Mary Anna Dusablon - Cooking with Winter Squash & Pumpkins

Mary Anna DuSablon

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DuSablon, Mary Anna

Cooking with winter squash & pumpkins / Mary Anna DuSablon
A Storey Publishing Bulletin, A-55
ISBN 978-0-88266-230-5

Winter squash and pumpkins were cultivated in this country long before Columbus arrived. These easy-to-grow vines are probably native to Central America, although botanists are not really sure of their origins. Some species may have originated in Asia.

Whatever their origins, winter squash and pumpkins are truly an all-American food. What Thanksgiving table would be complete without a pumpkin pie? The very word harvest brings to mind images of bushel baskets piled high with butternut squash, fields of orange pumpkins, acorn squash sitting side by side on a basement shelf, and a glowing grin on a jack-o-lantern.

Hard-shelled winter squash, gourds, and pumpkins were a staple in colonial America. Gourds, which are distinguished by their white rather than yellow or orange flowers, were once used to make spoons, ladles, bowls, bottles, and other kitchen tools. Today, luffa gourds make a popular bathing sponge.

Native American Indians probably taught the first colonists about these vine crops. The Indians baked squash whole in the ashes of their fire pits, or they simmered them slowly in stews flavored with squash blossoms. As they still are today, the large male blossoms of squash plants were considered a great delicacy.

The American pie is perhaps the most ridiculed of all dishes. It has, however, great popularity and undoubted merits.

Mary Ronalds, The Century Cook Book, 1896.

Winter squash and pumpkins are a good source of vitamin A. Squash and pumpkin flesh can be used as a poultice for burns and inflammations. One large glass of juice taken before breakfast is a reliable laxative.

The seeds, high in leucine, tyrosine, and the B complex vitamins, are reputed to be a cure for both roundworms and tapeworms. The seeds are slightly sedative in nature, and it is said that they also calm sexual excitement, which may or may not be an asset. Oddly, these same seeds can cause inebriation of ducks, who are very fond of them.

The leaves and blossoms are also edible. The young leaves can be cooked and eaten like any other green if you are looking for novelty. The blossoms should be eaten fresh. When choosing blossoms for any recipe, be sure to take the male flowers, that is, the flower with the longer stem. Leave the female to bear fruit. Squash and pumpkin flowers are delicately flavored.

There is much confusion about the differences between winter squash, pumpkins, summer squash, and gourds. Botanists will tell us they are all cucurbita, members of the gourd family; but it is not quite that simple. In this country, we generally think of summer squash as those soft-fleshed, early-ripening varieties, such as zucchini and yellow squash. When we think of pumpkin, we generally mean the variety that is orange and carved on Halloween. Then we think of winter squash as those edible hard-shelled varieties that are harvested late and kept in root cellars for many months. Gourds are also hard-shelled, but the flesh inside dries out, leaving an inedible plant that is a useful container. To confuse things further, there are varieties, such as the cushaw, that some call a pumpkin, and some a squash.

Do not let names confuse you. In most recipes you can substitute a winter squash for a pumpkin and vice versa if you add a tablespoon of common sense.

Here is a condensed guide to the many strains and hybrids of winter squash. All may be baked, boiled, steamed, frozen, canned, or dried, but special note has been made of some individual differences in these varieties.

Acorn. An acorn-shaped squash with a dark green rind and golden-yellow, sweet-flavored flesh. These squash are especially good for baking and stuffing. One squash will usually serve two people. Can be frozen in halves. For best flavor, use within a few months of harvest, before the flesh turns bright orange.

Banana. A very large squash with a long, cylindrical body and small seed cavity. Usually weighs around 1035 pounds. Good keeper; thick flesh, fine-grained.

Buttercup. Averaging 34 pounds, this drum-shaped squash has a tough, green rind. It cooks extra dry, but its sweet potato flavor is good steamed or baked. Medium to medium-long storage life.

Butternut. Bottle-shaped or straight, this squash has a pinkishtan hide and averages 24 pounds in weight. Its sweet, nutty flavor and fine texture make it good for pies. Good keeper but will get stringy eventually.

Butterbush. The bush-type butternut squash with reddish-orange flesh and average weight of 1 pounds. Good keeper; nice for baking and stuffing.

Cushaw. Crookneck or pear-shaped with a light buff or greenstriped rind. Cooks and tastes like squash, good for baking and boiling for mashing. Good for pies and canning.

Delicious. Round, yellow or dark green, heart-shaped squash with orange flesh. Good for canning and freezing. Higher in vitamin content than most winter squash; used for baby food.

Hubbard. Comes in green, gold, or blue varieties. With its hard shell, it keeps until spring. Large, nice for large families. Freezes, cans, and dries well. Excellent boiled for mashed squash dishes.

Spaghetti. Not really a winter squash, but it will keep well nonetheless. You can cook this novelty squash in boiling water and then substitute it in any recipe calling for spaghetti. This squash can be cooked and chilled for use in salads, too. Spaghetti squash is oval, with a cream-colored or tan rind and yellow spaghettilike texture inside.

Sweet Dumpling. Very small, sweet, delicious winter squash, weighing only about pound apiece. Great baked, plain, or stuffed. Freeze halves.