Seasons/Availability
A short season, look for Delicata Squash beginning in December to January.
Current Facts
One of the most regularly stocked produce items, squash is the most versatile ingredient for today's imaginative chef and at-home creative cook. Only three species amazingly account for the colossal number of squash varieties. Popular summer squashes belong to Cucurbita pepo, which includes ornamental gourds, jack-o'-lantern type pumpkins, and acorn winter squash. Buttercups, various Hubbard squashes and giant prize-winning pumpkins belong to Cucurbita maxima. The more flavorful pumpkins and tan-colored Butternuts are descendants of Curcurbita moschata. Numerous mixes, a result of extensive crossbreeding, blur the distinguishing characteristics causing confusion in defining the actual differences between a squash and a pumpkin.
Description/Taste
Shaped like a very large cucumber, the magnificent-looking and striking Delicata squash is a creamy-yellowish color with attractive forest-green, sometimes orange, vertical stripes. Growing five to six inches long and two to three inches in diameter, its firm and fine-grained deep yellow to orange lush flesh is exceptionally sweet, rich, creamy and moist, much like a sweet potato. Its appropriate name, pronounced de-lee-CAH-tuh or dehl-ih-KAH-tah, describes its delicate flavor. Select a firm medium squash that is yellow and has green striations on its rind. Unripe Delicata squashes are light green.
Nutritional Value
All squashes provide vitamin A and vitamin C, some of the B vitamins and are a good source of fiber. One cup of cooked squash contains about 100 calories. Deep-colored squashes offer the most beta carotene. Eating five servings a day of fruits and vegetables lowers the chances of cancer. A recent study documents that nine or ten servings daily of fruits and vegetables, combined with three servings of low-fat dairy products, effectively lowers blood pressure.
Applications
Providing two servings per squash, this rich and moist cooked squash offers its best natural flavor simply topped with butter and a squeeze of lemon juice. When well cooked, the skin is edible. Experiment with complementary spices and fresh herbs to enhance its special goodness. Delicata squash makes an outstanding pie and a scrumptious soup. This squash holds its shape well during cooking. To stuff, cut squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds and strings. Bake, cut side down, in a baking dish with just one-fourth inch water for thirty minutes in a 375-degree oven. Meanwhile, sauté diced onion and celery; add some sour cream and pepper to taste; fill hot squash. Bake for an additional twenty to thirty minutes or until heated through. Top with grated cheese; broil just until cheese melts. For a sweet squash treat, cut squash in half; fill cavity with brown sugar or honey; bake until fork tender. To store, keep whole squash in a cool dark place up to two months. Wrap cut pieces in plastic; refrigerate up to four or five days.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
A favorite for centuries, healthier eating habits have promoted this versatile vegetable to a higher culinary rating and is now a frequently served year-round food. Both winter and summer varieties are popular in American cuisine.
Geography/History
A version of an old heirloom variety and also known as Bohemian squash, sweet potato squash or peanut squash because of its shape, the Delicata squash was especially popular in the early part of the twentieth century. Delicata is currently making a culinary comeback and becoming a favorite with chefs and consumers because of its great taste. Growing on a bush-type plant, this winter squash is harvested between eighty and one hundred days after sowing seeds.
Featured Recipes
Recipes that include Delicata Squash. One
is easiest, three is harder.
