Squash suggestions: taste not too sweet or vegetably

[pg]

I know there's some squash gurus out there and I'd like to pick your brains.

I'm after a specific squash variety that doesn't taste too sweet or earthy but also has more flavour than some rather inspid vegetably-tasting marrows.

I've tried Galuese D'Eysine (a heritage variety that looks great turning a delicate shade of pink in storage) but although the taste was good it was also very rich - being like a very sweet, earthy carrot - and so I couldn't palm off bucket loads of the stuff in soup to OH. The other end of the spectrum have tried misc marrow types that taste of not a lot.

So I'm looking for something in-between, perhaps also with some nutty flavours and a delicate perfume.

Any suggestions on varieties to try?

[pg]

[Bing]

google: kabocha, I grow them every year

[manicscousers]

Hooligan, uchi kuri, jack be little 

[gavinjconway]

Nothing beats a Gem Squash... my favourite of all time!! My kids grew up on blitzed gems and green hubbards when they were babies in Zimbabwe and we grow them successfully here now in the UK - do really well indoors as well as outdoors.  see my info http://www.copy-cats.info/veg/gemsquash1.htm and my seed comes from here http://www.seedparade.co.uk/products/Winter_Squash_Little_Gem_8_seeds-338-8.html

I have also taken to Acorn squash and get it from the same place.. 

[Digeroo]

I always recommend tromba d'albenga.  Seeds up one end so very little wastage.

[manicscousers]

Forgot about potimarron, slight taste of chestnuts 

[carolinej]

It's been too wet and cold here to grow good squash for a few years now, so I can't really remember which were the best. Uchi Kuri (or something spelled like that ) were good.

[carolinej]

Forgot about potimarron, slight taste of chestnuts 

Those sound delicious

[Jeannine]

Triamble,Potimarron,or most of the Kabocha types;

Triamble keeps exceptionally long,I have usable ones left when I am picking the courgettes from the next season,  the flavour is very good and the size is big without being enormous. Looks like a blue clover leaf so very good to look at too.

It grew fine for me in the UK.

Digeroo is right about trombo, and it doubles as a summer squash, use like courgette when young, but mayure ones  will store for a while too, same with Gem, it is also dual purpose. I do think Triamble is the richer tasting of the three I have mentioned but not what I would call an strong one.

XX Jeannine

[galina]

Most of the recommended, especially the kabochas, I love because they do taste sweet and earthy!?!  One advantage of most kabochas are that the flesh is completely fibreless and after a bit of cooking literally 'melts' into a soup stock, almost doesn't need blitzing.

I am with Gavin - Gem, Hubbard (but the hard skin needs some removing!), Delicata (which stores quite well and does not get very sweet in UK weather), or Zapallito (can only find a seed source on Ebay for this variety this year), maybe a banana squash. 

Tromboncino/Trombo isn't quite as sweet and carrotty as butternut and a bit easier to grow, but still quite similar, I love it for those reasons.

[pg]

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions! I amy need to place (yet) another seed order...

[GREGME]

I haven't grown many but rate summer crookneck highly and rugosa as a courgette like squash.

[Toshofthe Wuffingas]

Kuri in the name Uchiki kuri means chestnut in Japanese.
It was the variety that I grew this year together with another type from saved seed (and thus probably untraceable because of cross breeding). The Uchiki kuri had a good flavour and I have used it in many ways. It is difficult to know what is too sweet for your tastes. I added sugar and spices to some of it for a great tart filling but also cooked up shreds of it with cabbage and spring onion with noodles, liquidised in soups, baked with spuds in roast meals, curried with coconut milk and hope to make a risotto with some.
I had a good year last year from squashes and hope to grow a lot more varieties this coming summer.

[Dandytown]

Having tried all the above I will recommend only two!

You can not go wrong with Hooligan.  It produces a good quantity of small pumpkins so little goes to waste.  The flavour is good, not over sweet and the plant does not take up too much room.

The other variety is called Blackfutsu.  The plant is small and I have never managed to get a big crop from this variety.  However the squash that I harvest are exquisite in taste and have a complex smooth and nutty taste.

Uchiki kuri, delicata, and a few gem squash turned out to be rather bland for me on my patch and didn't come anywhere close to the description of them.  However, that was just for me on my patch.  Squash will taste different from one patch to another.

Best of luck choosing but you will not go wrong with Hooligan or Black Futsu.

[Kea]

Kaboucha....the best one I've grown is "sweet mama" don't worry about the name it's rich nutty flavour and mealy texture not stringy or slimey, makes great soup with some onions sauted and vegetable stock finished with coriander.