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Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo
Also called Field Pumpkin, Ornamental Gourd, Pumpkin, Vegetable Marrow, Zucchini, Cocozelle, Courgette
Marrow is the mature fruit of certain Cucurbita pepo cultivars, a squash that is similar to zucchini and courgette but has a firm rind and is often stored for weeks. Grow it like other summer squash, with plenty of sun, rich soil and regular watering.
A marrow is the mature fruit of certain Cucurbita pepo cultivars used as a vegetable. It is similar to a zucchini. The immature fruit of the same or similar cultivars is called courgette (in Britain, Iran, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand) or zucchini (in North America, Japan, Australia, Czechia, Italy, Germany and Austria). Like courgettes, marrows are oblong, green squash, but marrows have a firm rind and a neutral flavour, making them useful as edible casings for mincemeat and other stuffings. They can be stored for several weeks after harvest (like pumpkins and other winter squash), to be processed for food when required. They are a vegetable used in Great Britain and areas with significant British influence, though their popularity is waning in favor of immature summer squash like courgette.
Members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae, which includes zucchini, marrows, pumpkins and cucumbers, can contain toxins called cucurbitacins. These are chemically classified as steroids; they defend the plants from predators, and have a bitter taste to humans. Cultivated cucurbitaceae are bred for low levels of the toxin and are safe to eat. However, ornamental pumpkins can have high levels of cucurbitacins, and such ornamental plants can cross-fertilise edible cucurbitaceae – any such cross-fertilised seeds used by the gardener for growing food in the following season can therefore potentially produce bitter and toxic fruit. Also, dry weather conditions or irregular watering can stress the plant and favour the production of the toxin, which is not destroyed by cooking.
In August 2015, a 79-year-old German man and his wife ate a marrow grown by a neighbour. The couple noted the unusually bitter taste. Shortly afterwards they were both admitted to a Heidenheim hospital, apparently with symptoms of a gastrointestinal infection.
Marrows (similar to raw young zucchinis) are low in food energy, having 21 calories in a reference amount of 100 g (3.5 oz). They are a rich source of vitamin A and vitamin C, with a moderate content of potassium (see zucchini nutrition section).
Japanese Pie Pumpkin · Coyote Melon · Coyote Gourd · Cucurbita cylindrata · Fingerleaf gourd · Ecuadorian Squash · Figleaf gourd · Missouri gourd · Cucurbita galeottii · Bitter Pumpkin · Marten Gourd · Jarrahdale pumpkin
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Marrow (vegetable) by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
