How do you remove the bitterness from zucchini before or while cooking it(stewed)?

Question

I want to either stew fresh zucchini or broil it. How do you remove the bitterness from it?

Answer 1

Part of this depends on what you call "bitterness." The skin of the zucchini has some relative bitterness to it compared to the flesh, especially if cooked in certain ways. As with many taste things, some people's tastebuds may register the bitterness more than others' too.

The closest I get to "stewing" zucchini is in my spaghetti sauce (along with onions, garlic, tomatoes, celery, and occasionally even yellow summer squashes). I cut them in chunks, skin on, then saute everything, and add the tomato stuff, etc.... by the time the sauce has cooked a while (say 15 min or more), they taste only like a very mild onions and almost have little detectable flavor (but they do add veggies and texture to the sauce, which I like).

If I broil my zucchini, the skin will in fact taste a bit more bitter but mostly because so much water has been removed and everything about the flavor has been concentrated. I find that level tolerable, but if I have time I'll usually take most of the skin off. Since I usually broil my zucchini in long thick slabs (and only get 2-3 slabs per zucchini), that means I'll cut off a lengthwise sliver of skin from opposite sides of the zucchini, then cut my slabs... there's only a little skin left on the slabs then.
Or you could always just peel the whole thing, then cut it in rounds or slabs instead.

I cut mine in slabs because it's a little quicker and so I don't have to use as much oil when I coat them as I would rounds. I just place them on foil on a baking sheet, then apply the oil to the slabs with a brush, and sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt ... then broil near the coils until browed on top.
(if I were doing rounds instead, I'd have to put them all in a bowl, pour on the oil, and toss with my hands --which would require more oil, and also dirty up a bowl).

Diane B.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How do you remove the bitterness from zucchini before or while cooking it(stewed)?
I want to either stew fresh zucchini or broil it. How do you remove the bitterness from it?

Answer 3

Hi there, modern commercial zucchini should have *no* bitterness about them at all. (It's caused by a naturally occurring toxin cucurbitacin which certain strains of the plant can still produce.) If yours are bitter, *don't* eat them, and complain to your supplier. If they have a strong or unpleasant smell that's another reason to abandon them. Everybody reacts differently to these substances and the levels at which they're present in the food, but it's generally better not to have to find out the hard way how sensitive you might be.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

i think you might be thinking of the bitterness removal process of eggplant.

with eggplant, you slice it, salt it, let it sit for about 20 minutes, wash off the salt. use as directed.