Butternut and acorn are the most common ones, but there is also calabaza, ambercup, carnival, delicata, kabocha, and even spaghetti to name a few. Have you guessed it yet? Winter squashes, all just coming into season, all hard-skinned, warm and full-flavored, ready to add interest to meals all throughout the season. They get their name because they weather through the cold weather quite well. This is the greatest time of year to start poking around your local farmers market (or just the supermarket) to see what’s growing in your area. Most winter squashes are picked in September or October, before heavy frosts come around.

The best part is how versatile they are. You can cube and roast them,mash them, stuff them, and feature them in all kinds of soups and stews. The colors are beautiful, ranging from pale yellow, to deep oranges. Their flavors vary—sweet, nutty, rich, buttery—as do their nutritional content, but they all have a lot of fiber, and are high in vitamin A, vitamin C, and some B vitamins, not to mention calcium, magnesium, beta carotene, potassium, and iron. All this nutritional punch, and a low calorie count as a bonus.

Butternut, one of the most common varieties, is a great all-purpose squash because of its ample, firm flesh. It has a thick neck, which tapers out to a full bottom, and the skin is smooth and beige colored. The inside flesh is bright orange, and gets quite creamy when cooked.  You want to look for butternuts that are blemish-free, evenly colored, heavy for their size, and thick.

Acorn squash is usually somewhat mottled in color, though mostly dark green with orange or buff-colored streaks. It is 6-8 inches in diameter, and shaped like an acorn, of course. It is very widely available, and its sweet meat is orange, and very full of flavor; however, it can become a bit stringy when it is cooked. Buy ones with smooth skin, and check for cracks or bruises. The skin should have a dull sheen. Because of the deep ridges, peeling them is difficult, so the best way to prepare this variety is to cut them in half and bake them until tender—then you can serve them as is, o scoop out the flesh to use for soups and purees.

If you haven’t cooked winter squash, it might be intimidating at first, like a big dinosaur with a thick shell. But once you’ve cracked the shell, and discovered the rich sweetness of squash, you’ll be happily planning your next squash dish all through the chilly weeks.

Photo Credit: Joseph DeLeo