Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Winter Squash
Winter squash varieties are so different that sometimes it's hard to believe they are related.
Their skins may be rough and warty or smooth and sleek, their shapes round or cylindrical.
Their colors can range from orange and yellow to green and nearly blue - or just about any
combination or variation thereof. Their flesh may be stringy and fibrous or smooth as but-
ter, and their flavor can be sweet and rich or thin and vegetal. Winter squash vary in size
from a little bigger than a tennis ball to more than one hundred pounds. Even the name
"winter squash" is a misdirection - they are actually at their best in the fall (hence all those
Halloween pumpkins). The vegetable acquired its trans-seasonal identity because back in
the bad old days before refrigeration (and air shipment), it was one vegetable that could be
relied on as a staple late into the frozen months.
Though native to the Americas, squash are grown and loved all over the world - in
Europe, of course, but also in Asia and Africa. Partly because of this geographical prolif-
eration, a final count of the many varieties is probably impossible. There are three major
species of winter squash: Cucurbita pepo, C. maxima and C. moschata. If you want to tell
which is which, check the stems: pepo stems are angular and flared where they attach to the
squash; maxima stems are round; moschata stems are smooth and grooved. Each species
is broken up into dozens of separate varieties. North Carolina State University's agricul-
ture department lists more than 350 varieties grown in North America alone. Naming is a
quagmire. It seems more the rule than the exception for a single type to have a couple of
different names. At the same time, some squash names represent several different variet-
ies. To cite just one example, the name "kabocha" is not only generic but also redundant. It
simply means "squash" in Japanese, and the family really consists of several closely related
varieties, variations of C. moschata (usually called "Japanese pumpkin") and C. maxima.
Some of the most popular types are combinations of the two.
So what exactly is a winter squash? All the varieties have a couple of things in common.
Although they are usually eaten as vegetables, they are actually vining fruits (remember,
they contain seeds). They are members of the Cucurbit family, which includes summer and
winter squash, melons and cucumbers. Unlike summer squash, winter squash are picked at
full maturity, after they have developed a hard shell. (It is this key attribute that discourages
spoilage and accounts for the long shelf life.) Many winter squash (though not all) actually
