Topic: Best squash

[valentinelow]

I am trying to decide which squash to grow this year, and would be keen to hear from anyone out there who has an opinion. In particular, I am thinking of some buttercup squash (Real Seeds do a variety called Burgess Vine). What are their eating/storing qualities?
This year we grew Marina di Chioggia (terrific flavour, but as far as storage goes it won't last much longer), Uchiki Kuri (lovely) and Blue Ballet (a tiny bit disappointing, although it might have been my cooking technique: I have a couple more to go, and might revise my opinion after eating those. They are beautiful, though).
If Jeannine is out there, this post is of course aimed particularly at her: she is the undisputed Queen of the Squash...

[markfield rover]

While you wait for Jeannine ,My fave is a summer squash 'Zephyr', real nutty goodness.

[Suzanne]

Again Jeannine is best for squash advice. But thought I would pass on my experiences of last year.  :)

This year though I grew i plant of each of the following: Napoli di Gigantes which grew like mammoth courgettes (20lb the largest one) with orange flesh - but they don't store well. I also wasn't sure of the taste but my brother in aw (squash soup king) thought they were very good. He roasts the squash before making soup I don't which could be the difference.

Golden Delicious - again I had one "normal" sized fruit and one mega fruit. They were medium storers the large one we ate, the small one is still keeping well. I did think these lived up to their name but were not as good as the Australian Blue Crown Prince which is my favourite squash. We have three fuits of these and as they store so well along with Turks Turban and Black futsu will be the last to be eaten.

Black futsu by the way gave brilliant tasting immature fruits when we had run out of summer in October!

I did grow butternut squash but frankly was disappointed with the flavour.

[antipodes]

I quite like the Potimarron types, the smallish round dark orange type, they keep quite well I have found, perhaps not the whole winter but a few weeks. They have terrific flavour and make for nice mash or roasting flesh.
Also Jap pumpkin is great for flavour but I don't know how easy it is to get here...

[vaca]

Hi,

I've grown Real Seed's burgess for a couple of years and it's great geasting, also stores relatively well. My favourite though for flavour has been Seeds of Italy's Berrettina Piacentina - http://www.seedsofitaly.co.uk/product/225. Tastes better and keeps longer as well - only problem is you cannot save their seeds.

Real Seed's Butternut is also amazing.

Vaca

[flowerlady]

One I have grow is Jaspee de Vendee (very like butternut) ... terrific taste even better keeper.  Makes terrific soup  ;D  it's quite sweet too so I imagine it would make great pie  :D

... have a few seeds if you want to try a couple?

[Sparkly]

I grew 'red kuri' and they taste lovely and also keep well. Jeannine sent me the seeds. I didn't grow other squash, and neither did the other allotments around me, so there should not be any cross pollination. I have saved the seeds. If you would like some, I would be happy to send you a few in the post.

[vaca]

I didn't grow other squash, and neither did the other allotments around me, so there should not be any cross pollination.

How about courgettes? were these grown anywhere near the squash? as they will cross pollinate as well.

Vaca

[Jeannine]

My absolute favourite two are Delicata Sugarloaf and then the Kuri. I am not a lover of Butternuts, Turks Turban I would personally class as an ornamental, you can eat it if course, but there are so many others with a better taste. I also am not keen on the spaghetti squashes.

I think it depends on what you like.

I like  sweet almost nutty flavour to squash, with a dry firm flesh that is not stringy, I want it to puree down to the texture of cream.

I am also not a big fan of most of the courgettes or summer squash, but they do serve a different purpose. Crookneck summers have a more defined taste  though.

If you like courgettes, chances are you will like spaghetti squash, it lacks the flavour that I like and is much less dry, more like a marrow.

For pumpkins, well I grow many, mostly for decoration, I do make pumpkin pie but I only  use a few varieties of pumpkin to do that, most lack flavour and texture however with sufficient seasonings  they can make a good soup.

For others that suit my taste, most of of the Japanese are excellent like Futsu and Chirimen but not Toonas Makino, all of the Delicata types, egSweet Dumpling, Sugar loaf,the potimarron family ( tastes like chestnuts) the buttercups, Triamble,Musqee ge Provence, the Australian blues  especially Jarrahdale  and Crown or Crown Prince, the bananas especially Blue, Marina de Choggia . Some of the acorns eg Thelma Saunders, and I love jack be Little Pumpkins and for pies  Small Sugar or Sugar Pie

Not for eating I would say, most of the large pumpkins, keep them for carving,especially the Cinderella AKA Rouge  Vif d'Etampes,(beautiful to look at though) the turbans, some  of the cheese family,most are purely decorative the exception here is Musquee de Provence which is a delight to eat.

However having said all that my advice is to grow and compare, I grow different ones each year, some make it into the kitchen a second time some don't, squash are a bit like sweetcorn, some are very sweet some are not, some folks find the very  sweet ones a bit OTT, but others would say the rest are starchy and bland.

I love 'em all in one way ot another.

Hope this helps.

By the way you can grow different ones together , as long as you remain aware of the families they fall into, and like families they are different but loved by somebody.

XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

??  Vaca. Why  can't you keep piacentina seeds?XX Jeannine

[Amazin]

My fave is a summer squash 'Zephyr', real nutty goodness.

