ᐉ How to quickly peel zucchini with hard skin

Many people love dishes made from this wonderful vegetable, and we eat them all year round, regardless of whether it’s winter or hot summer. But if in the summer the fruits only ripen and have a delicate thin skin, then how can you peel a zucchini with a hard skin, because before the cold weather it practically becomes woody.

Of course, a lot depends on the variety of this wonderful fruit, so not everyone will be “lucky” to become the owner of a thick-skinned “handsome”. But if you are faced with just such a problem, then our detailed article is just for you.

How to peel overripe zucchini?

It is a pity to throw away overripe zucchini with very hard skin.
But there is no way to peel this peel; it bends, but does not cut even the hardest knife. What to do? Maybe there is some way to peel even such overripe zucchini? If you manage to cut the zucchini into pieces, then it will not be very difficult to cut off the peel further, the flesh is still cut, but you can do it differently - try to cut the zucchini in half, with a saw you will definitely be able to saw off the peel, then scoop out the seeds from the resulting mat with a spoon, and then hole, for example, put meat with spices, onions and carrots, cover with a lid, preferably a ceramic one, and place in a hot oven - the meat will cook in such an edible pot, if you can’t find a lid, you can make a lid from the dough, knead flour with salt and water, roll out and cover the zucchini on top, then you can eat the lid instead of bread.

Yes, it's not an easy matter. Take a hatchet (but not a huge axe, although why not) and chop it into pieces with an ax. Each piece is still in pieces. Then, for example, such pieces can be put into an electric meat grinder and ground into puree, resulting in squash caviar. Even small chopped pieces can be peeled with a knife that cuts everything, it has a zirconium blade, you can even saw through bones with it - I tried it when I was butchering a rabbit, it cuts everything normally, it worked.

But I think, rather than waste time like that, it’s easier to give it to feed livestock and buy young zucchini; in season, the price of zucchini is quite pleasing, the price is a bargain.

It’s not always possible to get to the dacha on time. And as a rule, overripe zucchini are frequent guests in our garden beds. Peeling a vegetable in this state is very problematic. But there is a way out!

I clean overripe zucchini . First, I cut the zucchini into rings with a large knife. If it doesn't work with a knife, I cut with a jigsaw.

Next, I cut each circle into halves. Now I clean it with a regular knife or a special one for peeling vegetables.

Next, for winter preparation, I cut the zucchini into cubes and freeze it in portions in milk cartons.

If you are planning to cook zucchini pancakes right now, grate the required number of halves on a grater.

The peel of a normal zucchini is easily cut off, many housewives know this, but when it is overripe, the peel becomes very rough and thick. You can ask the men to clean everything (for BV), because strength is needed here, but you must first cut the overripe zucchini (for BV) into several parts, then things will get easier. However, a man is not always nearby, so we women have to cope on our own. In this case, we take a thick cutting knife, you can even use a meat cleaver (for BV) and cut the zucchini into circles; if you can’t cut it, chop it like meat again (for BV), and then the segments into which you cut the zucchini are easier to clean with a carving knife (not meat hatchet). Or cut it in half, then crosswise (for BV), put it on and cut off the peel with a knife, you will catch some of the pulp, but this is better than throwing it away altogether.

How to cook fried zucchini

Today we will tell you how to cook fried zucchini

– a vegetable dish beloved by many, which can also be an excellent side dish for meat, poultry, cutlets and sausages.

You can fry zucchini in different ways: breaded or unbreaded, cubes or slices, peeled or peeled. The choice of method depends on the size and degree of maturity of the zucchini. So, suppose we have young, very small zucchini of so-called milky ripeness. They can be quickly fried in cubes.

Zucchini of milky ripeness
Vegetable oil
Salt
Ground black pepper (if you want)
Sesame seed (optional)
Seasoning for vegetables (optional)

Wash the zucchini thoroughly, because we will not peel the peel from them: young zucchini has it still thin and soft, you can fry it with the peel. Wipe the washed zucchini dry.

Cut off the ends of the zucchini on both sides (about 1-2 cm) and discard. Cut the zucchini into small cubes with an edge of about 1.5-2 cm.

Heat a deep frying pan (saucepan). Pour a little vegetable oil there (so as to cover the entire bottom of the frying pan with a thin, 1-2 mm layer of oil). Place the diced zucchini in the pan.

