Tromboncino
Cucurbita moschata · Squash
Top 10 pairings
Tromboncino (also "zucchino rampicante," "trombetta d'Albenga" or "climbing zucchini") is a long, trombone-shaped Italian summer squash — a variety of Cucurbita moschata, the same species as butternut, but harvested young and immature. It has a slim, curving neck that swells into a bulb at the blossom end, a firm, dense, pale-green flesh and a mild, sweet, faintly nutty flavour that many find cleaner and less watery than common zucchini.
Picking a good onedrag
Young and slim, rigid, skin still nicksFlexing, dull, soft-spotted
Shop firmEveryday bestPicked young and slim, 20-40 cm, skin still thin: grill in planks, saute, griddle, pasta.
SkinMatte pale green, a scuff or two
The neckFirm, the neck barely flexes
Cut stemScar dry and clean, not sunken
Smell at the cutAlmost nothing at all
What you get from one
95%
Edible part
Ends off · thin skin and seedless neck stay
Keeping ittap a temperature
Below about 5 C the thin skin pits and water-soaks and rot follows fast; the damage often only shows once it is back on the counter.
95%
Humidity
Vented, not sealed
Airflow