Is marrow a fruit or vegetable?
In a culinary context, marrows are treated as a vegetable; usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or accompaniment. Botanically, marrows are fruit, a type of botanical berry, being the swollen ovary of the marrow flower.
What is a marrow?
The thick flesh of a vegetable marrow is used in the UK. A marrow is a vegetable, the mature fruit of certain Cucurbita pepo cultivars.
What is a marrow squash?
The marrow squash belongs to the genus Cucurbita, which has four species, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita moschata and Cucurbita pepo. These vegetable marrow species can be grown all year round and, depending on whether they are harvested in summer or in winter, are grouped as summer squashes and winter squashes.
What is the flower of Marrow called?
Flower of marrow. A marrow is a vegetable, the mature fruit of certain Cucurbita pepo cultivars. The immature fruit of the same or similar cultivars is called courgette (in Britain, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand) or zucchini (in North America, Australia, Italy, Germany and Austria).
What is the difference between a zucchini and a marrow?
The difference is in the physical characteristics but both are the same species. Some cultivars are bred to be harvested small and are normally called courgettes. Those bred to produce fruit that is bigger when it is ready to harvest are called marrows.
Is marrow a pumpkin?
The names pumpkin and squash are quite interchangeable, but we tend to refer to the Halloween-type squashes as pumpkins and all of the others as winter squashes. Courgettes and marrows are in the species, Cucurbita pepo. They have been bred from the same plants to produce different varieties for different uses.
What is a marrow in the US?
Bone marrow is a spongy substance found in the center of the bones. It manufactures bone marrow stem cells and other substances, which in turn produce blood cells. Each type of blood cell made by the bone marrow has an important job.
What does a marrow taste like?
So, what does bone marrow taste like? Many people say it has an umami flavor and tastes extremely buttery and creamy because of its high fat content. When cooked properly, it has a somewhat sweet and rich, savory flavor.
What is difference between marrow and squash?
Like courgettes, marrows are oblong, green squash, but marrows have a firm rind and a neutral flavour ("overgrown when picked and insipid when cooked"), making them useful as edible casings for mincemeat and other stuffings.
What kind of squash is marrow?
Marrow Squash Plant Info The vegetable Curcurbita pepo is the variety of squash most commonly called marrow.
Can you eat marrow raw?
Raw Bone Marrow has become extremely popular amongst the Carnivore and Ancestral eating communities. Raw Bone Marrow is surprisingly palatable, clean tasting, easily digested and pairs well with a sprinkle of Kosher salt.
Is baby marrow and zucchini the same thing?
The name baby marrow is used in South Africa to name a zucchini harvested when extremely immature, the size of a finger.
What does marrow look like?
What does bone marrow look like? Bone marrow is a spongy, soft tissue that resembles a jelly or jam that you would spread on toast. It comes in two colors, red and yellow. Bone marrow fills the cavities of your bones and holds cells that create red and white blood cells and platelets, which make whole blood.
Is marrow healthy to eat?
Maintains Skin, Bone, and Joint Health Bone marrow is full of collagen, which improves the health and strength of bones and skin. It is also rich in glucosamine, a compound that helps against osteoarthritis, relieves joint pain, and reduces inflammation in the joints.
Is a marrow a zucchini?
A marrow is a cucurbit, which means it's from the same family as the melon, cucumber, squash and courgette. The marrow is actually a courgette that has been left on the plant to grow a little longer; likewise, if you pick a marrow when small, it's classed as a courgette.
What is marrow good for?
The most important health benefits of marrow may include improving digestion, reducing cholesterol levels, improving heart health, and preventing cancer. It also helps in weight loss, reducing the risk of diabetes, building strong bones, improving energy levels and circulation.
Macronutrients in Summer Squash
Summer squash is extremely low in calories; a medium specimen packs just 31. That same medium squash contains about 2.4 grams of protein, just .35 grams of fat (mostly healthy unsaturated fats), 6.6 grams of carbohydrate and 4.3 grams of natural sugars. Its entire fiber content is 2.2 grams.
