"someone" writes:
Out here in the wilds of central England we call large
zucchinis...marrows. Personally I think they're awful: watery veg not
worth growing, but lots of old geezers here love to grow them and enter
them in veg. growing competitions in the autumn. As far as I'm
concerned, marrows are only good for throwing at cats, dogs and birds.

Well, here at the Antipodes (Australia) we also would say such large
zucchinis are 'marrows' and fit only for display or cattle food. The
optimal time to harvest zucchinis is the day the flower opens, or one
day later. No later than that. At this young stage they are delicious,
eaten steamed and with butter and pepper. You are not sacrificing your
crop by picking the fruit when so small--your plants produce much more
fruit if you keep it picked before it reaches any large size.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)