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 (winter squash also commonly refers to those squashes of the maxima species). Compare Gourds.
Summer squashes, including young vegetable marrows (such as zucchini [also known as courgette], pattypan and yellow crookneck) are harvested during the summer, while the skin is still tender and the fruit relatively small. 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.
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.
Besides the fruits, 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.
Pollination
Squash has historically been pollinated by the native North American squash bee Peponapis pruinosa, but this bee has declined, probably due to pesticide sensitivity, and most commercial plantings are pollinated by honeybees today. One hive per acre (4,000 mē per hive) is recommended by the US Department of Agriculture. Gardeners with a shortage of bees often have to hand pollinate. Inadequately pollinated squash usually start growing but abort before full development. Often there is an opportunistic fungus that the gardener blames for the abortion, but the fix proves to be better pollination not fungicide.
Modern day squash developed from the wild squash that originated in an area between Guatemala and Mexico. While squash has been consumed for over 10,000 years, they were first cultivated specifically for their seeds since earlier squashes did not contain much flesh and what they did contain was very bitter and unpalatable. As time progressed, squash cultivation spread throughout the Americas, and varieties with a greater quantity of sweeter-tasting flesh were developed. Christopher Columbus brought squash back to Europe from the New World, and like other native American foods, their cultivation was introduced throughout the world by Portuguese and Spanish explorers. Today, the largest commercial producers of squash include China, Japan, Romania, Turkey, Italy, Egypt, and Argentina.
Squash species
Four species of the genus Cucurbita are called squash or pumpkins rather indiscriminately.
* 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.
While squashes and pumpkins are notorious for producing hybrids ("squmpkins") when grown together, the different species do not usually hybridize with each other.
Squashes and cooking
Though botanically a fruit, squashes are frequently considered a vegetable in cooking.
Squash is frequently used as a part of traditional North American cooking, particularly with the Thanksgiving meal in the United States. Generally squash is baked or steamed and mashed; winter squash and pumpkins are often made into a form of custard for pie filling, and butternut squash in particular is often made into soup.