How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?

I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.

Regards,
--
Mike Willsey (Piedmont)
The Practical Bar B Q'r at,
http://groups.msn.com/ThePracticalBarBQr/_whatsnew.msnw

Piedmont wrote:
> How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
>
> I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
> during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.

Slice lengthwise into 3/8" strips, season, and fry until lightly
browned, then use in lasagna... much of the liquid will have been
removed and the zuke will actually taste like something.

Sheldon

Sheldon wrote:
> Piedmont wrote:
> > How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
> >
> > I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
> > during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.
>
> Slice lengthwise into 3/8" strips, season, and fry until lightly
> browned, then use in lasagna... much of the liquid will have been
> removed and the zuke will actually taste like something.
What a great way for me to imporve the zuchinni lasagne I already
enjoy. Thanks for the tell, Sheldon!

....Picky

JeanineAlyse wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
> > Piedmont wrote:
> > > How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
> > >
> > > I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
> > > during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.
> >
> > Slice lengthwise into 3/8" strips, season, and fry until lightly
> > browned, then use in lasagna... much of the liquid will have been
> > removed and the zuke will actually taste like something.
> What a great way for me to imporve the zuchinni lasagne I already
> enjoy. Thanks for the tell, Sheldon!

I add all sorts of veggies to my lasagnas but I always cook them first.
I don't know why anyone other than a rabbit would want a lasagna
filled with uncooked or partially cooked veggies... I mean even with
eggplant parm, even though it's baked well you need to first cook the
eggplant... in fact I often layer my lasagna with slices of breaded
fried eggplant. I don't see why one couldn't build a lasgna with deep
fried zuchinni sticks... add the mozz as deep fried mozzerella
sticks... the seasoned browned breading adds lots of flavor, especially
good for those of you going meatless.

On Sun 17 Jul 2005 07:26:26a, Piedmont wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
>
> I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
> during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.
>
> Regards,

You can salt it, as one would do with eggplant, and allow it to sit while
much of the moisture drains away.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974


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On 17-Jul-2005, Wayne Boatwright > wrote:

> On Sun 17 Jul 2005 07:26:26a, Piedmont wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
> > How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
> >
> > I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
> > during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.
> >
> > Regards,
>
> You can salt it, as one would do with eggplant, and allow it to sit while
> much of the moisture drains away.
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright

What Wayne said, but rinse the salt off and pat it dry with paper towells.
The rinse water doesn't penetrate much.
--
The Brick said that (Don't bother to agree with me, I have already changed
my mind.)

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I cut the zucchini into whatever size I'll use it when cooking. That
could be in coins or grated or cubed. I put it in a collandar. I pour
salt on it and stir it around. Don't measure, but use a lot. Leave it
in the sink for half an hour. Then run water on top of it to rinse all
the salt off while squeezing the excess moisture out. Then add it to
your recipe. I got this information from _Victory Garden Cookbook_ by
Marian Morash and have been pleased with the way it works.


--Lia, who, coincidentally, picked a zucchini from her very own zucchini
plant just this morning


Piedmont wrote:
> How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
>
> I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
> during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.

In article >, "Piedmont" > wrote:
>How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
>
>I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
>during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.

By coincidence there was an implication of this sort of problem in a
recipe published in the local daily tabloid a week ago.

As I recall, the instructions were to slice the zuc (I think they were
using "medallions"), wrap the slices in kitchen paper (the absorbent
sort) then wrap the whole parcel in a tea towel and wring it out (like
wringing the water out of one of those stinking bath towels you had to
use for a full week at boarding school :-). Sounded a bit gross, but
I guess it would work!

If I haven't already wrapped the rubbish in that tabloid, I might find
it and post the recipe here -- it was for some sort of crunchy bean
"rissoles" IIRC. (Which reminds me, someone recently mentioned
Sheldon's MW meatloaf. I must have missed it at he time, and a bit of
googling of Groups didn't turn up anything likely to be it -- so can
someone -- Sheldon? -- please either post it again, or email me a
copy, or tell me where to find it. Thanks mates.)

