Winter
Squash & Pumpkins
(Excerpts
from "Winter Squash and Pumpkins From Seed To Supper")
Inspite
of their name, winter squash (and pumpkins) are a warm weather
crop, but called winter because they can be stored well into
and through the winter. There are four species of winter squash
with pumpkin varieties in all them. The difference between winter
squash and pumpkins is more culinary than botanical; winter
squash have a finer texture and milder flavor, pumpkins have
a somewhat coarse, stronger flavor and are generally orange
in color. A squash/pumpkin vine can set several fruit before
ripening all at the same time.
There
are many varieties of winter squash & pumpkins. With plant
breeders developing new strains every year, it is impractical
for a publication of this size to cover all of them. Consult
a well established nursery in your area to determine the varieties
that will do best in your climate. Some of the more common varieties
are:
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Cucurbita
pepo
Gold
Nugget - 95 days - bush type - up to 8 softball
size fruits per plant.
Acorn
Cream-of-the-Crop
- bush type - 85 days - cream colored rind - golden
flesh.
Carnival - bush type - 85 days - cream colored
with orange spots or pale green with dark green
spots in vertical stripes - coloration sometimes
divided part and part - golden flesh.
Jersey Golden - small bush - 60 to 80 days
- gold rind - light yellow to orange flesh.
Table Ace - semi-bush - 70 days - black rind
- orange flesh.
Table King - 75 days - dark green rind -
golden flesh.
Table Queen - semi-bush - 90 days - dark
green to golden yellow rind - orange flesh.
Spaghetti
Spaghetti
- 100 days - The spaghetti squash shaped like a
fat yellow skinned zucchini grows from 10 to 12
inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide.
Pumpkin
(some varieties)
Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin - 110 days -
medium-size.
Connecticut Field Pumpkin (Big Tom) - 120
days - large Jack O’Lantern type.
Delicata
Delicata
(Sweet Potato Squash) - cream colored rind with
orange or green stripes - 110 days.
Cucurbita
moschata
Calabaza
(Cuban Pumpkin) - 130 days - 5 - 7 pounds - mottled
green or yellow and tan - light yellow flesh.
Golden Cushaw - 110 days - tan skin with
curved necks - pale yellow flesh - rambling vines.
Tahiti Squash (Melon Squash) - 100 days -
large curved necked fruit - tan skin with carrot
orange flesh - sweeter than most.
Cucurbita
mixta
Green
Striped Cushaw - 110 days - pear-shaped creamy
white rind with green stripes and a curved neck
- pale yellow flesh - rambling vines.
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Cucurbita
mixta (Continued)
Butternut
The
butternut is shaped like a fat zucchini with a bulbous
end.
Butterbush - bush type - 75 days - reddish
orange rind and flesh.
Early Butternut - semi-bush - 80 days - tan
rind - orange flesh.
Waltham - 85 days - dark orange to tan rind
- orange flesh.
Pumpkin
(some varieties)
Autumn Gold - 90 days - bright yellow hybrid.
Big Max - 120 days - huge often over 100
pounds.
Big Moon - 120 days - 1 or 2 pumpkins per
vine - up to 200 pounds.
Cinderella - 95 days - bush - medium-size
jack o’lantern.
Small Sugar Pie or New England Pie - 100
days - small-size globe shape.
Spirit Hybrid - 100 days - medium-size symmetrical
fruits for Halloween carving.
Triple Treat - 100 days - uniform shape for
carving fine flesh for eating with hull-less seeds
for roasting.
Lady Godiva - 110 days - 8-inch fruits -
hull-less seeds.
Hungarian Mammoth - 115 days - hull-less
seeds.
Cucurbita
maxima
Dakota
- 120 days - orange skin with dark green star burst
like rays at stem and blossom ends.
Hubbard
(all varieties)
The fruit grows to 10 to 15 inches long - 8 to 10
inches wide and up to 15 pounds. Mostly pear shaped
- sometimes pointed at the narrow end.
Blue Hubbard - 120 days - blue grey skin.
Green Hubbard - like Blue Hubbard with a
dark green skin.
Boston Marrow - like Blue Hubbard with a
red orange skin.
