I started growing summer squash last year, but I was too concerned about pollination to feel comfortable cutting the flowers until they started fruiting.  Gardening was still just very new to me.  Last fall, Jesse and I took a dream vacation to Italy.  We spent a month traveling through the country.  I know, a whole month!  I learned as much conversational / practical Italian as I could. The most useful things I learned to ask the locals were directions, how to purchase train tickets, and where to find the best local cuisine.  I probably asked “C’è un boun ristorante qui vicino?” about 100 times.  And one time when I asked a local this question we were directed to a small trattoria that had the most amazing squash blossoms I have ever tasted.  They were dipped in a simple batter without cheese. Simply delicious.  That was the moment that I knew I needed to learn the proper way to harvest squash blossoms and how to cook this delectable treat.

If you are simply growing squash just for the blossoms, pick away!  If not, you’ll want to make sure you are picking male blossoms for eating…And don’t pick too many, otherwise the plant won’t set fruit.  You have to leave 1 or 2 per plant so the bees can do their thing.  There will be more male flowers than female flowers. They tend to have long stems with a bulbous base and a slim stamen in the center of the flower.

The female flowers are usually towards the center of the plant.  They have shorter, swollen stems and have a clustered stigma inside the flower which collects the male flower’s pollen.

Try picking flowers early in the day when the flowers first open.  Hopefully you’ll miss most of the bugs this way. You can also opt to pick a few female flowers with the tiny squash attached.  Or you can cook some small squash without flowers. These fry up beautifully in the batter as well.

Now here’s the fun part – The Recipe:

Pick 3-4 flowers per person.  Or more. Don’t overthink it – they will all get eaten.

Submerge the flowers in cool water, removing the stamen and any bug stowaways.

Fill a small, shallow dish with a small amount of water.

Add a pinch of salt and 1 T of flour at a time; mix with a fork.

Keep adding small amounts of flour until the mixture has the consistency of a thin crepe batter.

Heat about 2″ of oil in a pan over medium heat.

Dip each flower individually in the batter, coating well.  Let excess drip back into batter dish and add flowers to the pan.

Don’t over crowd the blossoms on the pan.

Cook for about 3-6 minutes tops, turning blossoms after 2-3 minutes. Remove blossoms and lay out in a single layer on a paper towel.

Sprinkle with a little salt and enjoy while they are warm and crisp.