It is called butternut squash evocative of its texture in the kitchen, which makes it possible to obtain particularly velvety preparations. It measures 20 to 30 cm long with a more swollen base, like an elongated pear. It has a smooth, cream-colored skin and much less vivid than its flesh, very orange and mellow. It weighs 1.5 to 2 kg.
Season
January, February, March, April, may, June, July, August, September
Purchase
Butternut squash is selected as a winter squash, which means that it must have a dull bark, a sign that the squash has been picked up at the stage of its full maturity. If it’s shiny, it is not ripe enough and is therefore less tasty. A good squash is heavy in the hand, firm, without traces of blows, no cracks, no bruising. It must have its stalk and part of its stem, which slows down its dehydration.
Cooking
Butternut squash is steamed, baked in very little water or in milk.
Use
The butternut squash must first be peeled and rid of seeds and filaments found in the centre of the flesh.
It is adapted to puree, soup, gratin, quiche, pie (pumpkin pie in the United States), frying, and goes well with other vegetables, incorporates raviolis and garnishes lasagna.
In chips or in thin slices, it dries in the oven. The seeds should be well cleaned and dried, grilled in the oven or in the frying pan, seasoned and spicy. They are crunchy as they are or integrated into a condiment; they can also replace pine nuts.
Conservation
Butternut squash or squash butternut: 20 to 30 cm long with a more bulged and  elongated pear-shaped base. It has a smooth, cream-colored skin, and a very orange and smooth flesh. Weight: 1.5 to 2 kg.
Nutritional value
All butternut squash are low in calories and are rich in different antioxidant carotenes, particularly protective molecules to protect against cancers, cardiovascular diseases and cell ageing; the more orange is their flesh, the more they are filled with them. They also contain mineral salts and group B vitamins.
Flavors associations
Bacon, cheddar, ginger, espelette pepper, carrot, milk