Turban
(all varieties)
Buttercup - bush type - 75 days.
Sweet Mama - 85 days.
Turk’s Turban - 105 days - shaped like
a brightly colored turban grows large-size from
8 to 12 inches in many colors; red brown, white
and dark green.
Banana
Pink
Banana - Pink Banana Jumbo - Blue Banana - 120
days - creamy pink skin - banana shape.
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Selected
Winter Squash and Pumpkin Recipes
(Excerpts
from "Winter Squash and Pumpkins From Seed To Supper")
In
spite of their name, winter squash (and pumpkins) are a warm
weather crop, but called winter because they can be stored well
into and through the winter. There are four species of winter
squash with pumpkin varieties in all them. The difference between
winter squash and pumpkins is more culinary than botanical;
winter squash have a finer texture and milder flavor, pumpkins
have a somewhat coarse, stronger flavor and are generally orange
in color. A squash/pumpkin vine can set several fruit before
ripening all at the same time.
Edible
parts are the blossoms, fruit, seeds and tender new growth stem
ends and leaves (if you cut back the plants to produce fewer
but larger fruit). Winter squash can be eaten in their immature
state like summer squash.
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into
uniform pieces. Cook in |
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3
tablespoons butter or margarine
4 tablespoons water and
a pinch of salt. |
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When
the pumpkin is quite soft, pass it through a sieve,
food processor or blender. Return the purée
to the saucepan and dilute with |
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to 4 cups consomme (or milk). |
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Return
to a boil and finish off with |
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| 4
tablespoons butter or margarin. |
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| This
could as well be pumpkin custard pie. |
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| 1
1/2 to 2 pounds winter squash |
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Measure
2 cups mashed squash and spoon into a strainer
to drain off any excess liquid. In a large-size bowl,
beat |
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4
eggs with
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg. |
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cups firmly packed brown sugar. |
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Mix
well and pour into a 9-inch unbaked pie crust. Bake
at 350° F for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or
until the custard appears set when gently shaken.
Cool before serving. |
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| Pumpkin
in the morning will start your day in a very nice
way. I like to sift my measured dry ingredients together
to give them a partial mix and eliminate any lumps. |
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In
a large-size bowl, beat |
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1
1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup cooked and mashed pumpkin
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs and
1 teaspoon vanilla extract. |
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Sift
together into the above mixture |
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2
cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg and
1/4 teaspoon salt. |
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Beat
until smooth. Pour onto a heated and lightly greased
griddle. Cook until the top surface is bubbly and
the edges are dry. Turn and cook until golden brown.
Keep the pancakes warm. Serve with butter and syrup
or honey. Even better, top with hot sautéed
apples or hot apple pie filling and syrup or honey.
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Spaghetti
Squash & Pumpkin Seed Recipes
(Excerpts
from "Winer Squash and Pumpkins From Seed To Supper")
Use
the squash spaghetti strands as you would use cooked pasta spaghetti.
Serve it hot tossed with your favorite pasta sauce and grated
Parmesan cheese.
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Pierce
the shell of one whole spaghetti squash. Bake uncovered
at 350°F for 45 minutes. Turn squash over and
continue to bake until shell gives to pressure,
15 to 45 minutes. Cut in half and remove seeds.
Remove the spaghetti like strands with a fork.
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Cut
one spaghetti squash lengthwise and remove the seeds.
Place the halves cut side up on a non-metallic baking
dish. Microwave on high (100%) for 10 to 12 minutes.
Rotate each piece 1/2 turn after 5 minutes. Let stand
after cooking for another 5 minutes. The shell should
give to pressure. Remove the spaghetti like strands
with a fork. |
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Place
halves cut side down in pot with 3 inches of water.
Bring water to a boil and cook for 20 minutes or until
squash is tender. Remove the spaghetti like strands
with a fork. |
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SPAGHETTI
SQUASH HASH BROWNS
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Hash
browns will never be the same. |
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and separate the strands of |
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Cook
and separate the strands of |
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In
a large-size bowl, mix the strands with |
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1/2
cup all-purpose flour and
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. |
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Place
a wide frying pan over medium heat and melt |
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Drop
spoon-fuls of the squash mixture into the fry pan
and press with a fork into 3 inch diameter flat cakes.
