Delicata Squash

[Greenleaves]

I was today given some Delicata Squash seeds, a variety I have never heard of but told they tatse superior to Butter Nut, can anyone impart any info a these?

[Hazel at the Hill]

Aha! I can half answer this one!

I grew delicata from a plant bought at the GC last year, when my squash seeds failed. The fruit are green and football sized, I guess. They were (relatively) well behaved plants, with mid-sized squash leaves, and I trailed the plant round and round an 8' by 4' bed (in which I had my sweetcorn planted).

I had - I think - 3 fruit from the one plant, but may had had more if I had cossetted it more with feed and hand pollinated the flowers. The fruit keep well - this is the last one and it's still hard as a rock after the winter in my kitchen.



It has the same hard orange flesh as butternuts - the first one I wrestled the flesh out with the grapefruit knife and a lot of bad language; the second one I split in half and roasted until the flesh was soft and I scooped it out like ice cream, and made soup with it.

The only thing I can't tell you is how the taste compares to that of butternuts as I haven't grown butternuts for some years - hope this helps nonetheless.

[Zelenina]

Sorry to tell you Hazel, but your plant was mislabelled. That's definitely not a delicata. It's not even the right species. That thick corky stem shows that it's a Cucurbita maxima, whereas delicata squash are C. pepo. It might be a Kabocha, but there are several other varieties that look rather similar. C. maximas keep much longer than delicatas. A delicata squash is shaped more like a marrow with green and white or tan stripes.

[Zelenina]

I have tried to grow delicatas but they don't seem to do so well in my climate. I only got one or two very small fruit from them which I didn't eat. They are supposed to be very good tasting, but not good for very long storage.

Butternut types, which are C. moschata, seem to do the best for me. But our summers are hotter than in the UK.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Shows you how much I know about squash! Answered in good faith, even if I was a country mile wide of the mark Good job you could correct me - someone might have been taking notice of me for a minute there!

A delicata squash looks more like a small marrow with green and white or tan stripes.

Funnily enough, I picked up what I thought was a small marrow which matches your description from the 'giveaways' table at the Hill in the autumn, and gave it to my neighbour. I wonder if that was Delicata, and indeed what it tasted like if it was!

[Bigmallly]

According to this, they are comparing the taste to Sweet Potato:

https://www.quickcrop.co.uk/product/squash-delicata

[Thelma Sanders]

I grew Cornell's Bush Delicata a few year's ago and wasn't impressed enough to grow it again. It seems to have a large seed cavity for the size of the squash, and I've tasted better.

Everybody is different, so just grow one and see if you like them, rather than growing loads - would be my advice

[lottie dolly]

I have grew the,they do look like a marrow,the skin goes rock hard,not a good keeper,and taste nothing like a butternut,by the time it's been prepped there is not a lot on it,i done a few in the oven stuffed with the likes of cuscus mixed with sultanas and curry,was ok,but we went of them,the taste i think,was more akin to a hard flesh pumpkin,if you like pumpkin,then you maybe like delicata

[Zelenina]

Hi Hazel. I'm all excited because I just came across what might be your squash when I was looking for something else

It's name is Delica which is very close to Delicata. It's a Japanese kabocha type hybrid. I'm linking to an American site for Asian vegetables because it has good information and a photo that looks a lot like yours. But Franchi sells the seeds in the UK if you want to grow more of them.

Delica, Hybrid

[Hazel at the Hill]

It certainly looks like the same one, Z, well spotted!

Assuming that I still have some seed, I'm going to grow Uchiki Kuri this year - in fact that's what I would have grown last year had the slugs not scoffed the seedlings meaning I had to buy a plant in...