Over high heat/heat, fry the zucchini until golden brown, stirring it several times during the process, and also sprinkle with salt and, if desired, pepper and vegetable seasoning.

When the zucchini has browned, reduce the heat/heat to medium. If you want, sprinkle the zucchini with sesame seeds and mix. Cover the frying pan with a lid (this is necessary to speed up the frying process; you can do without a lid, just fry a little longer).

Stirring occasionally, fry the zucchini until tender. They will be ready when they become soft (although we know people who like their vegetables slightly undercooked, even half-raw, a little tough - try and choose for yourself what you like best).

Cooking time typically takes 20 to 30 minutes and depends on the thickness of the zucchini layer in the pan, the heat level, and whether you covered the pan. That's all: now you know how to cook fried zucchini

.
Attention!
During the cooking process, zucchini loses a lot in volume (2-3 times). Look at our photos: at the beginning of cooking there was a mountain of zucchini in the pan, it was difficult to mix. And at the end? Less than half a frying pan. Don't forget about this when calculating the required portion of fried zucchini.

Prize tips

for those who read the recipe to the end. Young zucchini can be fried in slices, lightly breaded in flour. In this case, it is better to peel the zucchini after you wash it. Cut the zucchini crosswise into slices about 1 cm thick. Salt the zucchini slices on both sides. Place some flour in a saucer. Each circle of zucchini needs to be rolled in flour on both sides, then placed in a heated frying pan, onto which you have already poured vegetable oil, and it has already warmed up. Fry the zucchini slices first on one side for 5-7 minutes, then turn them over and fry on the other side. Remove from the pan and place on a plate. If the zucchini has long passed the period of “milk ripeness” and has grown at your dacha to the size of small elephants (however, these can also be found in the store), they can also be fried. First, in any case, wash and wipe the zucchini. Be sure to cut off the peel from a large zucchini. Cut the peeled zucchini into rings about 1 centimeter thick. Then cut each ring in half, remove and discard the core with seeds. As a result, you will get arcs or half rings. These are the ones we will fry. You can fry them the same way as the circles: add salt, roll in flour, put in a frying pan and fry on both sides.

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Go for it! Create! Get ready!

Eat yourself, feed your family, treat your friends!

You can fry zucchini in different ways: breaded or unbreaded, cubes or slices, peeled or peeled. The choice of method depends on the size and degree of maturity of the zucchini. So, suppose we have young, very small zucchini of so-called milky ripeness. They can be quickly fried in cubes.

Is it necessary to peel a “stiff” zucchini before heat treatment?

Even if you plan to bake, boil or fry an old vegetable, the skin must be removed before cooking. When the zucchini is too overripe and hard, its “oaky” texture will be felt even in the finished dish, so cutting off the skin is a must.

Read more about how to clean your favorite natural product in the step-by-step instructions below.

How to quickly and easily peel an old zucchini with your own hands

It happens that zucchini lies somewhere in the cellar, on the balcony or in the basement for a long time, but we still can’t find a use for it. But suddenly we urgently needed them to prepare some tasty, healthy dish, and suddenly it turned out that their peel had become super-hard.

If it’s a pity to throw it away, you’ll have to suffer a little, since you’re unlikely to be able to simply peel such fruits.

So, how to properly peel zucchini from hard skin:

First of all, we must wash the vegetable.
Now we cut off the stem and ends from the fruit, washed from dirt and dust.
Using a good strong knife with a sharp blade, cut the zucchini into rings.

Place the ring so that the cut is at the bottom (this will make it more stable). You need to cut the skin from top to bottom. The peel will most likely be cut off, catching the squash pulp. But it will be cut off quite a bit, so don’t be upset.
Use a tablespoon to remove the seeds, as they will also be hard.
This completes the cleaning of squash fruits - prepare whatever your heart desires.

An original way to peel zucchini

First, freeze the vegetable thoroughly, then let it thaw a little.
Once thawed, the skin should separate more easily from the pulp.
If a whole zucchini is still difficult to peel, divide it into pieces or circles (as described in the method above), and then continue peeling.
Peeled pieces that you will not use immediately can be frozen (for a longer shelf life) in portions in milk cartons or plastic containers.

Method of cleaning zucchini by soaking

Plain water can help in the difficult task of separating the hard peel from the pulp. Try soaking the fruits in water for 8 hours. As a rule, during this time the skin softens, which makes it much easier to peel off.

