What is Squash ?

First of all, what exactly is a squash? The answer most people would give would probably be a vegetable.

used as an adaptable base may

used as an adaptable base may

After all, it’s found next to other vegetables in the produce section of your local grocery store. In actuality, squash is a fruit.

Because it contains seeds, squash is classified as a fruit though, like the tomato, it is used as a vegetable when cooking. c

be the answer you're looking

Whether used as a chunky soup with a light broth

There are several varieties of squash, commonly placed into groups such as winter squash and summer squash.

blended into satiny smoothness

Summer squash is a variety that is less mature and smaller, and should be eaten sooner, while winter squash is more mature and can be kept and eaten at a later date.

it's hard to go wrong choosing these two basic ingredients.

Familiar types of summer squash are zucchini and yellow squash, common winter types include spaghetti squash, acorn squash and pumpkins.

Butternut squash

Winter squash should have very firm skin and will be hard to the touch. Slight discolorations and flaws are normal.

a winter squash with a deep

Storing squash is based on its variety. Because its skin is thinner, summer squash will not keep as long as winter squash.

sweet flavor much like pumpkin or sweet potato

provides plentiful vitamins and minerals along with carotenes.

Squash (plural squash or squashes) is the common name used for four species in the genus Cucurbita of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae: C. pepo, C. maxima, C. mixta, and C. moschata.

These plants, which originated in the Americas, are tendril-bearing plants characterized by hairy stems, unisexual flowers, and a fleshy fruit with a leathery rind that is a type of false berry called a pepo.

Chickpeas, also known as ceci beans or garbanzos

The name squash also is used for the edible fruit of any of these plants, which can vary considerably in shape, color, and size and is consumed as a vegetable

In North America, squash are loosely grouped into summer squash or winter squash, as well as autumn squash (another name is cheese squash) depending on whether they are harvested as immature fruits (summer squash) or mature fruits (autumn squash or winter squash). Gourds are from the same family as squash

Although originating in the Americas, squash are now grown in most countries. While squash tend to be quite nutritious, with high levels of vitamins A and C, niacin, riboflavin, and iron, their attraction to humans extends beyond this to more internal and aesthetic values.

Their great variety in colors, color patterns, and shapes—from light green or white to deep yellow, orange, and dark green, from solid to striped, and from flattened to cylindrical to crookneck varieties