Any clue what kind of winter squash this is?

[applestar]

About 8 inches across. Actually kind of flat like this (didn't think to take a pic earlier)

...I really thought this was "Kikuza" but seed catalog photos don't look like this one

[applestar]

Btw -- it tastes great ! . Tried two sample batches:

(1) Made a little soup this morning with the baked squash, butter, salt, ground cinnamon and cloves, tiny bit of minced ginger, and rice milk -- heated up then strained. Picked out the seeds and put them in the soup as garnish. I saw a recipe somewhere in which the seeds are roasted and then scattered as crunchy garnish -- these are soft and seed hulls can be bitten open and the inside pops right out. Hulls are tough except for the immature seeds, but sizable enough to make good eating.

I'm getting a peppery flavor from either the rind or the stringy seed cavity. But it works in a savory soup.

(2) I also scooped out the flesh and strained, then blended with some honey and good ratio of light brown sugar -- oh, yum! It's a little runny as is so I was going to bake it a little bit, but somehow, I "sampled" too much of this batch to make it worth processing it further.... I think I'll finish the rest on toast or something unless the kids finish "tasting" the rest.

-- Does anyone think this might be "Chirimen"? (I think it still looks a little different....). I got it at Whole Foods in a bin of what looked to me like unusual varieties of moschata squashes from a single source (the label just said Lancaster Coop and their website was minimal). This one was unlabeled but there were others like "Yokohama".

[DoubleDogFarm]

https://www.seedsavers.org/onlinestore/s ... ikuza.html

Looks right to me.

Eric

[jal_ut]

Musquee De Provence?

I have never grown anything like that.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Musquee De Provence?

I have never grown anything like that.

I don't think so James. Musquee De Provence average 15 to 20 pounds. Applestar's looks much smaller.

Eric

[jal_ut]

OK, now the silly question: Where did you get the seeds? One thing I know about squash is that they freely cross if several varieties within a species is grown close together. Then if seed is saved, you get hybrids of all different shapes and colors from the parents. Some of the crosses I have grown had some very tasty fruits though.

Edit: Oh sorry, I re-read the thread and you say you bought the squash. Still nothing to say it could not be a hybrid.

[applestar]

I saved some seeds

I'm thinking this could be a moschata, considering the tan color and yellow dry-ish flesh and could be included in my moschata trial next year. Even if it has crossed with other moschatas at the farm where it was grown, resulting squash might turn out interesting as you said.

I want to try different varieties of moschatas and mixtas in hopes of finding good SVB (squash vine borer) resistant varieties.

Moschatas are said to need heat/hot season so part of my goal will be to find earlier maturing productive variety in my climate that will be worth growing in my limited size garden.

Tonight, I made a pot of soup -- 4 servings -- from about 1/3 of the baked squash. Sautéed flesh, rind and seeds in olive oil and butter with diced sweet onion and white part of Egyptian green onion plus curry powder, ground cloves and nutmeg... Added diced leftover steak and crushed dried rosemary, equal amount of leftover mashed potatoes, some rice milk and water. Salt and sour cream to taste at serving. Yum!

[DoubleDogFarm]

Do you have another. You probably baked the life out of the seed.

Eric

[applestar]

I scooped out and saved some seeds BEFORE baking the rest of the squash.

I decided a while ago that I really don't need to save all of the seeds from a squash for planting and good sized/tasty ones ARE NUTRITIOUS and too good for the birds and squirrels . But toasted squash seeds are not all that popular around here, so I discovered that the family are more likely to eat them if I just cook them with the flesh -- case in point, DH was putting them all on the side of the plate until I told them they are edible... he dubiously tried one... and scooped them all up .

[digitS']

I don't know anything about these but could they be Long Island Cheese pumpkins? Johnny's, Burpee, High Mowing sell the seeds.

They are Cucurbita moschata squash. You can see some good pictures and read some about them here: Long Island Seed Project (link).

BTW, I first looked at those webpages a number of years ago. This "project" seems to have gone from something going on to a static state but the webpages are still up.

Steve

[applestar]

Both. Musquee and Long Island Cheese have largish lobes I think? And so does Kikuza.

Chirimen appears to be warty, which this one wasn't -- but there's a huge variation in photos of Chirimen I've seen so far.

I'm looking at the close pleating near the stem end, and best match I've found so far is Thai Large pumpkin/squash and Thai Kang Kob... But these look very warty too....

I remember coming across the Long Island Cheese Project website when I was looking at moschatas. It's too bad they're not still active.

...heh, that large open sunny space in the front yard is looking more attractive every day...