Squash flower (male)

Cucurbita pepo · Vegetable

40 pairings

The male squash flower is the pollen-bearing blossom of squash and pumpkin plants (Cucurbita spp.), borne on a slim stalk with no fruit behind it — sold in Mexican and Mediterranean markets as flor de calabaza and treated as a fleshy vegetable in its own right, not a garnish. Golden-orange and faintly vegetal, it is sautéed with onion and folded into quesadillas and soups, stuffed with cheese and fried, or simmered into brothy stews.

Picking a good onedrag

Just cut, petals bright and wholeCollapsed, slimy, sour

Market freshTrim sepals and the bitter stamen, then saute with onion and epazote, or batter and fry. Buy unsprayed: petals cannot be washed clean.Everyday best

The trumpetFurled shut but plump, colour still bright

The petalsSoft but whole, one crease from the packing

Stalk and sepalsCut end drying pale, sepals limp but green

Inside the cupLoose pollen dusting the petals, still dry

Smell at the cutAlmost nothing, clean and vegetal

What to look for, from just cut, petals bright and whole to collapsed, slimy, sour.

Preparing