winter squash

{{Main|List of gourds and squashes}}

File:Bunga nin kalabasa.jpg, a winter squash common in Cuba, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines]]

Image:Cucurbita moschata Butternut 2012 G2.jpg is a variety of winter squash]]

Four species in the genus Cucurbita yield cultivars that are grown as winter squashes: C. argyrosperma, C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo.

Cultivars of winter squash that are round and orange are called pumpkins. In New Zealand and Australian English, the term pumpkin generally refers to the broader category called winter squash elsewhere.{{cite book |last1=Ferriol |first1=María |last2=Picó |first2=Belén |year=2007 |title=Handbook of Plant Breeding: Vegetables I |publisher=Springer |location=New York |chapter=3 |isbn=978-0-387-72291-7 |page=317 |quote=The common terms "pumpkin", "squash", "gourd", "cushaw", "ayote", "zapallo", "calabaza", etc. are often applied indiscriminately to different cultivated species of the New World genus Cucurbita L. (Cucurbitaceae): C. pepo L., C.  maxima Duchesne, C. moschata Duchesne, C. argyrosperma C. Huber and C. ficifolia Bouché.}}

Squash is a frost-tender plant meaning that the seeds do not germinate in cold soil. Winter squash seeds germinate best when the soil temperature is {{convert|21|to|35|C|F}}, with the warmer end of the range being optimal.{{cite book |last=Nonnecke |first=Ib Libner |title=Vegetable Production |year=1989 |publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold |location=New York |isbn=0-442-26721-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/vegetableproduct0000nonn/page/534 534] |url=https://archive.org/details/vegetableproduct0000nonn/page/534 }} It is harvested whenever the fruit has turned a deep, solid color and the skin is hard. Most winter squash is harvested in September or October in the Northern Hemisphere, before the danger of heavy frosts.{{Cn|date=February 2021}}

Although winter squashes are grown in many regions, they are relatively economically unimportant, with few exceptions. They are grown extensively in tropical America, Japan, Northern Italy, and certain areas of the United States. The calabazas of the West Indies and the forms grown by the people of Mexico and Central America are not uniform, pure varieties but extremely variable in size, shape, and color. Since these species are normally cross-pollinated, it is now difficult to keep a variety pure.

{{nutritional value | name=Winter squash, all varieties, raw

| kJ=143

| water=90 g

| protein=0.95 g

| fat=0.13 g

| carbs=8.59g

| fiber=1.5g

| sugars=2.2 g

| calcium_mg=28

| iron_mg=0.58

| magnesium_mg=15

| phosphorus_mg=24

| potassium_mg=350

| manganese_mg=0.164

| vitC_mg=12.3

| thiamin_mg=0.04

| riboflavin_mg=0.062

| niacin_mg=0.5

| pantothenic_mg=0.188

| vitB6_mg=0.156

| folate_ug=24

| vitA_ug=68

| betacarotene_ug=820

| lutein_ug=38

| source_usda = 1

| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170489/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]

}}

Raw winter squash (such as acorn or butternut squash) is 90% water, 9% carbohydrates, 1% protein. It contains negligible fat (table), except in the oil-rich seeds. In a 100 gram reference amount, it supplies 34 calories and is a moderate source (10-19% of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin C (15% DV) and vitamin B6 (12% DV), with no other micronutrients in significant content (table). It is also a source of the provitamin A carotenoid, beta-carotene.{{cite web |url=http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-A |title=Vitamin A |publisher=Micronutrient Information Center, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, Corvallis |date=1 July 2016 |access-date=21 December 2021}}

• List of squash and pumpkin dishes
• Three Sisters (agriculture)
• Winter melon

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Cucurbita.html Sorting Cucurbita names]

{{Squashes and pumpkins}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter Squash}}

Category:Squashes and pumpkins

Category:Thanksgiving food