Squashes

Winter squashes as decoration

About squashes

Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita native to the New World, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker. In North America, squash is 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 squashes. Well known types of squash include the pumpkin and zucchini.

Summer squashes, including young vegetable marrows (such as zucchini also known as courgette, pattypan and yellow crookneck) are harvested during the growing season, while the skin is still tender and the fruit relatively small, they are consumed almost immediately and require little or no cooking.

A different way to cook marrows

Winter squashes (such as butternut, Hubbard, buttercup, ambercup, acorn, spaghetti squash and pumpkin) are harvested at maturity, generally the end of summer, cured to further harden the skin, and stored in a cool place for eating later. They generally require longer cooking time than summer squashes.

In addition to the fruit, other parts of the plant are edible. Squash seeds can be eaten directly, ground into paste, or (particularly for pumpkins) 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.

Cooking with marrows

For a different way to cook marrows, peel the marrow with a mandoline, cut into 4 cm (1.5") slices, cut the seeds out of the centre and rub with garlic olive oil. Cook for 10 to 20 minutes at 180° C (450° F - Gas 4) so they are to your liking. Cook the filling separately and dollop into the middle of the rings. Curried prawns or chili con carne works well.

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How much does one cup of Courgettes / Zucchini / Pumpkin / Squash weigh?

Estimated US cup to weight equivalents:

Conversion notes:
Every ingredient has a cups to ounces or grams conversion table. Search for the ingredient, cup to weight conversions are at the end of each ingredient page.

We also have a generic conversion table and a portions per person lookup.