All That You Need to Know About Squash

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ryone loves squash. Of course, I do too. Squash is one of the longest living plants that have continually been a blessing to man. With squash around, you can get a lot of unique and mouthwatering recipes, dishes, and culinary to your nutritional satisfaction. History made us know that squash primarily came from Central America and Mexico. Now, squashes are grown in many countries, such as England, Germany, Egypt, and especially the United States of America.

Botanically, squash is one of the fruits of Cucurbita in the gourd family. Interestingly, squashes are mostly cooked and eaten as vegetables and commonly found in the league of popular vegetables like tomato, onions, peppers, and carrot. It's also exciting to know that squashes are so useful that none of their parts are ever wasted, including the leaves and the tender shoots. You can bake, freeze, and roast squash to serve as the main course, side dish, or curries.

Even squash's seeds are edible, and you can roast them based on your preference. Squash comes in different varieties and colors. Each squash fruit has its unique function to fulfill your nutritional needs, and they can be substituted for each other. Most squashes are brightly colored like fruits but taste like vegetables. Squashes are available all year round. You can have them in the winter and during the summer. They're categorized by their availability period as the summer and the winter squashes.

Summer Squashes

Summer squashes mature earlier than the winter squashes and is harvested before maturity. Most summer squashes have tender and edible skins and can be easily consumed raw. For example, you can slice your natural yellow squash with salad and smoothies. Examples of major popular summer squashes are the Zucchini squash and yellow squash, which you can enjoy in various ways.

Most summer squashes don't have high storage capacity and are not stored for a long time, unlike the winter squashes. If you want to enjoy the optimum flavor and spicy taste from your summer squashes, consume within one week of harvest. Better still, you can decide to save your squashes until future use though not practical, unlike the winter squashes.

Your summer squashes will last longer if you place them in a plastic bag with an open end to allow air circulation and humidity. And don't wash before storage to improve their lifespan and avoid quick spoilage. Now, let's examine the popular types of summer squashes: the Zucchinis squash and the Yellow squash.

Zucchini Squash

Zucchini squashes are also known as "Courgette," They are one of the most popular summer squashes that we have. Typical zucchini squash is straight in shape and has a fleshy deep green skin and a soft white flesh. Consuming Zucchini as part of your diet would be a significant gain to your body's health. Zucchini contains abundant potassium that can regulate your body fluids and ensure the normal functioning of all your body cells.

This squash can also reduce your susceptibility to high blood pressure and help prevent the clogging of your arteries. You've lots of things to gain by eating the Zucchini squash with nothing to lose. And there are lots of fantastic ways you can consume Zucchini squash. You can make delicious and mouthwatering Zucchini noodles, Zucchini parmesan chips, or the Zucchini butter, which you'd enjoy in a significant way.

Yellow Squash

The different types of yellow squash are the straight neck and the crookneck yellow squash. An easy way you can identify yellow squash is its color. As the name implies, the yellow squash is brightly yellow. However, you shouldn't confuse yellow squash with a variety of Zucchini, which has a golden yellow color. You might notice a green color on your yellow squash, which might be due to the infection of the squash mosaic virus.

Another common way you can recognize yellow squashes is by their shapes. Yellow swashes are flat in the bottom and recede towards the neck. They also contain more seeds in their flesh, and they're tasty when consumed. You can eat raw yellow squash raw but note that the smaller the swash, the sweeter the taste, and the use of it to prepare small dishes. There're many nutritional values in yellow squash, and they include high amounts of vitamins A, B6, and C.

Yellow squash also contains a large amount of riboflavin, phosphorus, and potassium to help maintain your body system's effective functioning and help you maintain healthy bones. You can fry your yellow squash into fritters, slice into noodles, or grill with pesto chicken.

Winter Squashes

Unlike summer squashes, winter squashes are mostly square, roundly-elongated, and pear-like in shape. Their colors range from golden yellow to brilliant orange. Winter squashes mature longer than winter squashes and are harvested at full maturity. You can safely store them for future use in a suitable storage location, and this is why they're called "winter squashes." Each winter squash is unique and doesn't resemble any other due to their different shapes.

Most winter squashes are characterized by thicker, durable, and hardened skin, and you should consider cooking before you consume them. You can also substitute one winter squash with another. Examples of winter squashes are the acorn squash, buttercup squash, autumn cup squash, banana squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, turban squash, carnival squash, kabocha squash, etc.

Buttercup Squash

Buttercup squash is an example of the winter squashes, which is part of the turban squash family. The turban squashes have hard shells and are turban-like in shape. Buttercup squash's skin has a dark green color and can sometimes contain lighter green streaks. The flesh is sweet and has a creamy orange color. Before you eat your buttercup squash, ensure the skins don't have molds or bruises.

The buttercup squash is the sweetest squash among the winter squashes and more delicious than sweet potatoes. You can easily replace sweet potatoes with the butterscotch squash in many recipes. Depending on your choice, you can bake, mash, and steam your butterscotch squash since it's dry.

The butterscotch squash is available all year round though you can get it best from early fall through the winter period. Butterscotch squash is rich in food nutrients, carotenoids, and Vitamin C and has low calories, making it an excellent diet for healthy growth and unique immune function. You can cook the squash until it's soft and then scoop out the flesh and freeze it in the freezer.