Minerals in Summer Squash
When it comes to minerals, the best asset of summer squash is its potassium content – 514 milligrams in a medium squash. This comes along with 33 milligrams of magnesium, 74 milligrams of phosphorus, 29 milligrams of calcium, .7 grams of iron and 570 micrograms of zinc.
Vitamins in Summer Squash
While not exactly a vitamin-packed powerhouse, a medium summer squash does contain approximately 33 milligrams of vitamin C, 57 micrograms of folate, 390 IU of vitamin A and 5.9 micrograms of vitamin K. It also contains trace amounts of vitamins B1, B2 and B3, along with vitamin E.
Using Marrow Vegetables
Marrow plants produce abundantly, so if you have one at your disposal – or if a neighbor has a few of them – you'll be staring, by late summer, down a row of marrow vegetables all lined up and waiting to be eaten before they go bad. Treat them as you'd handle any summer squash.
Marrow Squash Plant Info
The vegetable Curcurbita pepo is the variety of squash most commonly called marrow. However, Curcurbita maxima and Curcurbita maschata are similar squash varieties which may be sold under the same common name. They produce medium to large plants that will continually produce new fruits throughout the growing season.
How to Grow Marrow Vegetables
Growing marrow squash plants requires a site protected from cool winds and rich, moist soil. Young marrow plants can be susceptible to frost damage in spring. Plants can also suffer from wind damage if they are not placed in a sheltered location.
Distinguishing Features
Common mallow is a winter or summer annual or biennial, freely branching at the base, with a prostrate growth habit. It is a low growing weed, with a deep fleshy tap root. The seeds germinate through the summer and broken stems can also root.
Flowers
The flowers are borne either singly or in clusters in the leaf axils blooming from June to late autumn. They have 5 petals and are white, pinkish or lilac flowers that measure on average, 1 to 1.5 cm across.
Leaves
Common mallow leaves are alternate, on long petioles, circular to kidney-shaped, toothed and shallowly 5-9 lobed, 2-6 cm wide. Short hairs present on upper and lower leaf surfaces, margins and petioles.
Habitat
The common mallow likes to grow in lawns, gardens, roadsides, waste areas and cropland. It originated in Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa and is also in the Americas and Australia.
Edible Parts
All parts of this plant are edible. The leaves can be added to a salad, the fruit can be a substitute for capers and the flowers can be tossed into a salad. When cooked, the leaves create a mucus very similar to okra and can be used as a thickener to soups and stews. The flavour of the leaves is mild. Dried leaves can be used for tea.
Overview
A marrow is a vegetable, the mature fruit of certain Cucurbita pepo cultivars. The immature fruit of the same or similar cultivars is called courgette (in Britain, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand) or zucchini (in North America, Japan, Australia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany and Austria). Like courgettes, marrows are oblong, green squash, but marrows …
History
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first mention of vegetable marrows dates to 1822, zucchini to 1929, and courgettes to 1931. However, the word zucchini had already appeared in newspapers by 1916. Before the introduction of Cucurbita species from the New World, marrow signified the immature, edible fruits of Lagenaria, a cucurbit gourd of African origin widely gr…
Nutrition
Marrows, like zucchini, are low in food energy (approximately 71 kJ or 17 kcal per 100 g fresh marrow) and contain useful amounts of folate (24 μg/100 g), potassium (261 mg/100 g) and provitamin A (200 IU [10 RAE]/100 g).
Toxicology
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 …
In popular culture
"The Marrow Song", also known as "Oh! What a Beauty", was a British song published on 16 December 1952, with words and music by Edrich Siebert. The innuendo-laden song was recorded for Decca by Billy Cotton and his Band with vocals by Alan Breeze and The Bandits on 1 December that year, under the title "The Marrow Song (Oh What a Beauty)". As well as being issued on a single in January 1953, it was included on Cotton's 1955 Saucy Songs EP. In 2013, the recording …
External links
• "Vegetable Marrow" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.