Squash Varieties this Fall

Squash and pumpkins curing on racks

We grow several varieties of squash.  In any year some varieties will produce more squash than others.  Some are early varieties that taste best just after frost.  Others seem to reach peak flavor mid winter.

Acorn squash is the earliest of the winter squash.  It's flesh is sweeter than most squash.  I usually bake acorn squash as it remains moist and delicious.

Sweet dumpling or little dumpling squash is a cross between acorn and delicata squash.  Delicata is a small banana shaped squash that is one of the sweetest squash and has very little flesh to eat.  Crossing the two squashes means an acorn sized squash that has slightly drier and very sweet flesh.  I often bake these squash for one or two people.  They are one of my favorites.

Butternut squash is a beige long squash with all the seeds in one end.   These are the smoothest textured squash, so many cooks use this squash for soups and pie.  They don't have to puree the flesh - it is smooth as it is.  They are tasty and good in all squash recipes.

Buttercup and the Japanese kabocha are a longer keeping, drier fleshed green skinned squash.  Ken likes this squash a lot.

Blue ballet is a smaller hubbard style squash that seems to mature later and store great.  It is less sweet, but has deep squash flavor.

Hubbards are an old traditional, large squash.  They mature late, keep well, and are quite large.  Many people buy these to process and either can or freeze a lot of squash all at once.  We tend to stuff them with bread or rice and meat for events with lots of people.

We also grow pie pumpkins.  These are moist and sweet and make excellent pies and soups.  They can also be eaten in any squash recipe.

Although any pumpkin or squash will work for you, it is fun to try new varieties and decide which you like in your favorite recipes.