You can even eat it raw as a salad topping for added crunch. Related: Browse our entire collection of Squash Recipes. By Melanie Fincher Updated July 02, Pin FB Share. Variety of squash. Credit: Getty Images. Spaghetti Squash. Photo by Getty Images. Acorn Squash. Delicata Squash. Kabocha Squash. Sweet Dumpling Squash. Sugar Pumpkin Squash. Red Kuri Squash. Carnival Squash. Buttercup Squash. Blue Hubbard Squash. Banana Squash. Yellow Squash. Zucchini Squash. Pattypan Squash.
Chayote Squash. All rights reserved. Close this dialog window View image. Given the variety available in many markets, we wanted to give you a breakdown of what to look for when shopping. The easiest way to identify an acorn squash? Well it looks like an acorn duh. These green squashes with orange flesh are thick-skinned and can be served peeled or sliced with the skin in tact.
Acorn squash is fairly adaptable and can be used in a variety of dishes. These cylindrical squashes can be gigantic, growing to sizes of up to 3 feet long and 35 pounds.
Once you get through the thick rind, banana squash contains an orange flesh that is similar to Kabocha or Butternut. Use banana squash in recipes that call for roasting or pureeing as a soup. Squat and green, buttercup squashes have a thick, inedible rind with dark yellow flesh. Buttercup squashes have a sweet, nutty flavor and are best used in recipes that involve steaming or baking.
One of the most popular and easily identifiable of the winter squashes, butternut squashes are those bowling pin shaped, tannish ones that you will find in pretty much any grocery store. They can be used in pretty much anything; soups, stews, roasted, pureed, etc. Tiny and heavily creviced, carnival squashes are known for their speckled green and orange skin that will eventually fade to a yellowish orange when fully ripe.
While carnival squashes can be treated like any other orange-fleshed squash, they are best when roasted to help strengthen their flavor. Long and skinny, Delicata squashes are yellow with green or orange stripes running the horizontal length.
They have thinner skin than a butternut and are great for using as a cooking vessel see recipes below , since they hold their shape well when cooking. These bumpy skinned, hard-shelled pumpkins are pretty ugly but inside is a dense, richly flavored flesh. Since the Hubbard squash is so hard to peel, it is best halved and then roasted. The particular variety pictured here, the Blue Ballet, is much smaller, making it easier to store and prepare at home.
Underneath the gray-blue skin is sweet-tasting orange flesh. Characteristics: This particular winter squash, with its pale yellow shading, most closely resembles its summer squash cousins. The thin skin is edible, but also more susceptible to bruises and rot. When cooked, the delicata has a consistency similar to that of a sweet potato—creamy and soft—although the flavoring is a bit more earthy.
For a decorative effect, take advantage of this squash's ridges by slicing width-wise to create scalloped circles or halves; small- to medium-size delicata work best.
Characteristics: Like all Hubbards, the red kuri has an asymmetrical, lopsided look to it. And like the Blue Ballet variety, the red kuri is smaller and easier to handle. Its yellow flesh is smooth and has a chestnutlike flavor. Characteristics: Compact and green with paler green striations, the buttercup can closely resemble a kabocha squash.
Its distinctive bottom with a circular ridge, though, gives it away. Butternut squash are beige and have a long "neck" with a bulbous end. The skin is a lot smoother than the skin of an acorn squash and is generally easier to cut and peel. SpoonTip: To get a good butternut squash, pick one that has a larger "neck" and a smaller "bulb" to get more squash and less seeds. Taste is something heavily argued in the acorn squash vs butternut squash debate. Can you interchange them in a recipe?
While they're similar in flavor, it's best to just use the one the recipe is asking for, unless it says you can use either one. Butternut squash has a smoother, sweeter, almost nutty flavor. They can even be used in place of pumpkin in some recipes not that I have anything against pumpkin. Acorn squash is sweet, too, but more fibrous and sometimes stringy, which is why butternut squash is usually used in soups instead of acorn.
The skin of both squash can be eaten , but acorn squash skin is a bit tougher, so it's totally based on your preference. Acorn squash are a lot harder to peel than butternut, so to make things easier, you can always bake an acorn squash with the skin on and only eat the flesh.
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