Stuffed, roasted, sauteed or mashed, pumpkin and squash truly are the great culinary chameleons of autumn
Pumpkins and squash seem the perfect symbol of autumn and winter cooking. The cook has the job of getting through that tough skin before finding the tender flesh, and they give off their best only after slow cooking. But it’s worth it. They are great culinary chameleons, able to soak up and marry well with ingredients as diverse as gruyere, chipotle, rosemary, sage and nutmeg. Their smoky, sweet flavours are just right for the season of turning leaves.
Confusion reigns, however, about the difference between a pumpkin and a squash. It is a difficult area, and often local usage dictates what is a squash and what is a pumpkin. Both are members of the same family and, although the terms are often used interchangeably, pumpkins are usually the jack-o’-lantern shape we associate with Halloween, with thick, orange skins, while squashes can be smooth, warty, striped, stippled, their skins as green and shiny as old leather books, pale yellow, flame orange or delicate amber. They come in myriad shapes – acorns, turbans, melons and curled, snake-like creatures – and sizes.
This is an edited extracted from Around the Table: 52 Essays on Food & Life, by Diana Henry, published by Mitchell Beazley at £20. To order a copy for £18, visit guardianbookshop.com Continue reading…
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