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

Phred wrote:
> In article >, "Piedmont" > wrote:
> >How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
> >
> >I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
> >during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.
>
> By coincidence there was an implication of this sort of problem in a
> recipe published in the local daily tabloid a week ago.
>
> As I recall, the instructions were to slice the zuc (I think they were
> using "medallions"), wrap the slices in kitchen paper (the absorbent
> sort) then wrap the whole parcel in a tea towel and wring it out (like
> wringing the water out of one of those stinking bath towels you had to
> use for a full week at boarding school :-). Sounded a bit gross, but
> I guess it would work!

Why anyone would want to use raw veggies in lasagna is a mystery...
makes as much sense as using raw meatballs/sausage... saute the zukes
the same as one should any other veggie added to lasagna... even better
is to grill them. Folks who've indicated removal of zuke liquid by the
eggplant method but then not precooking the zuke before use in lasagna
have proven to me that they've never made lasgana or even fried an
eggplant, in fact they is an eggplant... I mean like even removing the
water from eggplant by salting it's still gotta be cooked before using.
Eggplant and zukes are very different, especially in water content,
eggplant contains about one tenth the water of zukes, what works well
to remove moisture from one doesn't work well for the other. Eggplant
is salted primarilly to remove bitterness, not moisture, in fact one
wants to remove as little moisture as possible while extracting the
bitterness (and in fact it's all a myth, any bitterness is contained in
the seeds, which salting does nothing about... choose young/fresh
eggplant. Even after harvest, as eggplant age in the stupidmarket the
seeds continue to mature, they become tough and bitter. Salting zukes
to remove moisture will result in mush before much water is removed,
don't do it.

> If I haven't already wrapped the rubbish in that tabloid, I might find
> it and post the recipe here -- it was for some sort of crunchy bean
> "rissoles" IIRC. (Which reminds me, someone recently mentioned
> Sheldon's MW meatloaf. I must have missed it at he time, and a bit of
> googling of Groups didn't turn up anything likely to be it -- so can
> someone -- Sheldon? -- please either post it again, or email me a
> copy, or tell me where to find it.

I've no idea what you mean by *MW* meat loaf.

"Sheldon" > wrote:

>Why anyone would want to use raw veggies in lasagna is a mystery...
>makes as much sense as using raw meatballs/sausage... saute the zukes
>the same as one should any other veggie added to lasagna... even better
>is to grill them. Folks who've indicated removal of zuke liquid by the
>eggplant method but then not precooking the zuke before use in lasagna
>have proven to me that they've never made lasgana or even fried an
>eggplant, in fact they is an eggplant... I mean like even removing the
>water from eggplant by salting it's still gotta be cooked before using.

I don't know if that's always true or just based on the particular
recipe, Sheldon. I have one for zucchini fritters, where they're
shredded and it calls for the salt technique. I've never tried it any
other way so I can't say for sure, but it's something to experiment
with. It ain't like a ruined zuke is gonna break the bank. And I'm
just talking about the salt part, not the pre-cooking - seems to me
that's always a good idea. (Of course, I'm the king of kitchen
disasters, so . . . .)

--
The Doc says my brain waves closely match those of a crazed ferret.
At least now I have an excuse.

AlleyGator wrote:
> <PENMART01> wrote:
>
> >Why anyone would want to use raw veggies in lasagna is a mystery...
> >makes as much sense as using raw meatballs/sausage... saute the zukes
> >the same as one should any other veggie added to lasagna... even better
> >is to grill them. Folks who've indicated removal of zuke liquid by the
> >eggplant method but then not precooking the zuke before use in lasagna
> >have proven to me that they've never made lasgana or even fried an
> >eggplant, in fact they is an eggplant... I mean like even removing the
> >water from eggplant by salting it's still gotta be cooked before using.
>
> I don't know if that's always true or just based on the particular
> recipe, Sheldon.

Of course you know, or you'd not ask... the particular recipe here is
for lasagna, and similar dishes.

