What's in season?

Squash
North American Squash is loosely grouped into 'summer' or 'winter' squash. Summer squash are harvested immaturely and winter squash are harvested as mature vegetables. Winter squash comes in various sizes such as scalloped and pear-shaped with flesh that ranges from golden-yellow to a brilliant orange. They take longer to mature than summer squash (3 months or more) and are best to harvest once the cool weather sets in. They are stored best in cool basement which attributes to the name 'winter' squash.  Although squash works well in curries souffles rice and couscous dishes it is a very versatile ingredient in appetizers, soups, main dishes and even desserts. Did you know? All pumpkins are squash but not all squash are pumpkins? All of our squash and pumpkins on The Branstrator farm will have squash and pumpkins available from mid-September to November.


Musquee De Provence Pumpkin:  This pumpkin is used by chefs around the world and can be found on menus of the best restaurants. It has orange flesh that is very sweet and flavorful with hints of tangerine and pistachio. The cooked flesh turns into strands like the spaghetti squash and is very juicy.  This variety keeps well throughout all the winter. Also known as Muscat de Provence. This heirloom pumpkin is from southern France. 




Thai Large Pumpkin: Also know as Thai Black Pumpkin is also technically a squash. It is considered a winter squash and can grow to 18"-24". It has a dark green knobby skin orange flesh and white seeds. Generally this pumpkin squash is used in soups.


Anna Swartz Hubbard Squash: Family heirloom given to Anna Swartz by a friend in the 1950s. Anna loved this variety because of its extremely hard shell and excellent storage qualities. High quality flesh is the color of sweet potatoes and has a similar flavor. Typical fruit weighs 5-8 pounds. This squash is best used in soups.


Australian Butter Squash: Outstanding Australian heirloom from Diggers Gardens Club near Melbourne Victoria. Thick, dry orange orange flesh is excellent for baking. Hard shelled fruits weigh 12-15 pounds and has excellent storage qualities.


Tennessee Sweet Potato Squash:  First listed in 1847 by New York seedsman Grant Thorburn as Green Striped Bell and most likely renamed by Burpee in 1883 to Tennessee Sweet Potato. Average eating qualities 10-20 pound fruits with dry, fine grained flesh. When the flesh is cut and removed the innards can be used to make pies or served as a side dish made in a manner similar to baked yams.


Sibley Squash: Introduced by Hiram Sibley & Company of Rochester New York in 1887. Teardrop-shaped slate blue fruits have very shallow ribs. 10-12 inches long by 8-9 feet in diameter and weighs up to 8-9 pounds. Medium thick sweet orange flesh, great flavor and excellent keeper. This squash is a true native american originating in Iowa.


Crown Winter Squash: Mac Condill, found this great squash in Cape Town, South Africa. Originally from Australia, this variety first came to the USA in the early 1930s. Stunning, turban-shaped fruit are light blue in color and weigh about 12 lbs. The flesh is bright orange, sweet, and of good quality. Great for pies, baking, and soups. Blue squash can be traced back for more than 150 years in Australia and are among the best for eating. This squash can be used in soups and main dishes.


Fortna White Pumpkin: A unique pear-shaped pumpkin with lovely white skin. The vines give good yields of 10 lb fruit. Creamy yellow flesh makes great pies. An heirloom that has been grown by the Fortna Family of Pennsylvania for more than 50 years. Rare and unusual.


Japanese Pie or Nippon Island Squash: An heirloom variety from the Land of the Rising Sun. Beautiful, 12 lb black fruit have creamy white flesh. Samuel Wilson, Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania, introduced this variety in 1884, and it quickly became popular because of its novelty and advertising. The seeds are "curiously marked or sculptured in the manner of Chinese letters." Also known as Chinese Alphabet Squash from the unique-looking seed. A real collector's item!


Navajo Hubbard Squash: From Ft. Defiance on the Navajo Nation, these squash are rich in history and flavour. The colors are variable but always impressive. This is a great variety for display and for pies!


