revised and expanded edition WHOLE FOODS COMPANION a guide for adventurous cooks, curious shoppers, and lovers of natural foods D IA NN E O NSTA D VEGETABLES SUMMER SQUASH VARIETIES be grown in America and Europe. Eaten in the summer when immature and thin-skinned, it is usually sliced Choose summer squashes that are tender and fresh into rounds and steamed or boiled and served with looking, with skin that is soft enough to puncture with a butter, salt, pepper, and herbs such as tarragon, dill, or fingernail. They perish easily, so store them in the refriger- marjoram. ator and use as soon as possible. Pattypan oror scallop squash looks rather like a thick, Chayote ((Sechium edule ) is a pear-shaped squash native round pincushion with scalloped edges. They are their to Mexico and Central America (its name is from the best when they do not exceed four inches in diameter Aztec Nahuatl chayotl ). Also known as mango squash, and are pale green rather than their mature white or pepinello, and vegetable pear, the chayote has soft, cream. Their flesh has a somewhat buttery taste, and pale skin that varies from creamy white to dark green. the skin, flesh, and seeds are all edible. Female fruit is smooth-skinned and lumpy, with slight Spaghetti squash ((Cucurbita pepo)) is a lla argarge, oblong ridges. It is fleshier and preferred over the male fruit, summer squash with smooth, lemon-yellow skin. Once which is covered with warty spines. Although they are cooked, the creamy golden flesh separates into miles of furrowed and slightly pitted by nature, they should not swirly, crisp-tender, spaghetti-like strands. The taste is look as though these indentations have been made by quite bland, lightly sweet and fresh, its light squash external forces; nor should they look shriveled, but be flavor making a perfect saucing medium. Look for very completely firm to the touch. Choose smaller chayotes hard, smooth, evenly colored squash without ridges, over larger, as they get insipid with size. Use as quickly spots, or bumps. Avoid greenish, honeydew-colored as possible; if stored in the refrigerator for a week or squash, which may be immature or have sprouting more, they soon develop an unpleasant, moldy flavor. seeds. Larger spaghetti squash have better flavor and The pale green flesh is crisp and finely textured, with a thicker strands. taste and consistency that blends cucumber, zucchini, Zucchini ((Cucurbita pepo), called marrow by the British, and a bit of kohlrabi. Young chayote need not be courgette by the French, and zucchini by the Italians, iss peeled, while older ones are best peeled. The fruits, by far the most popular summer squash. This prolific, young shoots, leaves, and large fleshy roots are all used shiny green squash ranges in size from four inches to as culinary vegetables. Baked or fried, creamed for baseball bat size but is best when five to eight inches desserts or soups, chayote may be substituted in any long; longer zucchini tend to have seeds that are large, recipe calling for summer squash. However, their bland tough, and preferably removed before using. Unrivaled flavor begs for big, gutsy flavorings—chilies, spices, in versatility, zucchini may be eaten raw in salads, mari- garlic, tomatoes, or cheese. Their mild, almost non- nated, stir-fried, stuffed and baked, puréed for soups or existent taste also means they can be, and often are, sauces, or even made into pickles and marmalade. The used in sweet dishes, simmered in a scented syrup like blossoms are a special delicacy, tossed into a salad or pears and served cold or baked in slices with cinnamon, batter-dipped and deep-fried or stuffed with a combina- nutmeg, and sugar, or honey, lemon, and butter. The tion of cheese, meat, herbs, nuts, eggs, bread crumbs, single large seed, which is edible once cooked, has a rice, or potatoes. The world’s longest zucchini was raised taste reminiscent of lima bean and almond. The root, by Nick Balaci of Johnson City, New York, who grew a large and tuberous and up to twenty pounds in weight, 696911 ⁄ ⁄ 22-inch Romanian zucchini in 1987. looks and tastes like a yam. Crookneck and straightneck squash ((Cucurbita WINTER SQUASH VARIETIES moschata) ranges from four to six inches long and has a bulbous blossom end. The crookneck has a long, curved Choose winter squashes with thick rinds that are heavy for neck reminiscent of a goose and bumpy, bright yellow their size and free of soft spots. They are hardy and will skin and creamy yellow flesh. The straightneck varieties keep for several months if stored in a cool, dry place, such have a straight neck but same bumpy yellow skin. as a basement. Gooseneck squash ((Trichosanthes cucu-meriana), also known as snake squash, is a curled, eye-catching Acorn squash ((Cucurbita