Zucchini is one of those vegetables that radiates a very local vibe. It feels as if it has been here since ancient times and is even mentioned in the Torah. But the truth is that zucchini originated from the American continent and arrived in Europe in the 16th century with the help of Italian sailors.
In the Italian peninsula, zucchini acclimatized (and there most of the zucchini varieties we know today were developed) and from there it wandered throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa.
So how could it be mentioned in the Torah?
'It' is not mentioned; a vegetable called 'kishut' is mentioned. Most likely, the biblical kishut was a type of cucumber (some claim it was actually the fakus). In practice, there was a nice vacant Hebrew name, so they took it and matched it to zucchini.
Unlike many other vegetables, zucchini is typically harvested before the fruit is fully ripe. At this stage, the seeds are still soft and completely blend into the 'flesh of the fruit'.
The main variety grown in Israel was the white zucchini, especially in its elongated version. But recently, the variety has grown, and our weekly box includes a particularly exotic version of this variety – round yellow zucchini.
If I simplify the observed characteristics responsible for the main variations between different zucchini varieties, they are: color and shape. That is, white, green, or yellow and elongated or round. All the elongated varieties are more common than the round ones, and the white and green are more common than the yellow ones. Therefore, a zucchini that is both yellow and round is not one of the common varieties.
I have no idea if whoever developed the round zucchini was thinking about stuffed vegetables, but there is no doubt that this is its main justification, and there is something beautiful in my eyes about a variety (or more precisely, a form that characterizes several varieties) that exists and is traded to serve as a base for one culinary dish (with a million variations).
So yes, in the end it is a zucchini and there is no difference in taste. You can use round zucchini in soup, you can grind it or cut it into cubes like regular zucchini, but let's be honest, people buy round zucchinis when they are interested in stuffed vegetables.
I am crazy about stuffed vegetables in all kinds of versions – with rice, with bulgur, with rice and meat, and what not. Tomato sauce, mustard sauce, or yogurt sauce – it is a whole world, and when there is a round zucchini, it is also easy. When there is a yellow round zucchini from an organic farm in the Arava, it is a celebration for the palate and a celebration for the eyes.
