Squash Blossoms ~ What's the Deal?

Left, male blossom
Right, female blossom

Lesson number one:

There's a male and a female flower.

The male has a long, slender stem.



Male blossom





Female blossom



That's the extent of our botany lesson for today.

And that's all we need to know

in order to enjoy both ripe squash

and their tender, young blossoms.

So,

we're picking the blossoms with the long stems.

Do this early in the day,

before the flower gets too spent.

Now what?

Very gently clean them,

removing most of the stem.

Next, mix a soft cheese with some savory herbs, salt

and minced onion or chive.

Set in the fridge to firm a bit.

Fill your blossoms with cheese mixture.

Next, dredge your flowers in

an egg & milk mixture.

Coat them with flour or

masa harina & pepper.

Fry them in oil.

Addendum 16 Aug, 2011

I saw this recipe
this morning and must include it in this post.

Chef Ryan Hardy uses cake flour
and sparkling water
to keep the tempura batter light
for these delicate blossoms. 

He also recommends
removing any larger-sized stamens.

He stuffs them with
 fresh mozzarella and anchovy.