While these are good starting points, the season has so much more to offer. Before you head to the farmer's market this summer, learn all about the different types of summer squash , including how to choose, store, and cook with them. Plus get our favorite recipes for using up fresh summer squash. Ripe squash will be firm, fairly heavy for its size, and vibrantly colored. Avoid squash with wrinkled skin or soft spots, as these are signs of age and rot.
And when it comes to squash, size does matter. Smaller squash are usually more tender and have fewer seeds. The only exception is pattypan squash, which despite its small stature has fairly a dense interior. If you've stocked up on squash for the summer, store them properly to make the most of them. Squash should be wrapped in a plastic bag and stored in the crisper drawer of your fridge. They'll keep there for one to two weeks. You can also freeze squash by slicing, blanching , and packaging it in freezer bags.
Squash will last in the freezer for up to one year. Want to use your summer bounty for warm zucchini bread in the winter? You can store grated raw zucchini in the freezer too, just be sure to drain any excess liquid as it thaws. And if you're lucky enough to get your hands on a few squash blossoms, use them as soon as possible with some of our top-rated squash blossom recipes.
This lesser known squash originated in Mexico, but it is now grown all over the world. You can even use it to add a nice crunch to salads. This short, squatty squash is lighter in color than zucchini, but can be used the same way. The only difference between the two is cousa is a little sweeter, and has a thinner skin.
Cousa is commonly used in Lebanese and Syrian cuisines you might even hear it referred to as Lebanese or Syrian zucchini. Because of their short and squatty shape, cousa squashes are great for stuffing with rice and meat. Flickr user sfbaywalk. Pale, speckled green, a little more bulbous than zucchini but with the same basic shape, cousa is an excellent squash most often found in Middle Eastern cuisines. Flickr user Jeremy Keith. These spherical summer squashes, available in dark green, light green, and yellow, are very very similar to zucchini, aside from their grapefruit-like shape.
Flickr user Kurman Photos. The tatuma is a Mexican variety. It can be either spherical or shaped roughly like the cousa squash, and typically either light or dark green. The way to tell this one apart is that it has many very tiny seeds and a very thin skin.
Typically spherical and a speckled light green, the gourmet globe is a French heirloom squash. This is a weird one: pale green, perfectly smooth, and shaped like a large beefsteak tomato. The tinda squash is not closely related to the zucchini or any other squash, but is the immature fruit of a related squash family plant. Flickr user Jakukyo Friel. The luffa squash sometimes called the luffa gourd is a bizarre variety that, if allowed to fully mature, will turn into a loofah.
When young, though, the luffa squash is a ridged squash that tastes pretty similar to a zucchini. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Thank you so much, I have been trying to identify the patty pan for years! Never see it at the grocery but my friends brother is a chef and he grows it. So delicious! As anyone who has let a prolific zucchini get out of control van tell you, summer squashes turn into winter squashes just by growing on the vine until mature.
At that point they can develop a hard, inedible rind and be cooked just like a winter squash. By the same token, you can pick a winter squash early and treat it just like a summer squash. The flavors develop with time and maturity, though, so just like a summer squash, … Read more ». This recipe is inspired by my mother […].
Fine-textured flesh has a sweet and nutty flavor. Yellow straightnecks are very much like crooknecks — but without the crook. Some home cooks prefer these varieties because the straight shape makes them easier to slice or chop.
And many small market farmers prefer growing straightnecks to crooknecks because they are less prone to breakage during transport — no delicate necks to worry about. Apart from the necks, straightnecks are very much like crooknecks — with slim necks and bulbous blossom ends. Fruits are yellow, or yellow with a green tint, and can be either smooth or bumpy, depending on the cultivar. In the kitchen, straightnecks work well for sauteing, roasting, and grilling, and can be used as a substitute in pretty much any recipe that calls for zucchini.
In fact, yellow straightnecks make delicious spiralized noodles, and your homegrown harvest could be used in this mouthwatering recipe for zucchini spaghetti with peaches and pumpkin seed pesto from our sister site, Foodal. These straightnecks — best picked when inches long — are well-loved for their buttery, nutty flavor.
Plants grow in an open, bushy form. The fruits of this productive cultivar are yellow with a greenish tint — even when they are mature. They are best picked at 7 inches in length or smaller. Fruit will be ready to harvest in 50 days.
