Zambezi Gem

(Cucurbita pepo )

We've always called these little beauties Orange Gem but looking back through old letters that have come into us with old seeds we see that we named it wrongly and it should have been Zambezi Gem.This seed lune came t us from Allan Gibb of Pukerua Bay, Porirua The little ‘gem’ looks like an orange when ripe and is about the same size. They came to NZ with our ancestors on the boats that stopped in South Africa on the way here, where they found them. They are delicious when baked (make sure you put a hole in them or they will explode) or cut in half with an axe and steamed or boiled. They have a rich nutty taste and dry texture. They have been common all over NZ in the past and are great for growing up a fence, trellis etc