pepo), sometimes called table squash native to southeast Asia and Australia, but it can queen, is shaped like a giant, ribbed acorn with a defi- 226 VEGETABLES nite pointed end. The slightly dry, orange-colored flesh the scene as early as 1894, introduced by the Peter of both green and golden varieties has a distinct nutlike Henderson Company of New York City. The size and flavor, with the golden variety tending to be a little shape of a large cucumber, the delicata has a moist, sweeter and the green moister. Their large seed cavities creamy yellow flesh that tastes and smells like a blend of are perfect for stuffing, and they are best when baked. corn, butternut squash, and sweet potato. Younger Unlike most winter squashes, acorns do not contain squashes may have skins tender enough to eat once much beta carotene, but they are still considered medic- cooked. They are best when steamed or baked and are inal for the stomach and spleen. not recommended for soups or baking into Banana squash ((Cucurbita maxima) is very large, long, desserts. and cylindrical and may weigh up to Golden nugget ((Cucurbita maxima) is a thirty pounds. Its thick, hard skin small round squash that looks like a minia- ranges in color from pale yellow to ture fairy-tale pumpkin. Salmon-colored, ivory, and its finely textured flesh is with a finely ridged, very hard shell, this creamy orange or pink, sweet, and dryy.. squash was developed at North Dakota State Often available cut into manageably University in 1966 and is a close relative of sized pieces, this squash is excellent com- the acorn squash. The moist, smooth, bright bined with baked potatoes. orange flesh has a mild squash flavor, which Butternut squash ((Caryoka nuciferum) isis can range from delightfully sweet and but- reminiscent of a peanut in shape and color, tery to not-so-sweet and dull-bland. with a large, round, fleshy bottom that Choose those that have a dull, matte encloses the seeds and a cylindrical upper part look to the rind; a shiny finish indi- that is solid flesh. Its smooth hard skin is a cates that the squash was picked deep butterscotch color (avoid those with streaks immature and will be tasteless. of green), and its flesh is a deep orange, with a distinc- Golden nuggets can be opened like tive butterscotch flavor that most people find delicious. pumpkins, scooped clean, brushed Very small butternuts are especially sweet, and inside with butter and seasonings, and because their skins are thinner than those of other baked whole. They can also be split winter squash, they may be cooked and and baked like acorn squash. puréed with the skin intact. Steamed or Hubbards ((Cucurbita maxima) are baked like other squashes, they make named after Elizabeth Hubbard of excellent single servings when cut in Massachusetts and are an old, extensive half, cooked until soft, then served group of squashes that are usually plump with a topping of butter and maple and round in the middle, with tapered necks. syrup. Ranging from dark green to blue-gray and Calabaza ((Cucurbita moschata) are huge orange-red and weighing from five to twenty squashes whose mottled skin may be ever- pounds, these warty, thick-skinned squashes have green, sunset, or buff, speckled or striated, sweet, dry, orange flesh. Excellent in pumpkin pie, they though they are always relatively smooth and hard- have a thicker, firmer texture than fresh pumpkin, “set shelled when mature. Usually sold in chunks or slices, up” easier, and require less sugar. since few could tote the entire large vegetable, this ver- Kabocha is a generic grouping for many strains of Japanese satile squash may be easily substituted for any other pumpkin and winter squash of both Cucurbita maxima winter squash in dishes where it does not stand alone. and Cucurbita moschata species. Resembling the but- The best calabazas are fine-grained, sweet, moist but tercup or turban squash, with its flattened drum or not watery, and ravishingly orange. turban shape, they range from one to seven pounds, with Delicata ((Cucurbita pepo) is an elongated green and tan- rough, mottled rinds that are thick and deep green striped squash with tender yellow flesh. Also called (sometimes orange), with paler uneven stripes and mark- bohemian oror sweet potato squash, it first arrived on ings. The mustard-yellow flesh is sweet and rich-tasting, 227 VEGETABLES tender and floury dry, like a balance between sweet Sweet Potato potato and pumpkin. Almost fiberless and with the (Ipomoea batatas) highest sugar content of any squash, it is excellent baked Also Known As: Batata, Boniato with butter and served as a side dish or stuffed with veg- etables for a main course. The scientific name comes from the Greek ips ips , meaning Pumpkin—see separate reference.