I have walked into probably at least four different homes and have seen edible squash being used as "decorative gourds" and consequently find myself having to answer, "why does my house smell?" Gourds will get old and dry out. Squash? squash will rot and stink up your whole house if you're not paying attention to it. It's important to know what’s food and what’s meant for decoration. There are more than just two kinds of squash, Delicata, Acorn, Butternut, Kabocha, Hubbard and believe it or not they all vary in taste. Therefore, I think its time for a little mid Autumn product knowledge review... 

The types of squash I'm going to cover today are the ones most commonly found at your local grocery store: Acorn squash, Carnival Squash, Spaghetti Squash, and Butternut squash. Each type of squash, although visually similar, cooks differently. 

Cooking and Cleaning of these squash: For the sake of this lesson we’re gonna roast all of the squash the same. Start by cutting the squash vertically down the middle to split them in half. Scoop out the seeds and either discard them or roast them on their own with salt and pepper for a snack. The skin and seeds on all of these squash are edible. Rub the flesh with Olive oil and season with sat and pepper. You can even add some brown sugar, herbs or butter here but for the sake of uniformity well keep these pretty basic. After being prepared, they go into a 400 degree oven for about 45-50 minutes. 

Acorn Squash: Acorn squash, also called pepper squash, have notable vertical ridges. Their skin is a combination of green, yellow and orange color. Although called a winter squash, because of its sturdy shelf life, it is actually from the same family line as most summer squash such as zucchini and yellow squash. This squash will usually hold for about 4-6 weeks, at a warm room temperature, after being picked off the vine. I feel that the easiest way to cook this squash, and also the most delicious, is roasting it in its shell at around 375-400 degrees for about 30-50 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the size of your squash but for the sake of this lesson I chose vegetables that were all around the same size or thickness to have a somewhat even cooking time in the oven. Once roasted, this squash can be seasoned and eaten a variety of ways: as is with a little butter, turned into a casserole with some sour cream, cheese and breadcrumb topping, turned into soups or even chunked or cubed into your favorite sides such as rice or pasta! 

Carnival Squash: This squash is probably most commonly mistaken as a decorative gourd but I understand why. The colors that rip through the outside of this gourd SCREAM fall! Definitely the most aesthetically pleasing squash on this list, the carnival squash is actually a hybrid between the acorn squash and sweet dumpling squash. Its cream-colored background and speckled/ striped green and orange exterior makes this special squash stand out from the rest and probably the prettiest to keep around. Usually sold around 40 cents a pound this guy can be a little more affordable to keep as a decorative piece. *note after about 4 weeks it will begin to soften and attract bugs* Simply roast this squash as described above and you'll find it’s a little sweeter than a butternut or an acorn squash and has a bit of a light nutty aroma. I like to play off these flavors with some nutmeg or clove or even seasonal nuts like pecans or walnuts. What I love most about this squash is its size. Once halved it becomes the perfect personal serving and can be garnished or even stuffed with chestnuts and sausage and whatever else speaks all the colors of the wind to ya. 

Spaghetti Squash: Spaghetti squash is a little more versatile when comes to cooking. It can be baked, roasted, boiled, steamed or even microwaved. You'll see all sorts of funky ways to cook these guys on the internet since they've become so popular but if you're asking me, it makes the most sense to just roast it. Reason being the way the structural DNA is made up on this guy; it has these long fibrous strands that run vertically down the squash. After being hallowed and roasted, you take a fork and run it down the soft baked flesh and it just starts pulling these strands of squash up, much like spaghetti. Sweet in flavor and actually light in texture, you can sauce or season this guy up however you like. It’s very high in potassium and very low in calories, favoring this squash as a snack or side dish from most nutritionists. The distinct thing about this squash is how tender yet light its texture remains, really a fun squash to cook with. I like to keep my cooking methods with all these guys more on the simple side, when you have these earthy sweet flavors its best to just let them show you what they can do on the palate. Salt and pepper and a drizzle of brown butter and honey compliments this "spaghetti" flawlessly. 

Butternut Squash: Probably the most popular squash on this list, the butternut. What can't you do with a butternut squash? The flesh is a little firmer than the others and takes usually about 15-20 minutes longer in the oven. This winter squash grows on a vine and has a similar sweet nutty taste to that of a pumpkin. When its ripe, it actually gets a noticeably deeper orange color and becomes super sweet. Nutritionally this couldn't be a healthier vegetable. Packed with fiber, vitamin C, potassium and vitamin A & E, there’s a reason we as Americans grow and harvest this vegetable almost all year round. Now typically I am not a fan of farms and grocery stores having out of season ingredients all year round since we do more damage to our agricultural system than people think but that’s a story for another day. With that said, you don't need much to grow these squash - its a winter squash! You can imagine it’s used to harsh growing conditions so it’s an allowable exception to my out of season growing rule. Most popularly you've seen this squash turned into soup, I'm sure, but it actually tastes great roasted and mashed with butter like you would potatoes. It’s also delicious cubed and roasted with fresh herbs or diced and thrown into risotto with fresh sage. This squash really has a way of showcasing fall. The flavor profiles are endless; apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, pork or fatty meats, sage, thyme, really the list doesn't stop. As my favorite squash on this list, I think it would only be fair to follow this up with a classic butternut squash recipe....

Tags: education, review, knowledge, fall, seasonal