Picture of buttercup squash skin#
Picture of buttercup squash full#

Picture of buttercup squash full#

Plants need well-draining, deeply fertile soil in full sun. It is tasty broiled, grilled, fried, roasted, or boiled.

The flesh is a sunny orange without strings and has a deep, rich flavor.

This type of fruit is known as turban squash, a development that doesn’t change the taste of the fruit. Sometimes, they are globe shaped but, occasionally, the fruit develops a button-like gray growth at the stem end.

Picture of buttercup squash skin#

Weighing in at 3 to 5 pounds (1.35-2.27 kg.), the skin is deep green with no ribs. The fruits are small compared to many winter squash plants. It is a sprawling, vine-like plant that requires plenty of room to grow. The plant needs 105 days from seed to harvest. The fruit is an excellent source of carotenoids, an important antioxidant, and Vitamin C. Buttercup squash facts indicate that the heirloom variety often develops turban-shaped fruit, an eye-appealing oddity. They allow gardeners to explore food varieties that our grandparents grew and that have time-tested reliability. Buttercup winter squash needs a long growing season and plenty of sun and heat to produce the small fruits that thrive in USDA hardiness zones 3-11. As the name would suggest, the flesh cooks up with a sweet buttery flavor. They are a type of kabocha winter squash, also known as Japanese pumpkin, and can be stored for a long time due to their hard rinds. Have even more squash to use up? Check out these spiralizers that turn fresh summer squash into low-calorie noodles with the twist of a wrist.Buttercup squash plants ( Cucurbita maxima) are heirlooms native to the Western Hemisphere.

Fall Harvest Salad with Maple Vinaigrette – This sweet and savory salad is wonderful with butternut but works well with many other roasted winter squash, including acorn and delicata.

Vegan Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins – Add even more sweetness to your cornbread by substituting sweet dumpling or honey bear squash.

Easy Vegan Marinara – This sauce calls for zucchini, but you can elevate the taste by swapping it for tatume or zephyr squash.

Vegan Pumpkin Chili – Substitute canned pumpkin puree with freshly roasted sugar pumpkin or hubbard squash puree.

Or give it a winter squash makeover by using delicata squash.

Vegan Stuffed Zucchini Boats – Switch up the visual appeal of this dish by swapping zucchini for cousa or eight ball squash.

No matter what you use, there’s nothing better than roast squash soup!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup – Switch out tired butternut for sweeter honeynut squash or the deep nuttiness of pink banana jumbo.

Looking for inspiration? Here are some of our favorite squash recipes remastered with some less-common squash types: Next time your recipe calls for a summer squash or a winter squash, try switching it up by substituting one of the lesser-known varieties. With so many different varieties of squash out there-and new ones being bred every year-there are plenty to choose from. Despite its strange looks, this squash tastes very familiar on the inside and is used in all the same ways as your typical winter squash. It was named for the Yokohama port-one of the first Japanese ports open to US travelers. This pumpkin-shaped cucurbit has greyish skin with ridges and bumps. We hate to throw around the word ugly, so let’s just say the Yokohama squash is unique. Yokohama Squash | Photo courtesy Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Winter squash are harvested from various Cucurbita species, most of which tend to have long, rambling vines. They have a hard rind that protects the flesh inside and allows the fruits to be stored long-term without refrigeration. Winter varieties are harvested in their mature form. These plants tend to be bushy and quick to produce fruit. Almost all summer squash varieties belong to the species Cucurbita pepo. These fruits have thin, edible skin and are not suitable for long-term storage. Summer squash includes any variety that is harvested in its immature form. Within the true squashes, there are two distinct groups: winter and summer squash. Pumpkins, on the other hand, do have edible flesh and, therefore, are considered true squashes even though they come with their own special designation. Instead, these often colorful and funny-shaped fruits are used as decorations and to make tools. Gourds, which are produced by several species within the genus, are not squash because they have no edible flesh. There are a number of species in the Cucurbita genus, but only five of them produce edible, fleshy fruit.