You may have seen our brand-new Zephyr courgettes lurking around our social media feed and on Ocado.com. But in case you haven’t – Let’s talk about them for just a moment…

Zephyr courgettes are a colourful courgette with a unique mix of yellow and green skin. Some of them are an even 50/50 split, whilst others have a green base, some have stripes, and some are just completely yellow!

What makes these different from a usual courgette you say? Apart from the colouring, we would say that the taste is slightly more buttery, and can be used in stir-fry’s, vegetable bakes, as a side, or on its own. You might find that the Zephyrs are smaller than a usual courgette, but there is nothing missing in taste or quality.

Ever wonder about the journey they take? Well, we’re here to show you from plant to plate…and if you watch the video below, you’ll have a behind-the-scenes look at the different stages of production.  The Zephyr courgettes start off as seeds and take between 60 and 90 days to grow. They are planted in our courgette field in Lincolnshire and carefully tended to by our team of growers.

When the time comes that they are ready to be harvested, we have a team of “pickers” that harvest the crop. It’s an interesting process really, they follow a slow-moving tractor with a harvesting trailer and arms, and pick the courgettes, placing them into boxes. This continues till the whole row is done, as well as making sure that only the right-sized courgettes are picked to go to the packhouse.

Once the courgettes reach the packhouse, they are placed in the cold stores to cool down and be prepped for packing. Packing is a process that the courgettes go through in the packhouse. Firstly, the courgettes are divided by weight to ensure that each pack is the same, and then they are sent through the machine for packing.

You might have a pack with 4-5 smaller Zephyrs in, or you may have a pack with 3 larger ones in – that’s half the fun! One thing you can be sure of is that they all have the same great taste and quality and are as fresh as can be.

So why not give them a try on your next Ocado shop, they won't be around for long, so get them while you can.