A sexy looking mild-tasting dense Italian squash. Low calories/carbs, absorbs flavors beautifully & holds it's texture. What more could you need? Serious foodgasm vegetable. There are no seeds in the middle so the whole slice is firm. Pan Fried Crispy. Grilled on a Skewer. Cooked as Pasta. Boiled. Steamed. Pickled. It's a Summer Squash and far surpasses the standard zucchini.
I'm even growing it in my Walapini (winter cool season greenhouse) and I still get hand-sized Tromboncino! It's irrelevant that it's too cold for the male flowers to produce pollen because the female squash are hand-sized BEFORE the flower even forms. So I'm eating all the blossoms and the baby fruit! Oh, and I'm eating them off the plant that started producing in May in my Walapini. Once summer hit I opened the side and it grew 25' up the side yard producing an amazing crop.
Plus it's good for you! It's a Summer Squash so it's low in calories and carbs! Win for every eating plan. And look at this nutritional data. This squash is like a freaking superfood! And it stores well! Just this week I used a squash harvested mid-Sept. I made it into pasta with my mandolin and used it as the noodles for my Stroganoff! 💜
I discovered Tromboncino online at my favorite seed supplier & as an avid cook and gardener, I immediately added it to my garden. It's an absolute must plant vegetable - gardening tips are below. If you don't garden, look for it at your farmer's market or become my neighbor! I had 3 plants this year and gave these squash to everyone who stopped by, lol OTHER NAMES: Zucchetta, Zucchino, Climbing Crookneck, Trombetta, Serpentine Squash
Tromboncino Uses
Don't eat Zucchini? Grow it anyway! It's beautiful and will clamber up a nearby tree or fence and produce fun looking garden decor! My cat & dogs LOVE it and harvested many many babies before they could be fertilized. I grew one on the ground for dogs/cats and added 2 more for the humans
Fritters! Amazing fritters - low carb with the texture of potato. Freshly harvested these have a neat sticky sap which has them hold together so well, although you won't notice when you eat it (more magic). My son who doesn't eat zucchini, even in cake... had a mound of these fritters and called the next day asking for the recipe. He had NO idea it was Zucchini. #win
Low Carb base for a Benedict! They hold their shape well so make great 'bun' replacers
Spaghetti Noodles - They hold up in long strips, even when I only had a 4" section left to run through my mandolin, lol, so my noodles weren't super long. They held up so well even done as julienne.
Lasagna - These held together so well, where typical zucchini becomes mushy. A Mandolin makes this job easy peasy
Fried Rounds - These hold together beautifully so I love doing them as pan fried rounds! No mushy center.... Have I said that often enough?
Cake - Obvs!
Gardening Tips
Give it space! if you're willing to let it go to town then only plant ONE. You'll have dozens of squash! I harvested almost 2 dozen large squash off my main plant and the pets ate many before they had a chance to grow!
Let it climb if you can - would make an amazing cover or wall of shade. You can see the canopy it created in the greenhouse in Oct/Nov
I had ZERO powdery mildew on my leaves, in at the end of the season. Almost every other squash did. That alone blew my mind, so it may be worth trying in a bed you're avoiding due to mildew.
Make sure it's well watered.
Let it root back down! Left undisturbed the vines will root down in a few spots, this gets your massive vine an extra moisture and nutrient source.
As fall approaches, remove all your extra vines so the plant can focus on ripening what's already growing. This is a great tip for any veggie still producing baby plants that won't have time to ripen.
If you let them get big you can simply peel before eating!
Happy Growing, Cooking & Eating!
XO Dana K
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