The fruits of this high-yielding straightneck have an intriguing two-toned pattern. These summer squashes are yellow with light green ends, making them look like they were partially dipped in green dye. How did these fruits acquire such a beautiful appearance? This cultivar also has a few quirks — some fruits may have crooks instead of being totally straight, and the first fruits to develop on the plants are sometimes yellow with green stripes.
Generally, fruits are yellow with a green tip at the blossom end, and have faint white stripes that can become more distinct as they mature.
Fruits are tasty with a nutty flavor and firm texture. They grow on 2-foot-tall bushes with an open growth habit, making picking easy. Like the other types of summer squash mentioned in this list, zucchini has its origins in the Americas — so why the Italian-sounding name?
Although the species originated in the Americas, zucchini-type squashes were first cultivated in Italy. Compared to crookneck and straightneck varieties, zucchini have a straighter shape, thinner skin, and slightly flattened sides. Such a tragedy. It won the All-America Selections prize in , rewarded for its tasty fruit, abundant harvests, and ease of growing. Long, straight fruits have tender, dark green to black skin, and creamy white flesh. Fruits are tasty, and usually best when picked at 8 inches long or less, though they often remain tender at much larger sizes.
Bushy plants are fast-growing, spreading feet and growing to about 2 feet tall — with harvestable fruit in 50 days. Originally bred at the University of Connecticut, the fruits of this open-pollinated heirloom variety have a beautiful coloring — light green mottled with dark green.
Slender fruits are cylindrical and slightly tapered, with a rich, full taste, and a firm, creamy texture. While these zucchini are best picked at 8 inches in length, they often remain tender up to 16 inches long. Mottling can turn into more distinct stripes, particularly in mature fruit. Bush-type plants are vigorous and productive, growing 2 feet tall with a foot spread at maturity. It is popular in Mexico and the Southwest. Striped zucchini provide a little more visual interest than their unstriped summer squash counterparts.
While there are some hybrid striped zucchini cultivars, many of these are Italian heirlooms. Striped zucchini can be used just like other types of zucchini — for spiralizing, grilling, or making zucchini bread — but one culinary use that really shows off the stripes is to use these summer squash to make boats for roasting and stuffing.
The long, straight fruits have dark green skin with light green stripes and slight ribbing. They are extremely flavorful, with a slightly nutty taste and dense flesh. Bushy plants have an open growth habit and few spines, making picking a breeze.
Plants mature to feet wide and around 2 feet tall. Fruits are dark green with narrow, light green stripes along the ribs, and light flecks. The dense flesh is never watery, and they have a distinctive, nutty flavor and tender skin.
Plants are sprawling with vines growing up to 5 feet long at maturity, and they are resistant to powdery mildew. Cylindrical fruits are glossy with bold, dark and light green stripes, and not much flecking — and they are as tasty as they look. The bright yellow hue will brighten up your meals, and some say they have a sweeter taste than their green counterparts. In the kitchen, yellow zucchini works well for spiralizing, sauteing, roasting, or eating as crudite. It would also be a star in a grilled veggie platter.
Try it in this recipe for grilled veggies with balsamic and garlic, also on Foodal. Fruits are lemon yellow with creamy white flesh and a succulent texture — and they have a buttery flavor when eaten either cooked or raw. Generally picked at inches, these zucchini will maintain their high-quality flavor and texture when they are up to 10 inches long. Open bush type plants mature to feet wide and 2 feet tall, and with few spines, they are easy to pick. Straight, cylindrical fruits are bright yellow with white stripes that become more pronounced as fruits mature.
Bush plants are a compact feet by feet at maturity in terms of height and spread, and they will give you your first harvest in days. This cultivar was developed in biodynamic conditions by organic seed company Sativa Rheinau, based in Switzerland. Read more about growing gold and yellow zucchini here. French and Italian plant breeders beat us to this idea, having bred heirloom zucchini that are round in shape before the local US supermarkets even knew what zucchini was.
These types of summer squash are great for stuffing, and would be a good alternative to bell peppers for those following a nightshade-free diet. Another one of my favorite uses for these is to slice them and stack them for making Mediterranean-style veggie timbales.
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