What to do with a pumpini?

[DrakeMaiden]

By chance (and lack of foresight ) I think I have a cross between a zucchini and a pumpkin. My question is: At what stage would the fruit be edible? This particular plant is growing fruit like a zucchini, so can I eat them like a zucchini? It's "siblings" are all growing fruit like pumpkins, though now I am suspicious of how they will turn out.

 

[poppycat]

All you can do is try it. The worst that can happen is it will taste bad. If you have a lot, you could try them a couple times a week as they mature.

 

[rockytopsis]

Got pictures?

 

[patandchickens]

Pick one and try it

Be prepared however that it is quite likely to be much more fit for the chickens than for the dinnertable.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Thanks you guys. I'll have to go pick it and see if I can get a photo and take a taste test. . . .

Good advice, poppycat. I like your methodical approach.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Here is one of my pumpinis. This is what I would call a moderately sized one. These guys started developing in ball shapes like the pumpkins that I thought they would be, but then started elongating like zucchini. Strange.

We prepared them like zucchini in one of our favorite pasta dishes. The taste results? We think the pumpini lacks the slightly bitter flavor of zucchini.

I used some of the larger ones for chocolate zucchini cake. I think the pumpini has less water content than I would expect a zucchini to have. Additionally, the seeds were pretty large and had to be discarded before shredding.

All in all -- perfectly edible.