Zucchini is basically water pretending to be a vegetable: 95 percent moisture, mild flavor, zero persona when steamed. Charring it, though, is a game changer. High heat evaporates surface moisture quickly, concentrating those subtle sugars, while the Maillard reaction creates nutty, caramelized notes.

And zucchini needs this more than most vegetables. Its delicate, almost floral sweetness is there but drowning in all the water. Eggplant turns creamy when roasted low and slow. Peppers intensify and soften. But zucchini just gets soggier and blander with gentle cooking methods. It demands aggression. You want those edges deeply browned, almost black in spots, with the interior just tender.

The contrast is where the magic is—crispy, complex char against soft, sweet flesh. Don't baby your zucchini. Crank the heat, get some color and let chemistry do its thing.

Ari Smolin

Ari Smolin writes and edits for Milk Street’s magazine and cookbooks. Before joining the team, she baked her way from Brooklyn to Los Angeles—laminating croissants before dawn, shepherding sourdough loaves by the hundreds, and discovering that stone-milled flour plus seasonal fruit is her happy place. She writes about whole-grain baking as well, most recently co-authoring “Morning Baker: Recipes and Rituals for Breakfast and Beyond.” You can find her fruit-and-grain escapades on Instagram @Ari.Smolin. Want to talk flour? Drop her a line at ari.smolin@gmail.com.