Background: I’m trying two alternatives to traditional summer squash in my garden this year.
For this post, I steamed immature fruits from tromboncino and cucuzzi (a.k.a. zucchetta a.k.a. guinea bean), along with yellow summer squash from the store.
Above: Top is zuchetta, middle is yellow summer squash, bottom is tromboncino.
Here are my impressions
Steamed immature tromboncino squash tastes quite similar to yellow summer squash. The only giveaway is a slightly bitter note that yellow summer squash completely lacks. I’d phrase that as yellow summer squash tastes “sweeter” or perhaps “nuttier” than tromboncino.
(I’ve seen tromboncino described as having a “cucumber” note, and in hindsight, maybe I’m tasting a bitterness similar to that found in the undesirable part of a cucumber. But only a touch.)
Immature cucuzzi gourds? Quite a bit different from yellow summer squash. Charitably, even steamed, they have sort of a raw-green-bean note. Uncharitably, they kinda taste a little like dirt.
Not much. Not even close to spit-it-out bad. But a little goes a long way, when it comes to tasting like dirt.
In times of famine, sure, I’d eat either one.
The upshot is that if I were pining for summer squash, I’d get it at the grocery store. Second choice, I’d eat immature tromboncino. It’s not bad. Put some pasta sauce on it, and I wouldn’t know it wasn’t summer squash. But if the only option were guinea bean, I’d find something else to eat.
All of this, because the presence of squash vine borer in my area makes it a real chore to grow “regular” summer squash. Either I spray my plants for weeks on end, or I lose them to the vine borer.
Or I try something weirder, of which, growing then eating these two immature fruits as if they were summer squash, is one. Because, in theory, the squash vine borer won’t bother these alternatives. Or, at least, won’t outright kill them, usually.
Taste aside, the icing on the cake is poor productivity. At least, so far, for me, both have had abysmal yield. They are both sprawling, large-leaved squash/gourd vines that take up a lot of space. But fruits are few and far-between. (At least, in my garden, this year.)
Edit 9/8/2024: My two tromboncini vines finally started producing a reasonable number of fruit in late August. Large fruit. Very large fruit. If these will mature before first frost, tromboncini will have redeemed itself as a reasonably productive butternut-type winter squash. I still wouldn’t grow it as a summer-squash substitute.
For both plants, I can now stop eating the immature fruit and let some of it mature. Maybe. Tromboncino is in the butternut squash family, and apparently produces pretty good winter squash. So, mature, it ought to taste more like a butternut squash, which would be fine. The cucuzzi, it’s a gourd, but in theory I think you can eat that one once it’s mature, as well. I’m not sure I’m looking forward to that.
So the cucuzzi’s days may be numbered. I think I’d rather let the trombincino take over its space. (Edit 8/10/2024: About a week ago, I sliced through both cucuzzi (gourd) vines that I planted, at the roots. And yet, a small part of the cucuzzi vine appears to be alive. I know not how.)
YMMV.
