Last week I experienced a culminating moment in a 10 month long crop growing experience. After a couple weeks of curing, the farm team moved all of our North Georgia Candy Roaster winter squash inside from our high tunnel into dry storage in the Douglas Research Conservatory.As we transported the over 650 lbs. of oblong pastel orange fruits we sorted through and pulled aside a few that had been damaged in harvest. These Candy Roasters were our long-awaited prizes, the fruit of so much labor and patience. Several members of the farm team, including myself, each took a Candy Roaster home to prepare and experience.

Most of the UW Farm Team and volunteers celebrating a prolific winter squash harvest on Tuesday morning.

A Love of Cooking Squash

After coating my Candy Roaster in olive oil and roasting it whole in a 450 degree oven for 50 minutes (longer for a larger Candy Roaster) my whole kitchen was filled with a sweet, caramelizing steam. I just couldn’t wait to cut into it! I sliced the whole squash lengthwise, down the middle and gently flopped the top half over onto the roasting sheet. The tender deep orange flesh radiated goodness into the steamy room. My gathered roommates were as enamored as I was. After easily scooping out the seeds and surrounding stringy flesh, we all took forks to the piping hot gourd and took our first bites of dense, deeply sweet Candy Roaster squash! It was phenomenal.

It’s hard to express just how much I love winter squash. Perhaps its the sense of accomplishment after a long growing season, we’ve been thinking about and working on our winter squash since February. After 10 months, the harvest of hundreds and hundreds of pounds of food in September feels absolutely joyful. Better yet, most of the fruits can store in dry storage for several months to be enjoyed all winter long.

When I eat winter squash, the wholesomeness of the deeply sweet yet nutty flavor, developed slowly over time and the caloric density of the food, almost meat-like in its nourishment, hits me in the ribs, in the soul.

Varieties Grown in this Season

In this week’s newsletter, I wanted to express my love of winter squash by profiling each of the varieties we grew this season. Each has a unique story. Some are heirloom varieties expressing long food traditions, others are the product of breeding by modern crop scientists trying to produce a particular set of characteristics. Incredibly, I realized while preparing to write this article, we actually purchased each winter squash variety we grew this season from a different seed company. In this way our range of winter squash this season expresses our commitment to sourcing the best quality organic seeds from a diverse set of growers around our region and the country at large.

Cucurbita History

First, a bit about winter squash in general. The genus Cucurbita includes all the gourds we think of as winter squash as well as summer squashes such as zucchinis, patty pans and crooknecks. The genus is indigenous to the Americas and was cultivated on the cxontinent for thousands of years before Columbus crossing of the Atlantic in 1492 resulted in its spread to the wider world (source). Cucurbita is one third of the vital corn, beans and squash ‘Three Sisters’ interplanting which “formed the nutritional basis for the flowering of the advanced pre-columbian civilizations in the Western Hemisphere” (Whitaker & Bemis). This interplanting has remained an important part of the food traditions of indigenous American peoples up to the modern day.

Cucurbitas, along with other plants in the Cucurbitaceae family, are monoecious meaning they have distinct male and female flowers on the same plant. Both the male and female flowers must be open at the same time for pollination (naturally by bees and other flying insects) to occur. For pollination to be successful, a female flower must be visited by a pollinator about 15 times during the one day that the flower is open (source). As a result of this pollination pattern, cross-pollination can readily occur between varieties of Cucurbita within the same species. This cross-pollination does not affect the fruit of the current generation of squash but does result in off-type characteristics in the next generation if seed is saved (source). Because we plant so many varieties of winter squash at the UW Farm, with several sharing common species, we are not able to save seed from our squash.

Our cast of Cucurbitas this season:

‘North Georgia’ Candy Roaster

• Cucurbita maxima

• Seeds from Truelove Seeds, grown by – Chelsea Askew in Peavine, GA

The winter squash that captured the most attention this season with its mammoth size and unique shape, is the Candy Roaster. We discovered that the variety was bred by the Cherokee peoples in the Southern Appalachian Mountains in the 1800s (source). This squash cultivar persists as one of great cultural importance to the Cherokee Nation. They continue to prepare, eat and carefully cultivating it in relative isolation to protect against cross breeding.

In 2019, the Cherokee Tribe was the first in the US to be invited to send traditional crop seeds to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway (source). Along with eight other Cherokee heirloom crops (including ‘Cherokee Trail of Tears’ beans which were also grown on the UW Farm this season), Candy Roaster seeds were chosen by the tribe to be one of their most significant cultivars worthy of protection in the worlds most state-of-the-art seed vault.

