Zucchini: nutrition and how to use it

Fun facts

• Zucchini is a summer squash harvested while still young. The name is Italian for "little squash", since this variety was developed and named in Italy.
• 100g of zucchini has only about 17 kcal and 3.1g of carbs. Even a whole medium zucchini barely registers in calories.
• Zucchini gives 17.9mg of vitamin C and 261mg of potassium per 100g, plus 1g of fiber. The green skin holds much of the pigment, so leave it on when cooking.
• Vietnamese home cooks increasingly enjoy zucchini stir-fried with garlic, grilled or spiralized in place of noodles. Zucchini flowers are edible too. In the kOBE recipe library, zucchini appears in 9 dishes.

Choosing and storing

Choose small to medium zucchini that feel firm, with glossy skin and no soft spots. The bigger they get, the more seeds and water they usually have, and the less sweet they taste. Store zucchini in the crisper drawer in a paper or loosely open bag and use within about a week. Do not wash before storing, since moisture makes them spoil faster.

Cooking it well

Zucchini is full of water, so a quick stir-fry over high heat for a few minutes is enough to cook it while keeping some bite, while long cooking turns it mushy. Zucchini noodles are an easy way to add vegetables while still enjoying a bowl of noodles, just blanch them briefly or toss them raw with sauce. Short cooking also keeps more vitamin C, see does cooking destroy vitamin C.

Frequently asked questions