OK, /ck/ explain: sometimes when I cook zucchini it gets totally

don't burn them then

>>7949874
I don't. I only simmer them. See, the thing is that many zucchinis don't get bitter from exactly fucking same treatment.

>>7949867
nothing you can do - it's a chemical that the fruit produces in response to environmental stresses.
Don't eat bitter courgettes, they can make you sick. Same goes for anything else in that family of fruits, like cucumbers and squashes.

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>>7949867

how do you cook them? what do you add?

I often don't understand the bitter vegetable thing until people start talking about obviously bitter stuff like bitter melon and some well known bitter salad ingredients.

>>7949883
I just peel them, cut them and put on the pan, simmering in the water they let out. Sometimes there are tomatoes there already. later I may put other ingredients, but it doesn't matter already - if they were to turn bitter, they already would.

>>7949881
uh...
so are they bitter in the shop already or am I treating them wrong? what kind of stressor do you mean? any specific substance names?

>>7949899
>bitter in the shop
Bitter in the ground

>what kind of stressor do you mean?
Soil pH, bad weather, insect/fungal attack.

>any specific substance names?
Cucurbitacins, although they have mainly been bred out of commercial crops (in high concentrations) they do find their way back in from time to time. They're possibly cytotoxic.

>>7949883

quick blanch in hot water then season them up

if I'm making some baked wrap, I'll do thin slices or strips to the construction.

>>7949952
thanks a lot mate.
So I take it nothing can be done, eh?
can I at least taste them in the raw plant?

>>7949973

yeah you can eat it raw

slice it thin, salt it, and lay it flat for a few minutes to drain out the liquid, like you would with an aubergine

>>7949973
I'd assume so. I can't say I've ever experienced a bitter courgette.
Just a thought, there might be something going on here similar to Phenylthiocarbamide. It's a chemical that only some people can taste and appears to be genetic.

>>7949989
is it this stinky stuff from asparagus? well, it's not the case. my friends have similar experiences with tasting this and also most of the zucchini are fine for me to eat.