Candy Roaster seeds were first made available to growers outside the Cherokee Nation in the 1920s: “The first documentation of it being introduced… was a newspaper article from the Charlotte Observer in 1925. This article tells of the “Indian Fair at Cherokee School” where Candy Roaster squash seeds were made available to people who applied for them through the Chamber of Commerce” (source). The Candy Roaster grew in regional popularity and significance and is still popularly grown and consumed today across broader Appalachian region.

Candy Roasters are prized for their incredibly sweet and unique flavor among Cucurbita and the Cherokee Nations were particularly interested in maintaining this cultivar due to its long shelf life (source). Candy Roasters will store in a dry cool environment for up to 6 months, all the while they will be continuing to cure and sweeten (source).

With thin, edible skin and rich sweet flavor this squash can be prepared in enjoyed in so many ways. According to Slow Food’s Arc of Taste, Candy Roasters are a “favorite in pies, soups, butters and breads, recipes that utilize this squash do not call for any additional sugar or sweetener. When baked, stewed, boiled or mashed, its pulp can be compared to a sweet potato”. I for one am looking forward to making Candy Roaster Pies for end of season festivities.

‘Sundream’ Kuri type Kabocha

 

• Cucurbita maxima

• Seeds from Siskiyou Seeds Williams, OR

The Cucurbita maxima species is thought to have been introduced to Hokkaido Japan in the mid 1800s during a Meiji era government sponsored program to import new food crops (source). Cucurbita maxima cultivars came to be known as “western squash” to the Japanese who referred to the earlier introduced Cucurbita moschata species as “Japanese squash”. Over the last two centuries, many cultivars of Cucurbita maxima have been bred and isolated in the country.

Kabocha type squashes were bred from larger hubbard type maximas through generational selection for small fruit, earlier maturity, sweet flavor, dry texture and long storage (source) “Kabocha” is a general term for winter gourds across Japan. The cultivars which have been bread with orange skin are often referred to as ‘kuri’ or ‘red kuri’ kabocha.

Kuri types have thin, edible skin and a relatively short shelf life compared to other maximas. The particular cultivar ‘Sundream’ comes to us thanks to Siskiyou Seed company’s determination to culture the hybrid variety Sunshine (F1) into an open-pollinated variety (source). ‘Sundream’ is an F5 accession (fifth generation cross).

‘Burgess’ Buttercup

• Cucurbita maxima

• Seeds from Deep Harvest Whidbey Island, WA

Kabocha and buttercup type Cucurbita maximas are often considered a single type in breeding and sales (source) however the two cultivar groups do have several distinctions.  Buttercups tend to have thicker skins with a protruding “button” on the bottom of the fruit. However, the skin is still edible and delicious when roasted until soft.

Buttercup squash were developed in the early 1900s by breeders at North Dakota State University who wanted to breed a squash that could be a worthy substitute for sweet potatoes, which can only be grown in North Dakota (source). ‘Burgess’ is actually the original buttercup variety which was introduced by the Burgess Seed and Plant Company in 1932 (source).

It’s an enduring favorite for the growers at Deep Harvest Farm, our local source for these seeds. According to the Deep Harvest team Burgess fruits will store for several months.

‘Sugar Dumpling’ Acorn

• Cucurbita pepo

• Seeds from High Mowing Organic Seeds Wolcott, VT

Our only F1 hybrid squash of the bunch this season, ‘Sugar Dumpling’ was bred by the University of New Hampshire’s Dr. Brent Loy, in partnership with High Mowing Organic Seeds.

Dr. Loy and the High Mowing growers bred for semi-bush growth habit, powdery mildew resistance and “exceptionally high sugar content”. We certainly saw some hybrid vigor with this cultivar on the UW Farm this season with our two beds of ‘Sugar Dumpling’ squash producing the largest number of individual fruits (207) compared to all our other winter squash. I roasted a Sugar Dumpling after a couple months of curing and was absolutely blown away by the sweetness.

Acorn squash have thick, tough skin that can be hard to cook long enough to soften. This skin is certainly edible it just needs to be cooked long enough and dose not necessarily lend it self well to every recipe. That tough skin results in an up to 6 month shelf life.

