Cucuzzi Caravazzi
 

Anybody happen to have any experience with this squash? I'm getting ready to sow these seeds. I am reading the package and it says that it is an edible gourd. The seeds look like gourd seeds. Are they really going to make an edible squash?

The package says the flesh of young fruit is thick, tender and exceptional flavor. What the package doesn't say is when you pick them. What is young and if you don't pick them in time, do they then turn into a hard gourd that can be used for decorations?

And does anybody know, do these type squashes get powdery mildew as easily as the regular small summer yellow squashes?

Yes they are like what we called a baseball bat squash.
From what I can recall they grew like a weed along my sister in laws fence in soil that wasn't all that good.
The house was over ran with them.
Seemed to be very pest free all summer long with no particular problems at all.
Very tasty.

Worth

Four plants are going to make more squash than, you, your family, neighbors, and friends can eat. Don't be discouraged when the vines start blooming and you don't see any squash. Males blooms always comes first, followed by female blooms and squash in about 3 weeks. For best flavor, pick between 12 and 18 inches long.

[QUOTE=Worth1;457450]Yes they are like what we called a baseball bat squash.
From what I can recall they grew like a weed along my sister in laws fence in soil that wasn't all that good.
The house was over ran with them.
Seemed to be very pest free all summer long with no particular problems at all.
Very tasty.

Worth[/QUOTE]

Baseball bat squash. What a name. :lol: Yes, I could see being a kid and thinking they would look like that.

[QUOTE=whistech;457478]Four plants are going to make more squash than, you, your family, neighbors, and friends can eat. Don't be discouraged when the vines start blooming and you don't see any squash. Males blooms always comes first, followed by female blooms and squash in about 3 weeks. For best flavor, pick between 12 and 18 inches long.[/QUOTE]

I am glad you said something cuz I shared some seed from the package, but still have about 15 seeds and was going to plant them all. Almost would have had a nightmare on my hands if they make that much squash. :?: Now I think I will cut back to just one hill of 3 or 4 seeds. That is if I can plant them in a hill or do I have to grow em out as separate plants.

What do they taste like? Do I cook em like yellow summer squash? While waiting for the female flowers to arrive can you cook and eat the male blossoms like other squash?

I really need to quit shopping by eye candy alone. :roll: But if it weird or different looking, I want to try it and I am sick of eating the same yellow squash year after year. There has to be more to life than squash casserole.

Thank you for the help. :)

Cucuzzi is a gourd, bred to be eaten when immature. I found them to be best when about 1"-1.5" wide, at which point they are over a foot long. The flavor is different than summer squash, and hard to describe... we prefer to use it in soups, rather than eaten alone as a vegetable. If allowed to grow to maturity, they will form a very long, club-shaped gourd about 3-4 feet long. The vines are real monsters and grow quickly, even in my short summers - they will climb over everything nearby. Don't say we didn't warn you!:shock:

The plants have been "iffy" here; like most true gourds, they need heat to thrive, and that has been in short supply here in recent years.

My sister in law named them that when she was about 45.
The whole community called them baseball bat squash.:lol:
She grew a whole 50 yard fence line of the things from seeds she got from someone else.

Kudzu of squash.:shock:

Slice and fried in a mix of 50/50 cornmeal and flour they taste like chicken.:twisted:

I just googled baseball bat squash and got this.:lol:
[IMG]https://photos.travelblog.org/Photos/109289/396722/f/3786454-Baseball-bat-sized-Squash-0.jpg[/IMG]

Worth

You will need something for them to climb on. A trellis or a fence would be perfect or if you have a heavy tomato cage, it would be perfect to plant a seed on each side. The blooms are small, not like summer squash blooms, so I don't think it would be worth it to try to cook like summer squash blossoms.

They've got a milder flavor than zukes -- like Zeedman says, it's a good one to use as part of a dish, rarther than by themselves.

And, yeah, big plants, I've grown them in Missouri and Virginia, they've gotten up to 20' long...

