Fiori di Zucca, Courgette Fleur, Flor de Calabacín: One Flower, Many Names

Order it in Rotterdam and we call it courgette fleur. Order it in Rome and it’s fiori di zucca. The same delicate, edible squash blossom shows up on menus from Westland to Valencia under a different name every time — which makes sourcing it online genuinely confusing. Here’s what we actually mean when we say each of these names, and why it matters when you’re ordering.

Fiori di zucca: the Italian name, and the one most chefs know

Fiori di zucca (“flowers of the squash”) is the name Italian cooking uses, and it’s the term that shows up most often on fine-dining menus outside the Netherlands — usually the male flower, picked on a long stem, stuffed with ricotta or anchovy and fried in a light batter. It’s the same plant and the same flower as a Dutch courgette fleur; the difference is cuisine, not species.

Courgette fleur, fleur de courgette, Zucchiniblüte, flor de calabacín

Courgette fleur is what we call it in the Netherlands and in Dutch-grown produce more generally. Cross the border and the same flower is fleur de courgette in French cooking, Zucchiniblüte in German, and flor de calabacín in Spanish. If you see any of these on a menu or in a supplier catalogue, it’s the same product: the fresh, edible blossom of a courgette or mini-courgette plant, not a dried or preserved flower.

Why the name you use actually matters when ordering

There’s one more distinction worth knowing: male and female flowers. The male flower grows on a long, slender stem and doesn’t develop into a fruit — it’s the one usually used for stuffing and frying, and the one most associated with the Italian name fiori di zucca. The female flower sits directly on top of a tiny courgette and is often sold still attached to it. Finn’s Fleur grows and ships both, plus the mini-courgette varieties, from the same Westland greenhouse — so whichever name you search for, you’re looking for the same fresh, Dutch-grown product.