Zucchini tagliolini

Photo: Oyster Bistro UMI Oysters
Recipe by Evgeny Meshcheryakov, chef of the Umi Oysters restaurant

150 g zucchini
15 g fried onions
2 g onion
1 g watercress
10 g garlic
15 g lime
40 g caviar sauce

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Caviar in Provençal and Ukrainian style. Homemade zucchini recipes For the sauce:

50 g cream cheese
25 g sour cream
25 g pike caviar
25 g tobiko caviar
10 ml olive oil
Salt and pepper

Step 1. Cut the zucchini into thin strips in vegetable oil and garlic. Next, remove the garlic.

Step 2. For the sauce, mix all the ingredients.

Step 3. Place lightly fried zucchini noodles on a plate, top with caviar sauce and fried onions.

Step 4. Decorate with scallions and watercress. Sprinkle the dish with a slice of lime.

How to clean hard overripe zucchini at home

We've talked about the most effective cleaning methods, now it's time to talk about what available tools you can use to do this. Some housewives on the Internet advise using a vegetable peeler and grater, but they are more suitable for young fruits whose skin is not yet so hard.

For thick-skinned, hard skins, it is better to use a very sharp knife with a stable handle, a meat hatchet, or even a regular ax, since sometimes cutting zucchini can be quite difficult. Even the most unusual tools, like a jigsaw, can be used, but this is a last resort if more traditional methods are not suitable.

Now, if you need to peel a zucchini with hard skin, then you will know how to do it correctly. All methods are clear and accessible, but not very simple, because you have to make a lot of physical effort and spend a decent amount of time.

But under the tough skin you will find a wonderful treasure - healthy squash pulp, from which you can prepare a wide variety of vegetable (and other) masterpieces.

Good luck and patience to you at this difficult culinary stage!

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Several lifehacks for smart housewives

By planting zucchini or zucchini in our garden plot, we hope that we will enjoy juicy and healthy fruits throughout the summer season. Unfortunately, in the midst of summer work, we are not always able to collect the long-awaited harvest on time. And when we pick the already overripe fruits, we notice with horror that the zucchini peel has hardened so much that there is no way to cut the vegetables into portioned pieces.

Do not rush to send them to the compost heap or to feed livestock. There are several simple and effective ways to cut off the hard crust.

Vegetable moussaka

Photo: Restaurant “Caucasian Captive”
Recipe by Pavel Pantet, chef of the restaurant “Caucasian Captive”

2 servings
90 g zucchini
140 g eggplants
Parsley
Basil
60 ml vegetable oil

For the sauce:

3 large tomatoes
1 onion
1 tooth garlic
30 ml olive oil
Parsley and basil
1.5 tbsp. Sahara

Article on the topic

With sorrel, carrots and chili pepper.
Recipes for quick zucchini dishes Step 1. Prepare the sauce: wash fresh tomatoes, scald with boiling water, remove the skin, cut into small cubes.
Step 2. Finely chop the onion and garlic.

Step 3. Sauté onions in olive oil along with tomatoes, add finely chopped garlic. Add sugar, salt and pepper.

Step 4. Add finely chopped parsley and basil. To stir thoroughly.

Step 5. Peel the eggplants, cut the eggplants and zucchini into slices.

Step 6. Fry the zucchini on both sides in vegetable oil, add salt and pepper.

Step 7. Grease eggplants on both sides with oil, salt and pepper, bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes.

Step 8. Lay out the zucchini and eggplant, alternating and greasing each layer. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. When serving, garnish with finely chopped parsley and basil

Why do zucchini have hard skin?

At the stage of milk maturity, absolutely all zucchini, regardless of shape and color, have soft, delicate skin. To make sure of this, it is enough to break the integrity of such a peel by pressing on it with your fingernail. Droplets of clear juice will instantly begin to emerge from the “wound” that appears.

Young zucchini can even be eaten raw

If such fruits are removed from the bush in time, then no problems with cooking will arise. But if you are late with the collection, then:

the skin will harden;
the pulp will acquire a dense, hard structure;
the seeds will become hard, the core will become fibrous;
The fruit will taste more bland or bitter.

Note! Overripe zucchini requires mandatory heat treatment. You can eat them raw, but you are unlikely to enjoy such dishes.

Overripe zucchini

The degree of hardening of the peel depends on the type of zucchini. Some varieties and hybrids are highly resistant to premature aging and remain soft for a long time. Others, on the contrary, very quickly develop dense, tough skin.

