Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello all,
I was ginen a Patty pan plant this year, it has done very well and looks as if it is going to have a lot of fruit on it, if that is the correct term. My question is how do you harvest them, do you let them mature and harden off/ripen like pumpkins, or do you harvest them like you would courgettes? Opinion is divided on our allotment site! Come to that, how do you cook them?
Regards, Essexboy.

Hello Essexboy
They are summer squashes and should be treated like you would courgettes. Pick 'em small and young and discard the larger ones ie anything much bigger than a grapefruit. The larger ones are useless and tasteless - they should be cut off to encourage more younger ones to develop.
In the kitchen deal with them in the same way as courgettes - in fact a courgette/patty pan mix is excellent.

John

Hi Essexboy,
You should pick Petty Pan as you would pick Courgettes. When I have grown them I have always picked young nipped the stork off wash and then steam. They take very little cooking when picked young.
I have always served them with a white sauce as an accompaniment.
JB.

Hi John,
You must have posted your letter just as I clicked reply.
However glad to see we gave the same reply.
JB.

Hello JB
A case of great minds thinking together over the ether perhaps?

LOL, I say as courgettes too, so far I think you can report back to yout allotment colleagues pretty confident.

Another vote from me for using them young as courgettes. Now you know which allotment neighbours to trust and which to ignore

Thanks everybody, I look forward to trying them.
Regards, Essexboy