Butternut squash is commonly thought of as a hard-to-cut squash that’s difficult to work with. Butternut squash is a member of the cucurbitaceae family otherwise known as the melon family. The variety is actually local to the area: the butternut squash was first produced in 1944 in Stow, Massachusetts by Charles Legget after he cross bred pumpkins and gooseneck squashes. Squash in general originated from Mexico and Central America such as Guatemala with roots in Egypt. However, most butternut squash that is grown today is from Brazil, Portugal, or Florida.
Nutritional Information
| Macronutrients | Amount (grams) | % Daily Value |
| Total Fat | .1 g | 0% |
| Total Carbohydrate | 12 g | 4% |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g | 7% |
| Sugar | 2 g | 0% |
| Protein | 1 g | 2% |
| Micronutrients | Amount | % Daily Value |
| Vitamin A | 10630 amu | 212% |
| Vitamin C | 21 mg | 35% |
| Vitamin B-6 | .2 mg | 10% |
| Potassium | 352 mg | 10% |
| Magnesium | 34 mg | 8% |
| Calcium | 48 mg | 4% |
| Iron | .7 mg | 3% |
Cooking and Flavors
Butternut squash has a subtle sweet and buttery flavor with a hint of nuttiness, close to the taste of sweet potatoes. It is common in soups, winter stews, ravioli, or by itself.
Other winter squash include acorn, bonbon, buttercup, carnival, carving pumpkin, cheese pumpkin, delicata, honey bear, honeynut, hubbard, kabocha, pink banana jumbo, red kuri, spaghetti, sugar pumpkin, sunshine kabocha, sweet dumpling, turban, yokohama,
More info
- 35 Different Types of Squash (with Pictures) – Clean Green Simple For more information on the types of winter squashes.
- 18 Types Of Squash — Common Types Of Squash (delish.com) For more information on how to pick squashes at the grocery store.
- Health Benefits of Butternut Squash (webmd.com) For nutritional facts and preparation.
- The strange history of the butternut (farmersweekly.co.za) For the full story of how Charles created the butternut squash
