How I keep half a courgette from going soft

After the stew a courgette half still lies on the board — cut wet, seeds shining. An hour in air steals the firmness: by supper the middle is already limp. I dry the cut with a cloth, set the half cut to a saucer, and straight into the fridge — not open on the board “for later”.

How I keep half a courgette from going soft. Onion in film is about shelf smell; a tomato half is about red flesh; cucumber kept from a limp ribbon is about crunch; a courgette glut into the freezer is about harvest. Here it is the green cut after stew: shut, dry, cold — so tomorrow it still slices into a sauce.

If the cut already greyed — I lift a thin layer, I put the middle into a fry-up. I don’t soak it in water to “revive”. I’m not comparing large and small from the market — only the half left from our lunch.

I don’t need a courgette that by evening gives water onto the wood. I need a half with a firm middle. In your kitchen after stew is the cut taken to the cold — or does it wait on the board until it wilts?