Delicata squash is a winter squash

Winter squash

Winter squash is a summer-growing annual vegetable, representing several species within the genus Cucurbita. It differs from summer squash in that it is harvested and eaten in the mature fruit stage, when the seeds within have matured fully and the skin has hardened into a tough rind. At this...

 with distinctive longitudinal dark green stripes on a yellow or cream colored background and sweet, orange-yellow flesh

Flesh

In vertebrate animals, flesh is the colloquial for biological tissue which consists of skeletal muscles and fat as opposed to bones, viscera and integuments. Flesh may be used as food, in which case it is called meat....

. It is also known as the peanut squash, Bohemian squash, or sweet potato squash (because of the flavor similarity to the sweet potato

Sweet potato

The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...

 (Ipomoea batatas)). Although considered a winter squash, delicata squash belongs to the same species as all types of summer squash

Summer Squash

Summer squash are a subset of squashes that are harvested when immature . All summer squashes are the fruits of the species Cucurbita pepo , but they are considered vegetables in terms of culinary use...

 (including pattypan squash

Pattypan squash

Pattypan squash, sunburst squash, cibleme in Cajun French and French, white squash, scallopini or button squash in Australian English, is a summer squash notable for its small size, round and shallow shape, and scalloped edges, somewhat resembling a small toy top, or flying saucer...

, zucchini

Zucchini

The zucchini is a summer squash which often grows to nearly a meter in length, but which is usually harvested at half that size or less. It is a hybrid of the cucumber. Along with certain other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Zucchini can be dark or light green...

 and yellow crookneck squash

Yellow crookneck squash

Yellow crookneck squash is one of many cultivated Cucurbita pepo, the gourd species that includes zucchini and pumpkin. This is a variety of summer squash with bumpy, yellow skin and sweet flesh. Its name distinguishes it from its close relative, the yellow summer squash, which has a straight neck...

).

The standard delicata is vinous; however, bush varieties have arisen including Bush Delicata. Delicata squashes do not store particularly well.

Delicata squash are easily grown. Seeds are started after all danger of frost is past and the soil is warm or within 3–4 weeks before the predicted last frost date in the area. Seeds directly sown are placed one inch deep, 5-6 to a hill; hills are 6 feet in all direction from other hills. Roughly 105 days after germinating, delicata squash are ready to be harvested. Curing takes approximately a week in a warm dry place such as a garage, protected from frost.

Delicata squash is most commonly baked, but can also be microwaved, sautéed or steamed. It may be stuffed with meat or vegetable mixtures. The seeds of the squash are also eaten, usually after being toasted. This squash is not as rich in beta-carotene

Beta-carotene

β-Carotene is a strongly-coloured red-orange pigment abundant in plants and fruits. It is an organic compound and chemically is classified as a hydrocarbon and specifically as a terpenoid , reflecting its derivation from isoprene units...

 as other winter squashes, but is a good source of dietary fiber

Fiber

Fiber is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread.They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together....

 and potassium

Potassium

Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...

, as well as smaller amounts of vitamins C

Vitamin C

Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...

 and B, magnesium

Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...

, and manganese

Manganese

Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...

.

Indigenous to North

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

, squash were introduced to early European settlers by Native Americans

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

.

External links

• Vegetarians in Paradise, Squashes Star in a Famous Sister Act http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch212.html