#Gourds and squash are members of the Cucurbitaceae plant family which includes over 700 species.

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What are the best culinary pumpkin varieties for cooking?

There’s more to pumpkins than Halloween. Edible pumpkins and winter squashes have been around for thousands of years – in fact, they’re one of the earliest domesticated plants on Earth. Native Americans have long used pumpkins and squashes for cooking in everything from soups to breads, and the vegetable is a staple of traditional Mexican cuisine too. Did you know that pumpkins can be grilled, baked, steamed or boiled and used to create endless delicious recipes?

These days, pumpkins are grown all over the world, with the USA, Canada, Mexico, India and China being the biggest international producers. In the UK, pumpkins and squashes have seen somewhat of a revival in recent years. From wholefood stores to farmers’ markets, allotment gardening, horticulturists like Seed Parade and even some supermarkets, an array of edible pumpkin varieties are now easily available. If you’re looking to grow your own from scratch, try – where you’ll find everything from cool

What’s the difference between a pumpkin and a squash? Botanically speaking, pumpkins, squashes and gourds are all members of the Cucurbitaceae family, which encompasses over 100 genera and more than 700 species, not all of them edible. In popular parlance, ‘pumpkin’ tends to be used as a catch-all description to include any kind of pumpkin or winter squash.

Pumpkins for Halloween If you’re going to cook with pumpkin, it’s important to bear in mind that edible varieties vary from those grown for Halloween carving. These are specifically bred to be large, mostly hollow and with a flat(ish) bottom. Unfortunately, the flesh of your typical Halloween pumpkin is watery and bland and won’t give your dish much flavour; in some cases, it may even put you off. Best left for carving, decorative Halloween pumpkins include

• Connecticut Field • Jack O’Lantern • Evergold • Dill’s Atlantic Giant • Jack of All Trades • Big Max

Culinary pumpkins Contrary to Halloween varieties, pumpkins and winter squashes bred for food have much more to offer in terms of flavour, colour and nutrition. Pumpkins not only taste great but, being low in calories, fat and sodium but high in fibre, vitamins and minerals, they’re good for you too!

Many different varieties can now be found in the shops, or indeed grown in your garden or allotment. From the ubiquitous cream coloured, peanut shaped Butternut Squash to pumpkin varieties of all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes and hues – let’s take a look at some of the different types of pumpkins you can use for cooking.

• Butternut

One of the most common winter squash vegetables, this is a favourite in both savoury and sweet dishes and can be baked, stuffed, stir fried or steam cooked. Did you know that Butternut Squash Bisque is a favourite appetizer in Mexico?

• Sweet Dumpling This is a small squash with a cream coloured skin with dark green ridges on the outside, and soft greenish to orange flesh on the inside. With a slightly sweet taste, it’s great for baking and can be cooked whole.

• Uchiki Kuri

Resembling the shape of a giant onion, this winter squash is also known as a Japanese Squash, Orange Hokkaido, Red Kuri or, unsurprisingly, Onion Squash. It is thick skinned and has the most intense orange red colour with a golden flesh that is smoother and harder than Butternut Squash. Perfect for cooking anything from simple soups to creamy curries, the Kuri has a distinctive sweet chestnutty flavour.

• Carnival With a taste not unlike Sweet Potato or Butternut Squash, this pretty multi-coloured squash has a hard skin speckled in deep green, light green, orange and cream. Great for use in soups, baked in the oven or steamed.

• Small Sugar This heirloom mini pumpkin has an intense orange colour and a slightly ribbed skin. Its sweet bright yellow flesh is perfect for soups and pies. Just don’t forget to roast and puree your pumpkin first.

• Spaghetti

Also known as Noodle Squash, Vegetable Spaghetti or Vegetable Marrow, the name of this shiny cylindrical yellow squash stems from the fact that its flesh splits into spaghetti-like strands. It is often used in pasta or baked and eaten simply with garlic and butter.

• Crown Prince

The unusual ‘squashed’ shape and grey or silver-blue skin makes this winter squash stand out. Pick it up and you’ll be surprised how heavy it feels. A Crown Prince has bright orange flesh and a very appealing taste, which makes it ideal for cooking. It’s particularly brilliant for soups and roasted in the oven.

• Kabocha A dark green coloured winter squash with a pumpkin-like shape and a hard skin, this is also known as a Japanese Pumpkin. Its flesh is deep yellowy-orange and has a buttery, tender texture when cooked. Kabocha has a rich flavour that is perfect for all kinds of culinary uses.

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Via Mike James http://www.thekitchenthink.co.uk