> I have one for zucchini fritters, where they're
> shredded and it calls for the salt technique. I've never tried it any
> other way so I can't say for sure, but it's something to experiment
> with. It ain't like a ruined zuke is gonna break the bank. And I'm
> just talking about the salt part, not the pre-cooking - seems to me
> that's always a good idea.

With baked goods a proper recipe should account for the liquid
contained in ingredients by appropriately adjusting the other liquid(s)
in the recipe. Fritters are donuts, deep frying extracts liquid quite
rapidly... the idea of the shredded zuke is primarilly to give the
fritter a moist interior (and some nutrition), otherise the recipe
would call for wheat bran instead. Most recipes found in cookbooks are
written by people who they themselves can't properly cook, and the few
who do really know how to cook dumb down their recipes to the lowest
common denominator... rarely do recipe writers explain why a particular
method is used, especially not when it comes to nutrition, because 99%
of the time they haven't a clue, haven't even given it a thought.

I don't recommend cooking methods that extract liquid from food unless
that liquid will be used in some other way... otherwise you're
essentially making stock, straining the liquid down the drain, and
eating what remains. When liquid is evaporated in the course of
cooking only water is lost, most nutrients do not evaporate. It's bad
enough people peel and toss the vegetable skin in the trash, then they
wring out what little nutrition is left and pour it down the drain...
like straining blueberry soup... may as well shove the zuke up a body
cavity, at least that way it'll be of some use. There's a whole lot
more to cooking than dumbly following recipes. Unless nutrition
contained in ingredients is maximized it's not really cooking... any
jerk can learn to apply a sprig of parsley to an attractively arranged
plate of excrement.

You've just been given a special gift, you've been apprised of the most
important aspect of cooking, Alley... nutrition... try to digest and
retain... and with that alone you'll know more about cooking than 90%
of those who post here.

Sheldon

"Sheldon" > wrote:

>With baked goods a proper recipe should account for the liquid
>contained in ingredients by appropriately adjusting the other liquid(s)
>in the recipe. Fritters are donuts, deep frying extracts liquid quite
>rapidly... the idea of the shredded zuke is primarilly to give the
>fritter a moist interior (and some nutrition), otherise the recipe
>would call for wheat bran instead. Most recipes found in cookbooks are
>written by people who they themselves can't properly cook, and the few
>who do really know how to cook dumb down their recipes to the lowest
>common denominator... rarely do recipe writers explain why a particular
>method is used, especially not when it comes to nutrition, because 99%
>of the time they haven't a clue, haven't even given it a thought.
>
>I don't recommend cooking methods that extract liquid from food unless
>that liquid will be used in some other way... otherwise you're
>essentially making stock, straining the liquid down the drain, and
>eating what remains. When liquid is evaporated in the course of
>cooking only water is lost, most nutrients do not evaporate. It's bad
>enough people peel and toss the vegetable skin in the trash, then they
>wring out what little nutrition is left and pour it down the drain...
>like straining blueberry soup... may as well shove the zuke up a body
>cavity, at least that way it'll be of some use. There's a whole lot
>more to cooking than dumbly following recipes. Unless nutrition
>contained in ingredients is maximized it's not really cooking... any
>jerk can learn to apply a sprig of parsley to an attractively arranged
>plate of excrement.
>
>You've just been given a special gift, you've been apprised of the most
>important aspect of cooking, Alley... nutrition... try to digest and
>retain... and with that alone you'll know more about cooking than 90%
>of those who post here.
>
>Sheldon
>
Although it minorly pains me to do so <G>, I must admit that you are
quite correct. You have to keep in mind Sheldon, that while I have a
small group of dishes that I can do very well, I am, in general, an
accident waiting to happen in the kitchen. I love good food and I
wish I could do it all properly, but I'm the last one to suggest that
I'm really good at it. I just sort of struggle along and do the best
I can. If I find a recipe that really sounds good, I can work with it
until it turns out OK, but that's pretty much the extent of my
ability. Guess I'm certainly not cut out to be a chef.

