More commonly known in Australia as the butternut pumpkin, butternut squash is actually a fruit. It grows on a vine and originated in central America. As it becomes ripe the colour will turn more orange and taste sweeter.
Squash is very healthy containing large quantities of fibre, vitamins (A and C), magnesium, potassium and manganese. During the warmer months it is imported from Argentina but in Britain is grows between autumn and the winter.
It is a good fruit for the kitchen as it can go into a lot of dishes. Curry, soup and different bakes are well suited and in Africa it is often baked with nutmeg and cinnamon.
When preparing the squash you must peel off all skin (a good potato peeler is adequate) and remove all the seeds. For this just cut through the middle and scrape out the seeds the a spoon. This will only take a few minutes and shouldn’t put you off using a squash.
Some supermarkets will sell you a “here’s what I made earlier” squash, with the skin and seeds already removed. However, buying a prepared squash will probably have less of the healthy stuff so I prefer to prepare it myself. You also want it to come in at around a kilo, you want it firm, no green on the skin and it should sound hollow to the tap.
When storing squash the best place is a dark, cool cupboard in the kitchen. I prefer not to put it in the refrigerator because the wet atmosphere can cause it to rot. If you buy a few in a sale and want to keep them over a longer time there is nothing stopping you freezing squash. I recommend removing the skin and seeds first though, and perhaps chopping into cubes before sticking them in the freezer. You could always make a squash soup instead to freeze.
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