Fall time is winter squash time. Whether you plan to make squash soup, a pie, or pasta, some varieties taste better than others. Here are some of the very best to seek at the market and consider growing in the vegetable garden. Many are beautiful and all have outstanding flavor.
Winter Squash Types
Several of the varieties mentioned were bred outside ofNorth America, but all winter squash originate from the New World. Species were first cultivated by Native Americans and developed over thousands of years. There are three primary culinary species known to cultivation—C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo. True pumpkins and acorn squash are C. pepo, butternut squash are inC.moschata, and turban and kabocha squash are in C. maxima.
Across the board, the winter squash on this list rate at the top for flavor, according to countless formal and informal trials and reviews. Gardeners can be confident in choosing any one, if good taste is what they value in a squash. Most are also high performing in the garden.
Kabocha (C. maxima) are squat, orange, greenorgray-green squash that originates from Japan. They have dense, dry flesh that is bright orange. Two of the more common, and nicest tasting are ‘Red Kuri’ (92-100 days) with its orange-red skinned fruits and smooth flesh that is less sweet but nicely flavored, and the gray-skinned ‘Winter Sweet’ (95 days), which has dry, sweet flesh.
Acorn Squash
Acorn squash (C. pepo) are wonderfully sweet, deeply lobed, acorn-shaped, and great for roasting. The cream-, gold-, and dark-green-striped cultivar ‘Jester’ (95 days) is just as pretty as it is tasty. Another comparable variety with super sweetness is ‘Sweet Dumpling’ (90-100 days) with its smaller, squatter, ivory and green fruits, and honeyedorange flesh. A less sweet, but colorful, variety is the orange-, cream-, and dark-green-splashed ‘Festival’ (90-100 days). ‘Cream of the Crop’ is a pretty ivory colored variety with good, mild flavor.
Pumpkins
One of the finest pumpkins for pie is the tender-skinned C. pepo ‘Winter Luxury’ (105 days). Each year this variety, and the small, piepumpkin ‘Baby Pam’ (105 days), are the pumpkins that I choose for making homemade pie. The‘New England Pie’ pumpkin (105 days) is an old heirloom from the 1800s that is also highly recommended. The unusual, lumpy, blue-gray-skinned C. moschata ‘Marina di Chioggia’ (100 days) is an Italian heirloom turban squash with dense, sugary,orange flesh great for pies, soups, and desserts.
Butternut cultivars are pretty consistent when it comes to flavor. All have richly sweet, nutty flesh favored for all kinds of fall and winter cookery. The compact variety C.moschata ‘Butterbush’ (75 days) is short-vined and bears small butternut squash that aredark orange,dense and very sweet on the inside. Vines are quite productive and early to bear.
Other Winter Squash Types
The cream- and green-striped, elongated fruits of Cucurbita pepo ‘Delicata JS’ (100 days) are thin-walled and have sweet, nutty, golden flesh. The small, ornamental fruits of‘Sweet Lightning’ (100 days) look like tiny pumpkins striped with cream. Its sweet, stringless, pale orange flesh is said to be even better tasting than that of ‘Delicata JS’.
Cultivating Winter Squash
Winter squashes need to be started in spring for fall harvest. Be sure to plant them outdoors after the threat of frost has passed. It pays to plant them on berms (click here to read all about berming) amended with lots of organic matter. are recommendedfor spring soil enrichment. Full sun and space are essential for these sprawling, vining plants. Many may require as much as a 12’ to 15’ patch to grow to their fullest. You will know the fruits are ready to harvest when they are hard, have full color, and their supporting vines start to wither.
Honeynut Squash: The sweetness and flavor made this a clear winner. Delicata Squash: This is actually tied with acorn squash and both are similar in texture and flavor which is why they are ranked at the top.
Known as one of the easiest to grow of the 4 families, some popular moschata varieties are Butternut, Cherokee Tan, Seminole, and Watham squash. These need to be cured for 6-8 weeks and are medium to long vining so they need lots of dedicated space. This family can store the longest, from 4-6 months.