However, one should not make hasty conclusions and mercilessly classify rapidly aging varieties as illiquid. Despite their obvious disadvantages, they have one undeniable advantage - a long shelf life. Such zucchini, subject to certain conditions, can lie in a cellar or basement for 3 to 6 months. And the “Zucchini-Watermelon” or “Festivalny” varieties can be stored until the next harvest.

Zucchini variety "Watermelon"
Zucchini "Watermelon" in section

How to peel hard zucchini skin

To clean or not

Zucchini collected from your own plot at the stage of milky ripeness can be safely cooked with the peel. The structure and taste of such skin is no different from the pulp.

Attention! It is better to clean the fruits that you purchase in supermarkets, especially during the off-season. There is a possibility that they were treated with special chemicals that improve their shelf life. And the surplus of inorganic fertilizers that were applied to the plant accumulates under the skin.

Peel old zucchini with overripe, thick rind. The hard peel is not at all suitable for eating; it cannot be softened even with prolonged heat treatment.

The only exceptions are those zucchini that you plan to stuff whole. The following varieties are suitable for this:

Orange F 1;
Boatswain F 1;
Festival F 1;
Cook.

Zucchini, variety "Orange"

For round, small fruits (average weight 800 g), it is enough to cut off the top part, thus making an impromptu lid, and remove the core with a spoon. Then fill the resulting pots with minced meat.

Features of cleaning young and overripe fruits

Peeling young zucchini is not difficult even for young, inexperienced housewives. The delicate peel is easily cut off with a knife or an ordinary, budget vegetable peeler, which in everyday life is most often called a housekeeper.

How to peel a zucchini using a housekeeper

Overripe zucchini is not that easy to deal with. A cheap, plastic housekeeper will most likely break if it comes into contact with a hard crust. There is no way to do this without a sharp, durable knife. However, after long-term storage, the skin acquires an even denser structure and becomes “wooden”. Therefore, it is best to peel zucchini with a hard peel in 2 steps:

Cut/chop/saw into rings or small cylinders.
Place the rings flat on a cutting board and use a vertical knife motion to cut off the peel into small pieces.

If you plan to cook stuffed boats, then it is not necessary to peel the zucchini, just cut them into 2 halves. After baking, the peel will become soft, and each boat can be easily cut into portions.

Methods for softening the peel for quick and easy peeling

Sometimes the peel is so hard that fragile, weak girls simply cannot peel the zucchini. It would be good if we could delegate this procedure to representatives of the stronger half of humanity. But what to do if you had to be left alone with a stubborn vegetable? In this case, simple techniques that have been tested many times in practice will come to the rescue.

Freezing

Exposure of fruit to low negative temperatures is the best way to soften the hard rind. During the freezing process, the cell sap and intercellular fluid contained in the fruits crystallize, increase in volume and rupture the cell membrane. After thawing, these zucchini become soft and pliable. Cutting off the skin from them is easy and simple.

Note! When resorting to this procedure, be sure to take into account that after freezing at home, vegetables lose some of their taste. This does not happen with berries and vegetable mixes frozen in production - they are subjected to shock freezing.

Household refrigerators, even the best ones, are not yet equipped with such a useful function. Therefore, when putting zucchini in the freezer, do not leave it there for a long time. As soon as the top layer freezes slightly, literally 5-7 mm, take it back and defrost. You can even pour boiling water over it additionally.

After such simple manipulations, the crust will become soft, and the inside of the fruit will not lose its taste and will retain its dense structure.

Soak

This method of softening the zucchini peel is considered less effective, but if the fruits are not too woody, or there is no way to freeze them, then this will do.

The washed zucchini is placed in a container with water so that the liquid completely covers them, and left for 1.5 - 2 hours.

Give the zucchini contrast baths by alternately lowering them for several minutes in a container with hot (boiling) and ice water. Repeat this procedure 3-4 times.

Cleaning Tools

A set of good knives and vegetable peelers made of hardened steel is the dream of every housewife. But in everyday life, we sometimes have to use budget options made of metal of dubious quality with plastic handles and poor fastenings. Therefore, before you make efforts and put all your weight on the knife, think about whether it is worth doing.

A sharp knife made of high-quality material can even cut the wooden rind of an overripe zucchini.

