Piles of shapely winter squash, with their mottled and colorful skins, appear in the grocery store each autumn. To the uninitiated, they can seem a bit intimidatingor even merely decorative. But the hard outer shell of most comes off easily enough to reveal sweet, creamy, yellow to orange flesh.
Cooking With Butternut Squash
The butternut, with its distinctive bell shape, has emerged as a favorite of home cooks, especially in the fall harvest season. It’s easy to find, especially easy to peel, and it works well for roasting, sauteing or pureeing.
Among the sweetest of the winter squash, butternut has a nutty flavor and creamy texture. Use it in soups, salads, a frittata, lasagna, and other pasta dishes, or simply cut it into chunks and roast it.
You can use any winter squash, including butternut, buttercup, Hubbard, sugar pumpkin, and acorn, interchangeably in recipes. So if you can’t find butternut squash, grab whatever you can.
The mild flesh of the smaller acorn squash resembles a less sweet butternut, though the edible skin on an acorn squash can be much harder to peel off a raw squash. Buttercup squash also makes a reasonable substitute, particularly in baked recipes or as part of a stew-like dish such as an Indian curry because its flesh tends to dry out when you cook it.
Hubbard squash grows very large, so you can usually find pre-cut wedges of it in the grocery store. It can be hard to get the skin off a raw Hubbard, so you might want to bake it before you cube it if your recipe allows. Sugar pumpkins produce superior pumpkin flavor, and though known for pies, work in most recipes calling for roasted, baked, steamed, sauteed or pureed butternut squash.
Buying and Storing Winter Squash
With all fresh winter squash, you want to choose a specimen that feels heavy for its size, without any bruises, soft spots, or cracks in the skin. Look for an intact stem as well. Most varieties of winter squash are harvested in the fall and can last in cool, dark storage for up to three months. Butternut squash, with their thinner skin, are a little more delicate than the others, but in the right conditions, you can store them unpeeled for about a month. Peeled and cubed, winter squash lasts in the refrigerator for a few days.
Although squash can be eaten raw, you can enjoy it steamed, roasted, fried, or pureed. A versatile ingredient, it can be included in a variety of sweet and savory dishes.
Butternuts are the ideal "ingredient" squash. While they are perfectly fine roasted on their own with a little butter and salt, their smooth, moist texture and uncomplicated sweetness make them the perfect base for pies, soups, curries — you name it, butternuts can adapt to the recipe.
They are, yes, acorn-shaped, with deep ridges running from stem to tip and smooth, firm skin. The flesh is spongy and succulent, the flavors are mildly nutty and earthy. In taste and texture, they're like summer squash that's been beefed up with a bit of buttercup or kabocha.
Taste: Sweet, pumpkin-like flavor that is slightly nutty, and deepens the longer it's stored. Color: Smooth, semi-thin skin, covered in shallow striations. Flesh is yellow-orange, fine-grained, and crisp.
Variety in colour, texture, size, and taste make squash a versatile vegetable that can be prepared in many different ways – baked, pureed, roasted, fried or even dried. Squash is prized for its nutrition, with high levels of vitamins A and C, niacin, riboflavin, and iron.
According to the USDA nutrient database, one medium yellow squash contains 39 calories, 2 grams of protein, zero grams of fat, 8 carbs, 4 grams of fiber, and 4 grams of sugar.
Winter squash varieties for those with sweet cravings comes with delectable names, including Bonbon, Buttercup, Carnival, Sweet Dumpling and Tahiti Melon. Meanwhile, sugary summer squash varieties include Cousa, Papaya Pear, Tatume, Tromboncino and Zephyr.
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.
Most squash varieties have a mild, nutty flavor and silky texture. As a result, they're usually treated like vegetables in cooking. However, squash is technically a fruit. This is because it contains seeds and comes from the flowering part of plants.
All squash skin is edible. However, in the same way you wouldn't eat a banana peel, edible doesn't necessarily mean you want to eat it. Some squash has thin skin that's tasty and tender, while others have a tough shell that even cooked is chewy and stringy.
This squash has a lot of antioxidants, which can boost your immunity and help your body to fight off certain diseases. Acorn squash contains antioxidants like vitamin C that help strengthen bones and blood vessels. It also has vitamin A, which helps improve the health of your lungs, heart and other vital organs.
Winter squash is an annual fruit representing several squash species within the genus Cucurbita. Late-growing, less symmetrical, odd-shaped, rough or warty varieties, small to medium in size, but with long-keeping qualities and hard rinds, are usually called winter squash.
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.
Sugar pumpkins, and like varieties, have a sweet, earthy taste. Pumpkin is ideal for soup, curries, and of course, pies! Kabocha squash is remarkably sweet with a nice nutty flavor, and texture that's similar to a blend of sweet potato and pumpkin. Both the green and red varieties have similar flavor profiles.
This squash provides you with high amounts of vitamin B6 and fiber. It also contains vitamins A and C which help with gum and overall dental health. People use this as a lower-calorie substitute for spaghetti or to add more nutrition to their meals.
Squash is rich in minerals, including calcium. Calcium helps build and maintain healthy bones and teeth. The vitamins A and C in squash also help keep your bones healthy. In fact, a 2017 review of studies linked vitamin A deficiency to an increased risk of bone fractures.
improve cardiovascular health. A game of squash can see you running, leaping and diving for the ball. increase strength and fitness. maintain a healthy weight.
Butternut squash has a lot of powerful antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene. Antioxidants help prevent or slow cellular damage and reduce inflammation, which may reduce your risk of several chronic diseases.
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