--
The Doc says my brain waves closely match those of a crazed ferret.
At least now I have an excuse.

AlleyGator wrote:

> "Sheldon" > wrote:
>
>
>>Why anyone would want to use raw veggies in lasagna is a mystery...
>>makes as much sense as using raw meatballs/sausage... saute the zukes
>>the same as one should any other veggie added to lasagna... even better
>>is to grill them. Folks who've indicated removal of zuke liquid by the
>>eggplant method but then not precooking the zuke before use in lasagna
>>have proven to me that they've never made lasgana or even fried an
>>eggplant, in fact they is an eggplant... I mean like even removing the
>>water from eggplant by salting it's still gotta be cooked before using.
>
>
> I don't know if that's always true or just based on the particular
> recipe, Sheldon. I have one for zucchini fritters, where they're

Would you mind posting the recipe? I have zukes coming out of the
garden like crazy. I wouldn't mind trying these. Thanks

> shredded and it calls for the salt technique. I've never tried it any
> other way so I can't say for sure, but it's something to experiment
> with. It ain't like a ruined zuke is gonna break the bank. And I'm
> just talking about the salt part, not the pre-cooking - seems to me
> that's always a good idea. (Of course, I'm the king of kitchen
> disasters, so . . . .)
>
> --
> The Doc says my brain waves closely match those of a crazed ferret.
> At least now I have an excuse.

Sheldon wrote:

> Phred wrote:
> > If I haven't already wrapped the rubbish in that tabloid, I might find
> > it and post the recipe here -- it was for some sort of crunchy bean
> > "rissoles" IIRC. (Which reminds me, someone recently mentioned
> > Sheldon's MW meatloaf. I must have missed it at he time, and a bit of
> > googling of Groups didn't turn up anything likely to be it -- so can
> > someone -- Sheldon? -- please either post it again, or email me a
> > copy, or tell me where to find it.
>
> I've no idea what you mean by *MW* meat loaf.


MW = microwave. A whiles IIRC back you mentioned making a small meatloaf in
the microwave. I've done this several times and it works pretty well,
prevents me from having to use a hot oven in this hot weather...and there is
nothing tastier than a meatloaf sandwich on a hot summer evening...

If I'm making meatloaf for company, then it'll go in the oven (and this is a
fall - winter company dish in any case for me, I like Paul Prudhomme's Cajun
Meatloaf recipe), but this method is pretty quick 'n tasty just for myself.

To the person wanting info, just make your meatloaf as per usual (not real
big, though, depending on how big your microwave is). I cook it for about
10 or so minutes initially, check it to see if it needs any more cooking
time (usually a few minutes). I've no recipe per se, just experiment around
a bit...

It's not fancy, but it does the trick if you don't want to turn on the
oven...

--
Best
Greg

Gregory Morrow wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
>
> > Phred wrote:
> > > If I haven't already wrapped the rubbish in that tabloid, I might find
> > > it and post the recipe here -- it was for some sort of crunchy bean
> > > "rissoles" IIRC. (Which reminds me, someone recently mentioned
> > > Sheldon's MW meatloaf. I must have missed it at he time, and a bit of
> > > googling of Groups didn't turn up anything likely to be it -- so can
> > > someone -- Sheldon? -- please either post it again, or email me a
> > > copy, or tell me where to find it.
> >
> > I've no idea what you mean by *MW* meat loaf.
>
>
> MW = microwave. A whiles IIRC back you mentioned making a small meatloaf in
> the microwave. I've done this several times and it works pretty well,
> prevents me from having to use a hot oven in this hot weather...and there is
> nothing tastier than a meatloaf sandwich on a hot summer evening...
>
> If I'm making meatloaf for company, then it'll go in the oven (and this is a
> fall - winter company dish in any case for me, I like Paul Prudhomme's Cajun
> Meatloaf recipe), but this method is pretty quick 'n tasty just for myself.
>
> To the person wanting info, just make your meatloaf as per usual (not real
> big, though, depending on how big your microwave is). I cook it for about
> 10 or so minutes initially, check it to see if it needs any more cooking
> time (usually a few minutes). I've no recipe per se, just experiment around
> a bit...
>
> It's not fancy, but it does the trick if you don't want to turn on the
> oven...