You all have me convinced that I my be dealing with a monster, so I think, I'll just start a couple of seeds and take the best looking seedling and plant it out.

Especially after seeing that picture. I can't imagine harvesting and carrying something that big around, let along trying to swing it as a bat. I imagine kids would have fun with it.

After reading your posts, I thought about where I could grow such a vine and if it can handle some what poor soil, I have a piece of fence that is 6ft high and 50" long. Think, I'll plop a plant in there and see how it does.

I appreciate knowing what it taste likes and especially when to pick it. I remember first year I ever grew the summer squash. I thought surely you don't pick these guys now, they so tiny and I let them grow bigger and the farmers pigs down the road had a field day eating them. Learned my lesson the hard way and so now I ask. :oops:

Thank you for knowledge sharing. :) If I manage to get some to grow, I'll probably be back with pics to make sure I am picking them at the right stage.

Would rather eat them when they taste like chicken, instead of shoe-leather. :lol:

They are gourds that are eaten like squash. They took awhile to produce when a friend told me it would help if I "married" the male to female flowers.

My family enjoyed eating them.

[QUOTE=Starlight;457718]You all have me convinced that I my be dealing with a monster, so I think, I'll just start a couple of seeds and take the best looking seedling and plant it out. [/QUOTE]
I'd recommend planting at least two, for good pollination.

VERRRY INTERESTING.

JON:lol:

[QUOTE=ChristinaJo;457886]They are gourds that are eaten like squash. They took awhile to produce when a friend told me it would help if I "married" the male to female flowers.
My family enjoyed eating them.[/QUOTE]

Nice to know that there are a few folks who like to eat them. How do you serve yours ChristinaJo? :)

[QUOTE=Zeedman;457897]I'd recommend planting at least two, for good pollination.[/QUOTE]

OK, sounds like a plan especially since I won't get to that area too much,

[QUOTE=peppero;457942]VERRRY INTERESTING.

JON:lol:[/QUOTE]

Isn't it Jon. :lol: I keep looking at the pic and wondering else could a person do with something that big. I can't see it as a bird gourd.

Lauki
 

A slightly different variety grows in India and is called Lauki. It is believed to be very good for lots of things including digestion and blood pressure and is a staple vegetable. We have grown it here in Victoria, Australia for three seasons now with varying results. It loves the heat and seems to require humidity for the fruit to develop.

And when we are lucky enough to pick one we cook up a real treat... as we did last week. Here are some of our favourite recipes...

Lauki Kopta:
[url]http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/recipe/Lauki-Kofta-KhaanaKhazana.html[/url]
This recipe is close to how we make it, but for the masala we add a tsp of cumin seed to the oil first and brown it, and then add ginger and garlic with the onions. We use about half the tomato that is suggested, and don't stuff the kopte with tamarind.

Lauki sabzi (sabzi means veg curry):
[url]http://www.northindiancooking.com/lauki-ki-sabzi-bottle-gourd-long-melon-ghiya.html[/url]
You don't need a pressure cooker, just a small wok or frypan. In india they use an aluminium or steel kadhai and when all the ingredients are added just cover and stir from time to time till the lauki is soft. Again, after the cumin seed add onion, ginger and garlic and cook till brown.

Lauki and channa dahl:
[url]http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/lauki-chana-dal-curry-recipe/[/url]
This recipe is near perfect, only we add garlic as well and instead of garam masala we add a small teaspoon and a half of coriander powder.

And this recipe looks great...

Lauki with potato and peas:
[url]http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/recipe/Lauki-Aloo-Matar-Sanjeev-Kapoor-Kitchen-FoodFood.html[/url]
Here we would use the pressure cooker because it will cook the potatoes quicker, but again it's optional and I would chop (not grate) one onion and only use two small to medium tomatoes.

Hing in all the recipes is optional, (good for digestion as are all the spices).

YUM!!!

Here are some growing in our back yard two years ago when we had a very humid summer...

I usually peel it first and par boil it.
Then use it like squash. You can stuff it, sauté it and make casseroles, or stews. Yummy!
Definitely pick them small, though