Brown Sugar Delicata Squash Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make delicata squash easier to cut? ›

Trim the ends, then slice the squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut each half into three long pieces, using the green stripes on the skin and the natural indentations they provide to make easy cuts. Cut the pieces into cubes.

Wofford and our test kitchen editors will leave the skin on delicata, acorn, and honeynut squash to save time, add nutrients, and reduce food waste. These varieties have thin skins that soften readily when cooked. Next time you slice a delicata into rings ready to roast, don't peel it.

It's high in fiber, which can help decrease your risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Delicata squash also has a ton of potassium: One cup delivers a whopping 500mg of the mineral, which can help control your blood pressure.

You'll know delicata squash has gone bad if it has wrinkles or soft spots. Also, if the seeds look slimy or their color is off, you'll know it's spoiled. The seeds are normally a cream or white color. Typically, they'll be covered in the flesh of the squash.

The maturity of the squash may be at play. Generally, younger squash has more tender skin so it could be that last year you harvested earlier. The environment also plays into squash formation. Not so usual weather conditions may have contributed to the squash developing a very thick skin.

"Squash contains a toxin known as Cucurbitacin E, which can give the squash a bitter taste. If too much of the toxin is consumed it can cause illness. It is rare, but if the squash has a bitter taste, stop eating it, and grab another one."

The higher the levels of cucubitacin, the more bitter the squash will taste. The most likely cause for a bitter taste in squash is due to an environmental stress of some sort, most likely a wide temperature flux or irregular irrigation. Either of these will create an excess of cucurbitacins to concentrate in the fruit.

Delicata is a long, small, striped winter squash with thin skin and uniform sweet (but not too sweet) non-stringy flesh, great for roasting and easy to work with due to it's size and edible skin (all squash skin is edible, but some is more tender than others.

Risks and Side Effects

As with any food, taking note of any unusual reaction, such as itching or swelling, is important, but there are no known problems with the delicata squash. However, because of its fiber content, too much could cause flatulence.

I often get asked whether butternut squash is considered a non-starchy or starchy vegetable. The truth is, butternut squash and other similar winter squash varieties (such as acorn squash, delicata and hubbard squash), fall somewhere in between starchy and non-starchy vegetables.

Which squash is the healthiest to eat? ›

1. Butternut Squash. One of the most popular varieties of squash, it can be use in so many ways. It's one of the most rich in Vitamin A, boasting about 100% of the recommended daily value per cup, in the antioxidant form of beta-carotene.

Knowing if your summer squash is still fresh is very similar with winter squash, but note that summer squash tends to turn bad much quicker. For best flavor, check for these signs of spoilage: Visible mold and fungus. Mushy, soft spots on a whole squash, that when cut are spongy and soft.

Storage tips: Winter Squash is best stored between 55-65 degrees, however, Delicata squash does not store quite as well as heartier varieties like Acorn and Butternut. Place in a cool dry room in your house (do not refrigerate) and it should last 3 months.

The most common symptoms associated with toxic squash syndrome include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In extreme cases, toxic squash syndrome has caused swelling in the liver, gallbladder, kidney, and pancreas.

They can also be difficult to cut, peel, and prep. There's a simple solution likely in your kitchen: the microwave. Whether you're working with a petite honeynut, deep green acorn, or the ubiquitous butternut, the safest and easiest way to break down a squash is to start with a spin in the microwave.

Microwaving the squash will make it much easier to peel. Simply slice off the top and bottom, poke the squash all over with a fork and microwave it on high for about 3 minutes. When it's cool enough to handle, peel the squash. The softened flesh will make peeling (and slicing) way easier.

Fruits are typically ready about 50-55 days after fruit set, and should be harvested before any hard frosts. Cut fruits from vines and handle carefully. Sun cure by exposing fruits for 5-7 days or cure indoors by keeping squash at 80-85°F/27-29°C with good air ventilation.

When the plants are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin to 2 to 3 plants per hill by snipping off unwanted plants without disturbing the roots of the remaining ones. In rows, sow seeds 4 inches apart in rows 4 to 5 feet apart. Snip off plants to thin to one plant every 12 to 24 inches.