Are you Italian? Sicilian? You pronounced it just so perfectly I have the seeds that my zio Pietro gave me one month before he passed away Last year I was successful after I realized what they were and then had to hang them on polls after they were already laying on the ground lol Now I have built a bamboo trellis and hoping that I will get more growth Any tips I really want to be successful I’m going to send you a picture of what I have done thus far
Hi Antonina. Yes, I'm am Italian, from Sicily and I speak the Old Sicilian dialect quite well because I learned it from my parents while I grew up in the U.S., so there was no "modern" influence of the language imparted. It's hard to go wrong with Cuccuzza. Just give it lots of love, kind words spoken in Italian, lots of water, lots of sunshine, lots of space, room to breath, and something sturdy to climb and hang from (must be very sturdy bamboo, 2x4 lumber is even better, because the plant and fruit get VERY heavy) and keep an eye out for caterpillars because they will enjoy it for dinner before you get a chance. When you prune the plant, be sure to save the leaves (tenderumi, meaning tender ones) and any flowers you trim and cook those into a minestra - I think I prefer those more than the squash itself. Be sure to harvest and eat the cucuzza while it is young, and not too large. Like people, the young ones are the most tender and flavorful. The old ones tend to harden and lose flavor. Be sure to keep one or two fruit on the plant until it grows large and old so that you can save that for seeds for next year. Also be sure to keep the plant off good luck and buon appetito.
My Grandparents were Sicilian immigrants and used to grow these on Long Island.. They produced tons of flowers, and grandma would cook the extra male flowers along with the shoots at the end of the vines and they were delicious... It was pretty simple.. She sometimes would just cook in a pan with hot olive oil, and a little chopped garlic on high heat... Sometimes she would also dip in egg-wash and Italian bread crumbs fry, and dust with grated parmesan.
You're welcome. You can get the seeds from just about any vintage Italian family - they seem to carry the seeds in their pockets from year to year. :) But seriously, you can buy them online as well . . . here bit.ly/2B0kIq1
thanks so very much for this awesome and very informative video:-) anyway this is my first year growing cucuzzi i just planted my seeds im excited to see how i turns out ... in fact my daughters and i decided to have a competition to see who can grow the largest one :-) hope to see more of your videos soon
Hi Jennifer! Let us know how your cucuzza turned out! And remember, bigger cucuzza is not usually better cucuzza. Save one to keep for size competition (and more importantly, for next year's seeds), but be sure to harvest your cucuzza while it is moderately large and still tender.
Grazie, Rosie. Questo e il primo anno che cresco la cucuzza. È queste sono le prime piante. O altre due piante che crescono in un posto dove la pianta si può allargare. Nel futuro farò on video di quelle(a) piante.
Are you Italian? Sicilian? You pronounced it just so perfectly
I have the seeds that my zio Pietro gave me one month before he passed away
Last year I was successful after I realized what they were and then had to hang them on polls after they were already laying on the ground lol
Now I have built a bamboo trellis and hoping that I will get more growth
Any tips
I really want to be successful
I’m going to send you a picture of what I have done thus far
Hi Antonina. Yes, I'm am Italian, from Sicily and I speak the Old Sicilian dialect quite well because I learned it from my parents while I grew up in the U.S., so there was no "modern" influence of the language imparted.
It's hard to go wrong with Cuccuzza. Just give it lots of love, kind words spoken in Italian, lots of water, lots of sunshine, lots of space, room to breath, and something sturdy to climb and hang from (must be very sturdy bamboo, 2x4 lumber is even better, because the plant and fruit get VERY heavy) and keep an eye out for caterpillars because they will enjoy it for dinner before you get a chance. When you prune the plant, be sure to save the leaves (tenderumi, meaning tender ones) and any flowers you trim and cook those into a minestra - I think I prefer those more than the squash itself. Be sure to harvest and eat the cucuzza while it is young, and not too large. Like people, the young ones are the most tender and flavorful. The old ones tend to harden and lose flavor. Be sure to keep one or two fruit on the plant until it grows large and old so that you can save that for seeds for next year. Also be sure to keep the plant off good luck and buon appetito.
I am having the same problems.
Even the older leaves are great cooked up as vegetables
My Grandparents were Sicilian immigrants and used to grow these on Long Island.. They produced tons of flowers, and grandma would cook the extra male flowers along with the shoots at the end of the vines and they were delicious... It was pretty simple.. She sometimes would just cook in a pan with hot olive oil, and a little chopped garlic on high heat... Sometimes she would also dip in egg-wash and Italian bread crumbs fry, and dust with grated parmesan.
Robert Ciulla You pick the “tenerumi” that what is called.I grew up on that and trow in toasted bread and you are in heaven.(bebore it goes to flower)
Can the tender leaves be eaten like lettuce? I mean washed and then eaten raw?
We cook the leaves and make a minestrone out of them with pasta . . . I don't see any reason why they can't be eaten raw . . .
Thanks for the video. Where can I buy the seeds for growing this?
You're welcome. You can get the seeds from just about any vintage Italian family - they seem to carry the seeds in their pockets from year to year. :) But seriously, you can buy them online as well . . . here bit.ly/2B0kIq1
Do you manually pollinate these?
No pollination required.
wowww,where can I get the seed,I never see this in my country (MALAYSIA) we do have but small size.?
shela kroes They are not the same.You can get them on Amazon,sicilian cucuzzi seed.
thanks so very much for this awesome and very informative video:-) anyway this is my first year growing cucuzzi i just planted my seeds im excited to see how i turns out ... in fact my daughters and i decided to have a competition to see who can grow the largest one :-) hope to see more of your videos soon
Hi Jennifer! Let us know how your cucuzza turned out! And remember, bigger cucuzza is not usually better cucuzza. Save one to keep for size competition (and more importantly, for next year's seeds), but be sure to harvest your cucuzza while it is moderately large and still tender.
Hmmmhow do I send a picture
Up mi chiamo Nina
Grazie, Rosie. Questo e il primo anno che cresco la cucuzza. È queste sono le prime piante. O altre due piante che crescono in un posto dove la pianta si può allargare. Nel futuro farò on video di quelle(a) piante.
Great *_*
Sal le tue Cucuzze sono migliori di quelle che vengono coltivate qui a Palermo! Yeah! :D