Kikuza Squash: This Japanese heirloom is a good producer of small, tan colored pumpkins that are heavily ribbed. Orange flesh is sweet and dry and has a spicy flavor. Very hard to find. A great variety for specialty markets. Introduced to the American seed trade in 1927 by the oriental seed company of San Fransisco as Sweet Kikuza. Nice 4-7 pound fruits, very thick-fleshed with excellent eating and storage qualities. 


Chirimen Squash: Chirmin is a Beautiful dull bronze-orange squash. Fruit weighs 5-8 pounds on average and have deep-orange, moist, sweet flesh. Certified organic this  famous yet rare type of squash originated from Japan. This is a very special and tasty Japanese variety with green warty skin and yellow, moist flesh. This fruit has a very nice flavor! This fruit may even reach 8" in diameter. This is a very Rare and Wonderful variety.


Pumpkin Squash: Your fall favorite jack-o-lantern pumpkin !  Even though this pumpkin is great for creating scary faces it is also a common staple around thanksgiving with pumpkin pies and even pumpkin seeds.


Butternut Rogosa Violina 'Gioia" Squash: Rugosa Butternut Squash is a large-sized butternut squash, ridged from top to bottom.  It has a good butternut squash taste. An Italian name for Rugosa Butternut Squash, "Rogosa Violina Gioia", alludes to the way some people try to describe its shape by comparing it to a violin. Most people, though, would be hard-pressed to look at the squash and picture a violin.

Tequila Black: Mexican heirloom ornamental squash. Squash can grow up to 12-pound, bell-shaped fruit with two different color combinations: solid black or white with green stripes. Seeds are delicious!

Mongogo Du Guatemala: A winter Squash round, flattened up and down, with 10 strong ribs. The flesh of this squash is a whitish yellow and thin, with a delicate marron flavour. It is best for soups, to bake and roast as well as for decoration.

Abobrihna de Tronco:  A  fruit so rare it is difficult to collect information on it! It is a fruit that resembles the Hubbard and a very good squash for canning and decoration.



Chicago Warted Hubbard: This green skinned with deep orange flesh is one of the best fruits for processing. Also great for pies and canning.

North Faulkland Island: This white egg shaped squash is a winter squash. mostly grown for its seeds

Abobora Menina Rajada: This is a winter squash that is large, long, butternut- shaped fruit with light-green to tan skin. It ranges in size from 15-40 lbs. This fruit has a sweet flesh that is reddish-orange.

Old Blue Squash: This squash has a serene dark green skin with muted gold spots and blotches.  Its rich and strong-flavored orange-yellow flesh is housed in a variety of shapes and sizes.  This one will stick to your ribs-almost meaty when cooked.

Bush Baby Squash: 10 pounds-light blue. Bush Baby hails from Australia and is good-lookin' and good-tastin'. The fruits are shaped like squarish to flattened pumpkins, smooth or shallowly ribbed, with a small ringed protuberance at the blossom end. We are selecting for a green star at the base of the stem. Flesh is yellow-orange and thick.

Nepalese Squash: This squash grows to about 12 to 25 pounds-deep brownish-grey mottled with blue-gray, or blue-gray mottled with light blue, or just plain pink. Indications are that this variety has excellent keeping qualities, with very firm bright yellow flesh that takes forever to bake, but is well worth the wait.

Styrian Hulless:  striking dark-green squarishly-blotchy stripes over a bright yellow background. This pumpkin is the mainstay of the pumpkinseed oil industry of the region of Styria, Austria. The seeds have no hulls so they can be eaten raw, or toasted, or roasted, or pressed into oil without de-hulling. Pumpkinseed oil has been shown to be effective against prostate cancer and is chock-full of vitamins, minerals, etc. As these are bred for the seeds, the flesh is likely to be pretty disappointing in flavor, although some sources recommend it for pies, etc. A really good-looking pumpkin. Cracking one open and eating the buttery seeds right after picking is quite a treat.

Mayo Blusher Squash: 7 to 10 pounds-pale blue or white with a pattern of very slight indentations, supposedly blushing pink at maturity. Shaped like a football, but less pointy at the ends. The Mayo (or Yoreme) are a Native American people of western Mexico who have given their name to a number of vegetable varieties.

Blue Blockers Squash: 5 to 6 pounds-mottled light blue. Originated in South Africa and is rare but tastes great!


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