Squash

This is the first year we’ve grown the White Scallop Squash. We started with seeds this spring from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. The plant itself has grown to be just as large as the Black Beauty zucchini plant, which means it is a big sprawling plant.

Squash plant on the back left, Zucchini on the right
We have picked several in the last few weeks ranging from small to fairly large. So far I can’t say the taste is much different between the two sizes. The skin is fairly thin, easily peeled with a carrot peeler, and the flesh is firm, even after cooking.
I’ve cooked it two different ways so far: plain and in chili. I first tried to cook it by itself like a butternut or acorn squash by cutting it in half and pressure cooking it in the electric pressure cooker for 15-18 minutes. It’s soft and edible that way, but to us is kind of flavorless compared to the yellow or butternut squashes. So on to something else. Next we tried chili. I peeled and chopped it into bite sized cubes for a bean and pumpkin chili recipe. After 4 hours in the slow cooker the squash was still crunchy. After 10 minutes in the pressure cooker it was soft, and best of all had soaked up some great chili flavor. So far this has been the best way to eat this squash.
Overall I like this squash. It’s easy to grow, produces well, and has been bug/disease free. We’re still going to experiment with recipes using this, which is part of the fun when trying something new
Happy Gardening!