September
2011 Newsletter
Food focus: Zucchini
Zucchini, aka courgettes, are in
the squash family -- one of the many culinary contributions made by the Americas. Zucchini, however, were developed from
American squash in Italy
in the 19th c. Now they’re
everywhere and a great favorite. We
consider them vegetables, though technically a fruit. A zucca
is a gourd or pumpkin in Italian, the suffix “ino” (plural “ini”) is the diminutive. A big gourd, zuccone, is a blockhead!
In a cup of sliced, boiled
zucchini, you will get a lot of potassium (475 mg.) and a lot of vitamin A
(2,000 IU, half the RDA). Be sure to
drink or use the pot liquor so as not to lose any nutrients! Potassium, among other things, helps against
edema. Vitamin A is good for night
vision and for the immune system generally.
|
|
