We all know and love pumpkin, but here are a few familiar and unfamiliar wonderful winter squash cousins -- and ways to prepare them.
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| Photo: Carly & Art, Flickr. |
Below is a condensed guide to the more widely available types of winter squash.
Acorn squash: No surprise here, this dark-green squash is shaped like an acorn and has a yellow-orange inner flesh. It's easy to cut into halves and its natural sweetness is conducive to baking with just butter and sugar. The halves are also nice to hollow out after baking to serve as a decorative vessel for soups or stews.
Spaghetti squash: This winter variety gets its name because once cooked, the flesh is similar to the texture of spaghetti. Its shape is akin to a small, yellow watermelon.
Butternut squash: Bottle-shaped, beige-colored and a favorite among soupmakers, this watery orange-fleshed squash has a mild butterscotch flavor.
Delicata squash: An heirloom oblong squash sporting green stripes on a yellowy-cream skin. When cooked, the flesh has a nutty-sweet taste many describe as a cross between sweet potato and corn.
Turban squash: Characteristically shaped like a turban with extravagant coloring. More often than not used for holiday decoration instead of consumption because they're rather pesky to cut into and have a somewhat dull flavor.
Buttercup squash: Another green, turban-shaped varietal, but on the short and stockier side and with vertical green-gray stripes. It tastes much like a sweet potato.
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