the Mexican cuisine and is known today as the three sisters.

Many explorers who came to the Americas brought back what they considered strange foods. The zucchini eventually found its way to Italy where it was named zucchino. Many names have been given to this squash. The French call it courgette, a name that has been adopted by the English. The English also refer to a variety that is slightly larger and plumper as marrow.

The colonists of New England adopted the name squash, a word derived from several Native American words for the vegetable which meant something eaten raw. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were squash enthusiasts who even enjoyed growing them.

Zucchinis are considered the tender, sweet, immature fruit of the curcurbita pepo which is eaten in its entirety. If left on the vine or bush longer, the fruit becomes enormous, the seeds larger, tougher, and sometimes inedible, and the flavor less sweet. Cocozelle, a variety of zucchini that originated in Italy, is shorter, plumper, and striped. Today's farmers are developing hybrids that are a visual delight. Some are round, some are yellow, some a combination of green and yellow, and some are a cross between zucchini and the fluted patty pan squash.

With their high water content (more than 95 percent), zucchini squashes are very low in calories. There are only 13 calories in a half-cup of raw zucchini, with a slight increase to 18 calories in the same quantity cooked. Nutritionally, zucchinis offer valuable antioxidants. Zucchini is a good source of Vitamins A and C, Potassium, and is low in calories making it an excellent choice for dieters.

Equivalents

1 pound zucchini = 3-4 servings

1 pound zucchini = about 3 medium zucchini

1 pound zucchini = 2-1/2 cups chopped

1 medium zucchini = 1 cup sliced zucchini

Just remember, overcook zucchini and you end up with mush. There is no way to salvage it other than to make soup.