Winter Squash

Winter squash are not grown or harvested in winter, as one would think, they are picked in fall when fully ripe and stored till spring. Their hard thick skins protects them during the winter storage. This made them very useful in the days before freezers.

Butternut is the most common, it has a peachy skin and bright orange flesh. Choose the darkest, it will be riper, drier and sweeter.

Acorn squash is dark green with deep ridges, the flesh a golden yellow. Pick the ones with a very dark green skin, almost bronze.

Spaghetti squash, as the name implies, has a fibrous creamy white flesh which resembles spaghetti. It's not sweet and can be eaten just as you would eat its namesake, with sauces and cheese.

Buttercup is flattened and round. The flesh is sweet, dry and dark orange, almost red. Look for a very dark green almost bronze outside.

Turban is large and mostly orange, it has a moister flesh, not very sweet.

Hubbard is large, warty and irregular shaped. It requires a longer cooking time