Cook until the bottoms are lightly brown (2 to 3 minutes),
turn them over and brown the other side. Serve warm
with sour cream and garnish with parsley.
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All
pumpkin/squash seeds are edible. The hulls can be
a nuisance, but, they’re edible too. Consuming
pumpkin seeds is easier with hull-less seeds found
in the Triple Treat, Hungarian Mammoth or Lady Godiva
cultivars.
Pumpkin
seed oil can be pressed from roasted seeds. You
need a lot of seeds. It has a strong nutty favor
similar in style to sesame oil. And, like sesame
oil, use it sparingly to lightly season a dish after
cooking. Pumpkin seed oil is touted by many for
its curative powers. It has a great combination
of vitamins, trace elements, silicic acid, fat and
protein.
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In
a 1-quart stainless steel saucepan over medium-high
heat, roast |
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1
cup rinsed pumpkin seeds in
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil |
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for about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat when they
puff up slightly and start to change color. Add
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In
a 10- by 15-inch baking pan, place
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2
to 3 cups rinsed pumpkin seeds.
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Bake
in a 300° F oven until golden and crisp, about
45 minutes; stir occasionally If made ahead, cool
and store airtight up to 3 days. A 14-pound pumpkin
yields about 1 1/2 cups of seed. |
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Winter
Squash & Pumpkins Contents
(from "Winter Squash and Pumpkins
From Seed To Supper")
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Preface
Cucurbitaceae - The Gourd Family - Squash
Winter Squash And Pumpkins
Nutritional Breakdown
Cultivation
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Irrigation
Harvest
Pest And Disease |
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Bake
Boil
Braise
Microwave
Steam |
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Squash/Pumpkin
Purée
Squash/Pumpkin Sauté (Purée)
Pumpkin Pancakes |
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Purée
Of Pumpkin Soup
Cream Of Pumpkin Soup
Autumn Squash / Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin Shell Soup Service
Sunny Day Soup
Peanut Butter Cream
Squash And Chestnut Soup
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Baked
Squash
Baked Glazed Squash
Nutmeg Squash
Sweet Buttered Squash
Spiced Squash
Acorn Squash And Apples
Squash Drops
Squash And Apple Casserole
Pumpkin Au Gratin
Pumpkin Croquettes
Sautéed Butternut Squash
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Pumpkin
Pine Nut Bread
Pumpkin Bread
Squash Corn Bread Muffins
Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins
Streusel Topping
Pumpkin Surprise Muffins
Pumpkin Oat Bran Muffins
Pumpkin Drop Cakes Cake
Pumpkin Oat Cake
Pumpkin Almond Cake
The Glaze
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Pumpkin
Raisin Nut Cookies
Pumpkin Whole Wheat Cookies
Pumpkin Oatmeal Nut Cookies
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Steamed
Pumpkin Pudding
Pumpkin Rice Pudding
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Pumpkin Custard Pudding
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Pumpkin Pie
Pie Crust
Squash Custard Pie
Pumpkin Pie Squares
Pumpkin Cheese Pie With Persimmon Glaze
Persimmon Glaze
Pumpkin Tart And Whipped Cream
Warm Ginger Cream
Tart Shell |
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Acorn
Squash Dessert
Pumpkin Ice Cream
Pumpkin Custard Ice
Cream
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Pumpkin Fudge
Pumpkin Soufflé |
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Conventional
Oven
Microwave
Boil
Spaghetti Squash Verdi
Spaghetti Squash Hash Browns
Spaghetti Squash Salsa Salad
Spaghetti Squash Salad
Spaghetti Squash Frittata
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti Squash With Buttered Broccoli |
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Pan
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Oven Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Buffalo Seeds
Curried Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin Seed pesto
Pumpkin Seed Salsa
Chicken With Pumpkin Seed Sauce |
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Storage
Freezing
Canning
Dehydrating
Banana Squash
Hubbard Squash
Pumpkin Jam
Pumpkin Butter
Fresh Pickled Pumpkin |
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Apple
Nut Muffins Stuffins
Macaroon Muffin Stuffins
Cream Fillings |
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