Ambercup Squash

The amber cup squash can be called a relative of the butterscotch squash, and it looks like a small pumpkin with orange skin. If the peel is brightly orange in color, then you can be sure your amber cup squash would have a dry sweet taste that you'd enjoy. The amber cup squash has a great texture with no bruises and a soft, mild flavor.

You can store your amber cup squash for a long time as it is suitable for storage. The amber cup squash is mostly available from June to November, and are slightly dried than the other varieties of the winter squashes. If you want to enjoy your amber cup squash, then peel, cut into pieces, and roast. And you can choose to bake your amber cup squash; it tastes delicious when cooked.

Banana Squash

The banana squash is one of the most readily available winter squash, and it's so-called because of its perfect likeness to bananas in shape and color. Typical banana squash is brightly orange in color with a delicate texture flesh, which is sweet and tasty. The banana squash plant grows to about two to three feet in length and about six to eight circles in diameter.

Most times, the banana squash is cut into smaller pieces before consumption, and it has a wide variety of uses. When you cook your banana squash flesh, you'll enjoy the rich taste and the natural flavor. The banana squash is free from saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and you can derive a high quantity of Vitamin A and Vitamin C from the banana cup squash. Under healthy storage conditions like stable temperature, well-ventilated area, you can store your banana squash for up to a month without spoilage.

You can also refrigerate the cut pieces packed in plastic for up to five days. If you're a mother, you can mash banana squash with a banana to serve as your baby's food. Nonetheless, you can make tasty banana muffins for yourself. Banana squashes are available all year round, and you can majorly harvest them from late summer through early fall.

Acorn Squash

Acorn squashes are easily found around, and you can simply buy them at conventional supermarkets. Like an acorn, typical acorn squash is small and round, and the ripened one has a dark green color. You can split acorn squash into halves and fill with butter. The slightly fibrous flesh is sweet when cooked for a long time before consumption.

You can use an air fryer for cooking the skin enough and making it flexible for consumption. A small acorn squash weighs from one to three pounds, and the color ranges from golden yellow to blackish green. When baked for a long time, the cute acorn winter squashes are very delicious and dainty. You can also use the acorn squashes to make beautiful side dishes or season with herbs or spices and then eat with your favorite salads and soups.

Likewise, you can choose to roast, salt, or spice the seeds; they taste great and are very nutritious. Acorn squashes contain lots of useful nutrients like vitamins, minerals, fibers, and low calories. If you want to aid your digestion and boost your immune system, then consume the acorn squashes. Though they're available all year round, you can find them at their prime early from fall through winter, majorly in North America.

Butternut Squash

Butternut squashes can also be found at the supermarket. Typical butternut squash is slightly yellowish-brown in color, shaped like a ball, and tastes like sweet potatoes. The skin is pale, creamy, and has a mild flavor with a bulbous end. The weight is about two to five pounds, and it looks like butterscotch.

If you want to enjoy high sweetness from the butternut squash, then allow it to dry and ripen very well. Brightly-orange color is an indication of a dry and ripened butternut squash. Butternut squashes are mostly used in making soups because they're not stringy or fibrous. You can store your butternut squash for up to two to three months under suitable storage conditions.

They contain minerals and vitamins such as Vitamin A and C and can help you lose weight, among other health benefits. You can get them all year round though you can get them abundantly from early fall through winter.

Autumn Cup Squash

Autumn Cup squash is a crossbreed of the buttercup squash and is generally dark green. The autumn cup squash is lovely and fine-textured. For future use, you can also store under suitable conditions. A regular autumn cup squash has about 6 inches and weighs up to 2 to 3 pounds.

The flesh of the buttercup squash is yellowish orange in color and fibrous. You can mash and roast your autumn cup squash. The autumn cup squash has a high amount of essential minerals to the human body; potassium. Eating autumn cup squash will help maintain your blood pressure and ensure the normal functioning of all your body cells. The autumn cup squash is available from September to December.

Health Benefits Of Squashes

Did you know that squashes have been in existence since about 10000 years ago? Well, now, you know. Sure, many people know they're delicious and taste great, but only a few know about their health benefits. A substantial factor contributing to squash's stable existence is the excellent health benefits that one can derive from its consumption.

Squashes are beneficial for the excellent functioning of your heart and body cells as they can help reduce heart diseases' risk. They are also suitable for weight loss due to the absence of fat and low calories. Yellow squash contains high body minerals like manganese, which can help maintain healthy bones, prostate, and colon.

A significant function of squashes, whether the winter or the summer squashes, is to boost your immune system. They can also help you maintain healthy eyes and reduce constipation due to their high fibers' contents. Did you know that squashes can also prevent cancer? Yes, they do. They help to reduce the risks of cancer, and they can also regulate blood pressure and sugar.

Conclusion

Man will forever be grateful for the existence of squashes and which must never go into extinction. Squashes are healthy for our bodies, and they're also delicious. Therefore, consider consuming more squash often. If you want to live long healthily enough, get squash, and you'd never regret it. Bon appétit.