You can safely work with knives that are an all-metal structure with a handle made of metal or riveted linings. The blade thickness of such knives is approximately 3-3.5 mm. They hold an edge well and cut hard materials with ease. They can be used as kitchen hatchets, or you can simply apply them to the site of the future cut, hold them well in your hand and hit the blade from above with a chop hammer. The knife will instantly sink into the hard squash.

Mini hacksaw

The times when hacksaws were considered a purely male tool have long since sunk into oblivion. Today, many housewives use them in their kitchen. Compact, convenient, made of durable metal, mini-instances help deal with even the hardest products. A blade with fine teeth easily cuts through even bones, not to mention overripe zucchini.

Vegetable peeler with horizontal cut

And, of course, a vegetable peeler with a horizontal cut.

Observation! If you are skeptical about such a necessary kitchen gadget as a housekeeper, then you have never used it at work. It is not only more convenient to clean, but also much faster. And the percentage of waste is almost 2 times less than when cleaning with a knife.

When going to the store for your next purchase, choose a metal structure with a rubberized handle that is not in the lowest price segment. Such a housekeeper will become your faithful assistant in the kitchen for many years.

Easy and simple: cooking fried zucchini

Fried zucchini with garlic is very simple to prepare, probably even too simple, because in order to get a tasty dish, you only need to have a few zucchini, oil for frying and garlic. Even a beginner can handle this cooking process. The most important thing here is not to overcook them on the stove, otherwise the old vegetables will burn and dry out, but the young ones will simply fall apart in the pan.

It is worth noting that old fruits need to be peeled and, if necessary, seeds removed (if the vegetable is very old and has fairly hard seeds), but young zucchini can be fried in the peel; it is even necessary, since it will not allow the pulp to fall apart.

Another point is that such a dish cannot be left until the next day; fried zucchini softens and turns into a kind of porridge, so you no longer want to eat them. It’s better to do it at once, and if necessary, you can buy more vegetables and cook more.

So, fried zucchini with garlic can be served with meat, simply eaten as a separate dish with sauce (mayonnaise or sour cream), or served with boiled cereals. In any case, it turns out very tasty and healthy.

Cooking fried zucchini: recipe

If you have never prepared a dish like this before, start with a small amount, such as one zucchini. Here is the list of ingredients: one young vegetable, a quarter cup of flour, oil for frying, salt and dill, 5 cloves of garlic.

The zucchini must be washed and peeled (if it is an old vegetable), then it must be cut into slices no thicker than a centimeter. Place everything in a bowl and add salt, be sure to stir to ensure even salting. Leave the vegetables in the bowl for a while so that the released liquid drips off a little, so the oil will “shoot” less when frying.

Pour flour into a plate and roll each round before placing in a heated frying pan with oil. Fry until golden brown. If you are not sure whether the vegetables are ready, simply pierce them with a knife or fork. If the zucchini is soft at the edges (near the skin it is always denser), then you can take it out - the vegetable is fried. Place a few napkins on a convenient plate and place the cooked fried zucchini on it - this technique will allow you to remove excess oil.

Now you need to peel the garlic and crush it well, you can pass it through a press or grate it on a fine-grained grater. Mix the resulting mixture with sour cream or mayonnaise. Now serve the zucchini with garlic sauce.

Here is another recipe for slightly unusual, but nevertheless easy to prepare zucchini.

To prepare, take 3-4 vegetables, a pinch of salt, 100 grams of flour and a bunch of dill. Don't forget about the frying oil, as well as the garlic, and you'll also need a few ripe tomatoes. The filling will make the dish unusual; it will be processed cheese and mayonnaise.

For this appetizer, it is recommended to take already ripe zucchini; they must be peeled and seeded. Slice it no more than a centimeter thick and fry it as in the previous recipe.

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The cheeses must be grated on a fine grater, add chopped or pressed garlic, chopped dill and mayonnaise, mix well. Tomatoes need to be washed and cut into rings.

When the zucchini has drained a little on a napkin, they need to be placed on a plate as follows: a slice of tomato, and a slice of zucchini on top. Place a little filling in the middle and press down lightly with a spoon; do the same with the rest of the fried vegetables. The finished dish is decorated with parsley leaves and served on both festive and everyday tables.

It is better to eat such an appetizer right away, since the tomato will very quickly release juice, which will begin to soften the zucchini.

Another point is that such a dish cannot be left until the next day; fried zucchini softens and turns into a kind of porridge, so you no longer want to eat them. It’s better to do it at once, and if necessary, you can buy more vegetables and cook more.