‘Candystick Dessert’ Delicata

• Cucurbita pepo

• Seeds from – Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Mineral, VA

‘Candystick Dessert’ seems to be a stand out open-pollinated variety amidst the wildly popular world of delicata squash. This Open Source Seed Initiative variety was developed by legendary breeder Carol Deppe who “specializes in developing open source crops for organic systems, superior flavor, agricultural resilience, and human survival for the next thousand years” (source).

According to multiple seed sources (and fairly true in our growing and eating assessment) ‘Candystick Dessert’ are larger and sweeter than other delicatas with a sweetness profile leaning towards Medjool date. Dr. Deppe also bred this cultivar for smaller seed cavity — more flesh per fruit (source).

This delicata will store for several months and really should be eaten with the skin on for maximum flavor and nutrition.

‘Kakai’ Pumpkin

• Cucurbita pepo

• Seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company Mansfield, MO

At the UW Farm we generally feel obligated to grow a pumpkin for mass appeal and this year our interest was won by ‘Kakai’. We were searching for a pumpkin with hull-less, also referred to as ‘naked’, seeds (which lend themselves well to roasting) and although we were originally looking for a sister variety ‘Lady Godiva’, we couldn’t find a seed company offering organic seeds at our needed quantity. Instead we found the near identical ‘Kakai’ from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed company from Missouri.

There is not a whole lot of easily accessible information about the ‘Kakai’ variety but multiple sources claim close relation to heirloom varieties bred in Austria in the late 1800s (source). Pumpkin varieties such as Lady Godiva and Kakai are grown commercially for pepitas and pumpkin seed oil production.

While our UW Farm CSA shareholders may choose to carve their ‘Kakai’ pumpkins into Jack-O-Lanterns, the flesh is very much edible (as are the naked seeds) and Baker Creek recommends this preparation – “Simply scoop the seeds out of the 5- to 8-pound pumpkins, rinse, salt if desired, and roast in the oven until slightly browned.”

‘Black Futsu’

• Cucurbita moschata

• Seeds from Uprising Seeds Bellingham, WA

Our most prehistoric and ancient squash of the bunch, ‘Black Futsu’ has a storied history to match its complex appearance. The species Cucurbita mosachata is believed to have been brought to Japan by Portuguese explorers in the 16th century (source). ‘Black Futsu’ was bred by Japanese growers from this New World species and has been grown in Japan since at least the 17th century.

‘Black Futsu’ is one of many squash which are eaten in Japan during the celebration of winter solstice or Toji. Toji relates to the concept of yin and yang – a celebration of coming light on the darkest day of the year. As part of the festivities, winter squashes including ‘Black Futsu’ are traditionally prepared and consumed warm to ward of sickness. The bright orange flesh of such gourds can symbolize luck, sunlight and protection from evil in this tradition (source).

The variety is today grown across Asia and has been growing in popularity among European and American growers as a specialty crop.

‘Black Futsu’ matures in the field as a dark green/black skinned fruit but as further curing occurs, both on and off the vine, the skin transforms to a ‘remarkable buff tawny blushed bluish color’ (Uprising Seeds) that is really quite something. Prized for its very thin, highly palatable skin and deep nutty flavor, this squash is popularly consumed raw in thin slices, pickled, roasted in wedges and battered and fried as tempura.

‘Waltham’ Butternut

 

• Cucurbita moschata

• Seeds from Osborne Quality Seeds Mount Vernon, WA

Another original variety of the cultivar in our bunch this season. We didn’t have much hope for ‘Waltham’ Butternut in the beginning. The seeds were slow to germinate and the plants were a step behind the rest during each stage of the growing process from then on. But perhaps we were just experiencing a late bloomer in action because once Waltham had sufficient time to grow, the vines pushed forth a bounty of fruit which matured into large voluptuous beauties before our eyes.

The butternut cultivar is a result of the work of amateur crop breeder Charles Leggett of Stow, Massachusets. Mr. Leggett was experimenting with crossing Gooseneck and Hubbard varieties of moschata in one of his fields in the 1940s. He was trying to develop a smaller gourd from the moschata species that had more concentrated flavor and was easier to transport. When Mr. Leggett eventually produced something like the butternut we know today, he took the fruit down to the University of Massachusetts’ Agricultural Experiment Station in Waltham where, legend has it, he told the station researchers that his new squash was “smooth as butter and sweet as a nut” coining the name butternut. Professor Robert Young then spent years refining and stabilizing the variety which eventually was labeled ‘Waltham’ after the stations’ location. (source, source, source).
The land where Mr. Leggett originally developed the butternut cultivar is now home to the Butternut Farm Golf Club.