EVERYTHING YOU WILL EVER NEED OR WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SQUASH
Squashes are four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called pumpkins and marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker. Squashes are categorized as summer squash or winter squash, depending on when they are harvested.
Squash is native to North America and was one of the "Three Sisters" planted by Native Americans. Its name translates roughly to "eaten raw" in native American cultures. The Three Sisters were the three main indigenous plants used for agriculture: maize (corn), beans, and squash. These were usually planted together, with the cornstalk providing support for the climbing beans, and shade for the squash. The squash vines provided groundcover to limit weeds.
Squash is considered a Berry, with an outer wall or rind and a Fleshy interior and seed cavity. In adddition to the fruit, other parts of the plant are edible. Squash seeds can be eaten directly, ground into paste, or pressed for vegetable oil. The shoots, leaves, and tendrils can be eaten as greens. The blossoms are an important part of native American cooking and are also used in many other parts of the world.
The English word "squash" derives from askutasquash (literally "a green thing eaten raw"), a word from the Narragansett language, which was documented by Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, in his 1643 publication, A Key Into the Language of America. Similar words for squash exist in related languages of the Algonquian family in places such as Massachusett.
Summer squashes, including young vegetable marrows (such as zucchini [also known as courgette], pattypan, yellow crookneck and kusa) are harvested during the summer, while the skin is still tender and the fruit relatively small(under 2 feet in length). They are consumed almost immediately and require little or no cooking.
Winter squashes (such as butternut, Hubbard, buttercup, acorn, spaghetti squash/vegetable spaghetti and pumpkin) are harvested at the end of summer, generally cured to further harden the skin, and stored in a cool place for eating later. They generally require longer cooking time than summer squashes.
Four species of the genus Cucurbita are called squash or pumpkins rather indiscriminately, which can be confusing. C. maxima includes the large winter squashes (such as Hubbard and Banana) and some large pumpkins, and numerous smaller varieties such as Buttercup and Mooregold. On this species the peduncle (fruit stem) is spongy and swollen, not ridged.
C. pepo includes the small pie pumpkins, standard field pumpkins, acorn squash, vegetable spaghetti, zucchini, summer crookneck squash, pattypan and most other summer squashes.
C. moschata includes butternut squash, among others C. mixta includes the cushaw varieties.
Pattypan squash is a summer squash notable for its round and shallow shape with scalloped edges, somewhat resembling a small toy top. The name "pattypan" derives from "a pan for baking a patty." Its French name, "pâtisson," derives from a Provençal word for a cake made in a scalloped mould.
Pattypan comes in striped, yellow, green, and white varieties. In fine cuisine, its tender flesh is sometimes scooped out and mixed with flavorings such as garlic prior to reinsertion; the scooped-out husk of a pattypan also is sometimes used as a decorative container for other foods. Pattypan is a good source of magnesium, niacin, and vitamins A and C. One cup contains approximately 20 to 30 calories and no fat.
Zucchini (US, Australian, and Canadian English) or courgette (New Zealand and British English) is a small summer marrow or squash, also commonly called "Italian" squash. However, zucchini, like all summer squash, is native to the Americas and was introduced to Europe during the time of European colonization of the Americas. Ironically, American familiarity with the plant (and the nickname Italian squash) came about when an improved version of zucchini was re-introduced into the United States by Italian immigrants in the 1920s.
It can either be yellow or green and generally has a similar shape to a ridged cucumber, though a few cultivars are available that produce round or bottle-shaped fruit. Unlike the cucumber it is usually served cooked, often steamed or grilled. Its flower can be eaten fried or stuffed. Zucchini is commonly thought of as a vegetable, and in layman's parlance, of course, this is more useful; however, by strict definition, the zucchini is a fruit, being the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower. Zucchini are traditionally picked when very immature, seldom over 10 inches length. Closely related, to the point where some seed catalogs do not make a distinction, are Lebanese summer squash or kusa (koosa), which closely resemble zucchini but often have a lighter green or even white color.
In 2005, a poll of 2,000 people revealed the courgette to be Britain's 10th favourite culinary vegetable. In Mexico, the flower (known as Flor de Calabaza) is preferred over the fruit, and is often cooked in soups or used as a filling for quesadillas.
