Summer Squash

Summer squash is a broad category that includes zucchini (courgette), yellow squash, pattypan, and other soft-skinned varieties harvested while immature and tender. Unlike winter squash (like butternut or pumpkin), summer squash has thin, edible skin, soft seeds, and a mild, slightly sweet flavour.

In Australia, zucchini is by far the most common summer squash, but yellow crookneck, straightneck, and pattypan varieties are increasingly available at farmers’ markets. They’re at their best in the warmer months and are one of the most productive crops a home gardener can grow.

Summer squash is incredibly versatile in the kitchen. It can be sliced and grilled on the barbecue, spiralised into noodles, grated into fritters, or baked into cakes and bread. It has a high water content and mild flavour, so it benefits from strong seasoning and high-heat cooking methods that add colour and caramelisation.

Farmed
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Summer squash are fast-growing annual plants that produce fruit within weeks of planting. The squash are picked by hand while still young and tender — typically when they’re 15–20 cm long — before the skin toughens and the seeds harden. Regular harvesting encourages the plant to keep producing. The picked fruit is washed, sorted by size, and sent to market with minimal processing.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 16kcal
Protein 1.2g
Carbs 2.2g
Fat 0.2g
Fibre 1.1g Sugar 2.2g
Mass Distribution

1 large is about 323 g — roughly 50 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈0.5kg
Freshwater ≈130L
Land ≈0.4m²

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

In the kitchen

Used as

sautéed summer vegetable

Goes well with
garlic tomato olive oil basil onion
Classic dishes
  • Ratatouille
  • Grilled vegetables
  • Summer frittata

Keeping one at home? Track yours in your cubud →

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

USDA

How it was calculated

SR Legacy

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

made fromSummer Squash, fruit goes well withgarlic goes well withtomato goes well witholive oil goes well withbasil goes well withonion
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