Buttercup: Sometimes confused with Kabocha squash, Buttercup is a compact squash with paler green striations. Fresh, uncooked Buttercup smells like a clean, fragrant cucumber.
A squash with soft spots and is soft to the touch, is a sign that the squash has gone bad. And if it starts to leak fluid, that's a sure sign that the squash is spoiled. Likewise, if the flesh and seeds of the fruit are mushy and slimy, that's a clear sign that it shouldn't be eaten.
Although it looks quite different from the butternut squash the buttercup has a very creamy, orange colored flesh much like that of the butternut. Its flavor is not as rich as the butternut, but is still quite sweet.
You may want to experiment with different companion crops until you find the perfect combination to fit your personal tastes and growing conditions. Avoid planting zucchini and summer squash with all other vining plants which include cucumbers and sweet potatoes as well as pumpkins, winter squashes, and melons.
Because winter squash requires a long growing season (generally from 75 to 100 frost-free days), the seeds are generally planted by late May in northern locations to early July in extremely southern states.
About: Butternut squash have the longest storage potential and best flavor after a few months in storage. We grow more butternuts than anything, because they also prove to be the most versatile in the kitchen!
Acorn squash is milder in taste and slightly more fibrous in texture than butternut squash: Its sweet, nutty flavor is additionally muted by the watery character of its flesh. Still, most recipes that call for acorn squash can be made with another members of the squash family, such as Hubbard or butternut.
Winter Squash 'Mashed Potato' is a white-skinned acorn-type with almost white flesh that when baked, scooped out, mashed and seasoned has the look and taste of mashed potato.
Known as musk cucumber in English, its common name here is Cohombro (Sicana odorifera). This is one of the most unusual plants in the tropics. Its large, 12- to 14-inch long, maroon-colored, sausage-shaped fruit is a squash with the taste of cantaloupe. That's right, cantaloupe!
1. Butternut Squash. One of the most popular varieties of squash, it can be use in so many ways. It's one of the most rich in Vitamin A, boasting about 100% of the recommended daily value per cup, in the antioxidant form of beta-carotene.
Next time you slice a delicata into rings ready to roast, don't peel it. Looking for an easy side dish? Our Roasted Delicata Squash with Garden Herbs is a great one to start with. Then, work your way up to eating the skin of half an acorn squash.
Perhaps the favorite of the squash family - Butternut squash. With a long shape and creamy orange flesh, this is a quintessential autumn favorite. Its sweet, nutty flavor makes it ideal for soups, purees, and roasting.
Which Squash is Better than a Butternut? The kabocha won decisively. The deep orange flesh was creamy, without visible fibers. It had a slightly earthier and richer flavor than the butternut.
Knowing how to identify the signs of spoilage is helpful before you get started with cooking any type of squash. Here's some simple tips: Appearance: Check for visual signs of rotting, like soft spots or moldy skin. The exterior of a squash past its prime will be wrinkled, shriveled, leathery.
The most common symptoms associated with toxic squash syndrome include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In extreme cases, toxic squash syndrome has caused swelling in the liver, gallbladder, kidney, and pancreas.
Winter squash will last up to a month in a cool (50 to 55 F) dark cellar or storage area, but only about two weeks in the refrigerator. Ideally, only cut or cooked acorn squash should be refrigerated; they will suffer chill damage at temperatures below 50 F.
Storage life varies by squash type. Acorn squash stores the shortest amount of time: 4 weeks. Spaghetti stores four to five weeks; Buttercup, 13 weeks; Butternut, up to six months; Blue Hubbard, six to seven months.
So which winter squash is the overall nutrient heavyweight? Acorn squash wins the match. It offers more folate, calcium, magnesium (nearly one-third of a day's worth in one cup) and potassium than butternut, hubbard and spaghetti squash.
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