Cheers, mfr, I'm trying that one this season!

 ;D

[valentinelow]

Thanks for all the brilliant advice everybody - and for the seed offers. If I want to take any of you up on your offers I will send a PM.
Being a feather-brained idiot, the one thing I did not say in my original message was why I was looking for another squash to grow. It's because, while squashes like Marina di Chioggia are wonderful to eat, they can be on the large side. Once you have cut open a squash you have to have about four squash meals in one week if you want to eat it before it starts going off. I thought buttercup might be a bit smaller.

[vaca]

??  Vaca. Why  can't you keep piacentina seeds?XX Jeannine

I was under the impression that it's an F1 hybrid. I checked the seed packet and it doesn't mention it so perhaps it's not... I never took the chance though.

Vaca

[Rob08]

My absolute favourite two are Delicata Sugarloaf and then the Kuri. I am not a lover of Butternuts, Turks Turban I would personally class as an ornamental, you can eat it if course, but there are so many others with a better taste. I also am not keen on the spaghetti squashes.

I think it depends on what you like.

I like  sweet almost nutty flavour to squash, with a dry firm flesh that is not stringy, I want it to puree down to the texture of cream.

I am also not a big fan of most of the courgettes or summer squash, but they do serve a different purpose. Crookneck summers have a more defined taste  though.

If you like courgettes, chances are you will like spaghetti squash, it lacks the flavour that I like and is much less dry, more like a marrow.

For pumpkins, well I grow many, mostly for decoration, I do make pumpkin pie but I only  use a few varieties of pumpkin to do that, most lack flavour and texture however with sufficient seasonings  they can make a good soup.

For others that suit my taste, most of of the Japanese are excellent like Futsu and Chirimen but not Toonas Makino, all of the Delicata types, egSweet Dumpling, Sugar loaf,the potimarron family ( tastes like chestnuts) the buttercups, Triamble,Musqee ge Provence, the Australian blues  especially Jarrahdale  and Crown or Crown Prince, the bananas especially Blue, Marina de Choggia . Some of the acorns eg Thelma Saunders, and I love jack be Little Pumpkins and for pies  Small Sugar or Sugar Pie

Not for eating I would say, most of the large pumpkins, keep them for carving,especially the Cinderella AKA Rouge  Vif d'Etampes,(beautiful to look at though) the turbans, some  of the cheese family,most are purely decorative the exception here is Musquee de Provence which is a delight to eat.

However having said all that my advice is to grow and compare, I grow different ones each year, some make it into the kitchen a second time some don't, squash are a bit like sweetcorn, some are very sweet some are not, some folks find the very  sweet ones a bit OTT, but others would say the rest are starchy and bland.

I love 'em all in one way ot another.

Hope this helps.

By the way you can grow different ones together , as long as you remain aware of the families they fall into, and like families they are different but loved by somebody.

XX Jeannine

Excellent info and advice - thanks!

My experience of pumpkins is limited to the few I saw/ate growing up - red and green hubbard squash, boerpampoen (near as I can work out, a type of 'cheese' pumpkin), gem squash and butternut. 

I have not strayed far beyond these basic types, though there is a nondescript looking flat pumpkin available at markets here sometimes that does taste divine - has a light brown skin, much the same colour as butternut, but is flat (cheese type again).  Haven't a clue what it is though.

[Jeannine]

Sugarloaf is considerably smaller, I use one  for 3 people.

I should correct something in my post above too. I said especially Jarradale, I should have said except. It is not one I personally rate very high for my taste.

Acorns on the whole are small, Jack be Little pumpkin is excellent and feeds 1 decent appetite or half each for two.

I can give you more specific weights or sizes if you tell me the variety you are thinking of growing.

XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

Vaca, those seeds are definately not hybrids, it is a very old Italian variety XX Jeannine

[Squashfan]

Yes, I'm hoping to get my squash going again this year. Last summer was awful because I was pregnant and just not able to get down to the lottie.
I liked the big ones we grew (one was a warty horror, can't remember the name) the year before last, but I think the smaller ones are easier to handle. I'm going to try Crown Prince this year, even though it's not very small. It makes nice soup tho. Jack Be Little will be on my list as well. Liked Musquee de Provence and it was fairly prolific as I recall.
I'm with Jeannine. They are all wonderful in their own way...  :) can't wait for this season!

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

it might be better not to ask what the best squash is for taste, but which squash is most likely to survive if we have a summer like last year. All my winter squash plants gave up the ghost except for 1 red kuri plant

[Jeannine]

Hey Roo Thrash!!, Mine would have had to swim or hide last year. I lost the first planting of 60  different varieties to vandals, then the second of 88 different varieties  to floods which lay on the ground for a month!!

All my babies perished except one which was in a greenhouse on a  bench, so I got 2 Jack be Littles the size of a small egg.

Ho Ho the fun of growing!!

Roll on this next season.

XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

Of course we could try planting ones that could swim or be exceptionally tough, off the top of my head how about ...

Alligator
Ironclad
Mammoth Whale
Hercules

That is as far as my thinking goes..come on now..Switch to watermelons maybe.

XX Jeannine