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Winter Squash
Jan. 19th, 2004 10:20 pmLast Thursday I organized a winter squash tasting for the master gardeners meeting. We had grown 39 varieties at our research gardens, about 25 of which had borne fruit (we had gopher problems). We tasted 13 of those, and it was very illuminating. Potimarron, a French variety (possibly just the French name for Red Kuri, a Japanese variety) was the hands-down winner. It was sweet, full-flavored (chestnut-like is the description), and smooth-textured. Runners up were Blue Ballet (drier, not as smooth), Tetsukabuto (sweeter yet), and Early Butternut (not as sweet). Table Ace, an acorn squash, was controversial. Some loved it, some hated it. Those who liked it, me included, thought that it had a complex and interesting flavor, though not as sweet as the above. All in all, this was an eye-opening experience, even for experienced gardeners.
Winter squash are grown over the summer, ripen in the fall, and can be stored all winter, hence their name. You’d be amazed how many California gardeners were surprised to hear I was growing winter squash in the summer -- they are so spoiled here by year-round gardening, honestly!
Pumpkins, btw, are simply a kind of winter squash. Actually, what we in the U.S. call pumpkins are mostly defined by appearance (orange color, although there are those cream ones now, and a certain style of overall shape and ribbing). There are a few squash officially named pumpkins, but some are cucubita pepo, others cucurbita maxima! Pumpkins are a cultural but not a botanical subset of squash. Which is fine (I'll save my rant about botanical vs cultural hierarchies for another time), but it annoys me when people say, "Did you know that canned pumpkin is actually made from a squash?!?" Well, yeah, did you know that pumpkin IS a squash?
Winter squash are grown over the summer, ripen in the fall, and can be stored all winter, hence their name. You’d be amazed how many California gardeners were surprised to hear I was growing winter squash in the summer -- they are so spoiled here by year-round gardening, honestly!
Pumpkins, btw, are simply a kind of winter squash. Actually, what we in the U.S. call pumpkins are mostly defined by appearance (orange color, although there are those cream ones now, and a certain style of overall shape and ribbing). There are a few squash officially named pumpkins, but some are cucubita pepo, others cucurbita maxima! Pumpkins are a cultural but not a botanical subset of squash. Which is fine (I'll save my rant about botanical vs cultural hierarchies for another time), but it annoys me when people say, "Did you know that canned pumpkin is actually made from a squash?!?" Well, yeah, did you know that pumpkin IS a squash?
