Oh My Gourd! Oh My Gourd!

Next time you’re out shopping, grab a winter squash (or two, or three). They’ll bring beautiful flavor and vibrant color to your table, and they keep, so you can use them when you’re ready.

Kabocha

Known for its especially sweet flavor, it’s like a combo of pumpkin and sweet potatoes. YES, you can eat the skin. It stays on when simmered or featured as tempura. Peel, though, if you’re going to mash or blend, to keep that lovely orange color.

Butternut

You may be tempted to reach for a prepeeled bag of frozen chunks prepped by someone else. Instead, grab a sturdy, Y-shaped peeler to get the skin off more easily. Pro-tip: microwave it whole for 30 seconds before peeling. That Y-peeler can also turn it into long, thin ribbons that’re great in salads (raw or cooked) or tossed with pasta noodles for a change of pace.

Delicata

No need for peeling because it's actually named for its delicate, edible skin. The rind becomes perfectly tender when cooked. Great to roast — cut into rings or half-moons — or halved lengthwise, scooped and then stuffed. Cooks up fairly quickly, so a good one for when you want something yummy and fast.

Hubbard

Named for one of the first farmers to grow it in the US, it's originally from the Caribbean islands. It’s large — typically about 1 foot wide and 15-20 pounds in weight — often sold cut into quarters. The texture can be a bit grainy, so most recipes you’ll see for it are purées and soups. It has the sweet flavor you’d expect from orange-fleshed winter squashes. Add butter, brown sugar and a bit of salt to bring out its best.

Acorn

The go-to squash for stuffing with delicious fillings and its longitudinal ribs make for a lovely presentation. Also called pepper squash or Des Moines squash, you can’t go wrong taking the flavor in either a sweet or savory direction.

Turban

So handsome they’re often used as a harvest decoration, but also good eating with a taste similar to butternut. Best not to peel it when raw, due to the shape and the durability of the skin. Instead, chop and bake it for 30 minutes with the skin on. Let chunks cool, peel and return them to the oven for more cooking.

Tetsukabuto

Quite unusual — it’s an interspecific cross — a hybrid of two different species created by manually pollinating two parents. The translation from Japanese is “iron helmet,” after the famed hardness of flesh and rind. When cooked, it retains a firm texture with a pleasant starchy quality thanks to the relatively low moisture content. Roasting brings out its earthy flavor with rich notes of hazelnut and browned butter.

Honeynut

A concentrated cross between butternut and buttercup squash-significantly sweeter, nutty, and even slightly malty in flavor. A famous chef asked the scientist/ breeder to “shrink the butternut and make it taste better,” and honeynuts were born. Developed in the 1980’s, it didn’t enter the US market until 2015.

Starry Night

How many squash have a name that’s also the name of a cocktail? A new variety of acorn squash, it has speckled skin (flecked with “stars”) and a smoother, less-stringy texture than its traditional relative. This one has a short storage season, so be sure to grab ‘em when you see ‘em!

Winter Squash Purée

Makes 2-3 cups

When you’ve got homemade winter squash purée, you’ve got a world of tasty possibilities at your fingertips! Here’s a basic recipe. Check out the digital Vine for some ideas of what to do with this “good-as-gold” ingredient.

1 medium to large butternut squash, about 2-3 pounds (or equivalent weight of kabocha, tetsukabuto, hubbard, etc.)

Preheat oven to 375º. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil.

Slice off stem, then slice squash in half crosswise through stem end. Scoop out strings and seeds. Place halves on baking sheet, cut side down, and roast uncovered for 45-60 minutes or until tender.