Archive for the 'MadZakoledge' Category
Episode 2 covers the delicious zucchini. A small summer squash relative which if picked at the right time can provide great results. Be sure to steam, boil, grill, stuff, bake, barbecue, fry to your hearts content and remember this guy can get easy chill damage!
Be sure to check out the various zucchini recipes here and use this knowledge to help extract those excellent flavors! Let me know how things turn out or if there’s something else need to expose about this great fruit/vegetable.
[podcast]http://tcamz.s3.amazonaws.com/MZO-S1-EP2.mp3[/podcast]
History:
- A small summer squash which can be yellow, green, or light green. Looks like a cucumber in shape
- Plant wise, it’s a fruit, and it’s got a beautiful yellow flower (great to deep fry tempura style)
- It’s origins are in Italy and probably occurred of some cool mutations of summer squash.
Prep/Storage/Characteristics:
- Store no longer than 3 days
- Prone to chilling damage
- Leave skin on, remove stump and eat the flower if you get it.
- You want get this when it’s about 8 inches long because the seeds are soft.
- I’ve cooked longer, just remove the seeds.
How to Cook:
- When you are cooking this it is a vegetable, unlike the surprising fruit we had last week
- It can be prepared using a variety of cooking techniques, including steamed, boiled, grilled, stuffed and baked, barbecued, fried, or incorporated in other recipes
- How do other nations use it?
- Italy is usually breaded and pan-fried
- France makes it a key ingredient in ratatouille
- Greece, usually fried or boiled with other veggies
- Egypt, cooked with tomato sauce, garlic, and onions
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zucchini
This is the first episode of my new show, MadZakoledge, a radio/audio podcast going into the history and application of food ingredients. My goal for this show is to help spread the knowledge, get it Madzak Knowledge? In this first episode, I talk about what is the goal for the show and then jump right into the first topic of Eggplants!
[podcast format="video" width="290" height="100"]http://tcamz.s3.amazonaws.com/MZO-S1-EP1_EGGPLANT.m4a[/podcast]
References:
http://www.iqio.org/how-to-cook-eggplant
http://www.finecooking.com/articles/how-to/cook-eggplant-to-perfection.aspx