[Mezzaluna]

I just cut up a butternut squash to bake.

My fingers have a very sticky substance on them that's very difficult to wash off. What is it? Is there a trick to getting the residue off one's fingers easily?

[cape chef]

It's the natural pectin, use lemon juice.

[Mezzaluna]

After nearly shredding my fingers using the Scotchbrite scrubber, I used lemon juice for the rest. Presto! CC, you saved my manicure.

I never thought of pectin as being that tenacious. I guess it's in zucchini, too, but to a lesser extent. Don't apples have pectin too? I'll be cutting one to serve with honey tonight.

[cape chef]

Happy to help Mezz, & yes it's in zucc as well as many, many other fruits and vegetables. Happy new year to you and your loved ones.

[Jock]

I made a butternut squash risotto the other day. It was pretty good too.

I wonder why it is called a winter squash when it is available year round

Jock

[Free Rider]

Winter squash = hard outside
Summer squash = soft outside

That's how I classify them anyway. Cold storage has messed up the seasons.

[Jeebus]

Originally Posted by Jock

I made a butternut squash risotto the other day. It was pretty good too.

I wonder why it is called a winter squash when it is available year round

Jock

Just because something is available year round doesn't mean it is good year round.

[AprilB]

It's thick skin allows it to survive during cold winter temperatures as compared to zucchini or summer squash.

It's (they are) now grown year round but are similar to any other gourd like pumpkins that typically show up in the Fall/Winter.

The geographical location and method of farming totally determines the quality, not the time of year.

April

[NancyR]

I have within the past four years or so become allergic to the pectin from Butternut Squash--my hands turn red and itch. I now use rubber gloves from peeling and cutting. It also beats scrubbing and pouring acidy lemon juice on my hands.
Nancy

[mudbug]

Many produce items are available year round now simply due to global trade. This was not always the case in the past. And just because something is in season, doesn't guarantee it's quality either. It's always important to know your source. Not just who you're getting it from but where it's being grown when possible.

This is a good question for The Chef's Garden Forum.

The difference is simple. Both are grown in the summer but winter squash can be stored well into and through the winter in a cool dry area for months. Summer squash will not keep. Winter squash is harvested when old, summer squash is harvested when young.

Back in the days when the food supply was not global, in the days when there were no refrigerators, no canning (barely over 200 years old), no mainstream forms of preservation made possible by industrialization - winter squash was a food that was necessary to grow so that you would have food on the table when it was too cold to have a garden growing.

Winter squash is picked fully mature with a protective skin that is thick, hard, and inedible, but also protective and increases its storage life. Summer squash is picked young when the skin is tender and edible, much more perishable than winter squash.

Nutritionally, winter squash is higher in iron, riboflavin, complex carbohydrates and vitamin A, but the edible skin of summer squash is loaded with beta-carotene. Both are good for you.