Oh, is this from when I posted about nuking a meat loaf in a nylon
colander placed into a bowl to catch the excess grease? I think you
have it correct, I don't have a particular meat loaf recipe, I have a
million of them.... all I need is the impetus to make meat loaf and my
trusty grinder, then nothing in my larder is safe.

Sheldon

G'day Sheldon and Greg,

Thanks for your responses. [Re-posting under a more appropriate
Subject for the enlightenment of others who may have missed this
sub-thread originally.]

In article . com>,
"Sheldon" > wrote:
>Gregory Morrow wrote:
>> Sheldon wrote:
>> > Phred wrote:
>> > > If I haven't already wrapped the rubbish in that tabloid, I might find
>> > > it and post the recipe here -- it was for some sort of crunchy bean
>> > > "rissoles" IIRC. (Which reminds me, someone recently mentioned
>> > > Sheldon's MW meatloaf. I must have missed it at he time, and a bit of
>> > > googling of Groups didn't turn up anything likely to be it -- so can
>> > > someone -- Sheldon? -- please either post it again, or email me a
>> > > copy, or tell me where to find it.
>> >
>> > I've no idea what you mean by *MW* meat loaf.
>>
>> MW = microwave. A whiles IIRC back you mentioned making a small meatloaf in
>> the microwave. I've done this several times and it works pretty well,
>> prevents me from having to use a hot oven in this hot weather...and there is
>> nothing tastier than a meatloaf sandwich on a hot summer evening...
>>
>> If I'm making meatloaf for company, then it'll go in the oven (and this is a
>> fall - winter company dish in any case for me, I like Paul Prudhomme's Cajun
>> Meatloaf recipe), but this method is pretty quick 'n tasty just for myself.
>>
>> To the person wanting info, just make your meatloaf as per usual (not real
>> big, though, depending on how big your microwave is). I cook it for about
>> 10 or so minutes initially, check it to see if it needs any more cooking
>> time (usually a few minutes). I've no recipe per se, just experiment around
>> a bit...
>>
>> It's not fancy, but it does the trick if you don't want to turn on the oven...
>
>Oh, is this from when I posted about nuking a meat loaf in a nylon
>colander placed into a bowl to catch the excess grease? I think you
>have it correct, I don't have a particular meat loaf recipe, I have a
>million of them.... all I need is the impetus to make meat loaf and my
>trusty grinder, then nothing in my larder is safe.

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

Sheldon wrote:

> Oh, is this from when I posted about nuking a meat loaf in a nylon
> colander placed into a bowl to catch the excess grease?


Yup, that's it...

--
Best
Greg

"Piedmont" > wrote:

>How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
>
>I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
>during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.
>
Sprinkle with salt evenly but lightly, in a strainer placed over a
bowl to catch the water. You may want to rinse (and pat dry) after
this - it's a matter of judgement.

--
The Doc says my brain waves closely match those of a crazed ferret.
At least now I have an excuse.

Piedmont wrote:
> How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
>
> I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
> during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.

I would try slicing it or shredding it, whatever you do, salting it,
letting it sit, and then squeezing/toweling them some.
You could also use uncooked pasta and hope it soaks up the moisture better.
blacksalt

Piedmont wrote:
> How do I remove the moisture from zucchini?
>
> I have been making zucchini lasagna and it get lots of water developing
> during cooking. I assume that it is from the zucchini.

Sometimes repeated failure means that the idea is a bad one. Make
conventional lasagna the next time and then reconsider whether it makes
sense to pretend that zucchini is pasta. Otherwise, Sheldon's
suggestion to fry the stuff lightly is probably your best chance. But
it still won't be either lasagna or a good zucchini casserole. -aem