I've just eaten the last of my 2006 harvest of Butternuts & Turks Turban squashes.
One thing I've noticed is that the later ones were much sweeter & had a more pronounced flavour. Is this the usual starch turning into sugar that I thnk happens with other produce?
One point I've learned is that my Turks Turbans were about as tasty as eating cardboard last October. Now, they're actually sweet and have a subtle taste of chestnuts.
The other point is that I may have picked them too early - a number of you pointed out about leaving them on as long as possible. My allotment's next to a public path, so I didn't dare leave them in the open too long.
Colin
Do Squashes mature after being picked?
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter
-
Primrose
- KG Regular
- Posts: 8063
- Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:50 pm
- Location: Bucks.
- Has thanked: 41 times
- Been thanked: 290 times
Dear Colin,
I suspect that the increased sweetness may be due to the extra starch that the fruit has acquired over the winter storage. I have found this in some of my stored fruit although I now only have two Sweet Dumplings left, and being smaller squashes they do tend to become rather dry and a little more fibrous when stored this long, even if the flavour remains OK. As regards having to pick them early for fear of having them stolen from your allotment, did you store them indoors immediately? If you can bring future crops home and store them out in the garden in the sunshine until the weather gets cooler I suspect this will go some way to helping them mature before they go into storage. The skins are pretty tough and will stand a certain amount of outside weathering. One of the farm shops from which we buy varieties of squash we don't grow seem to store their unsold fruit outdoors but under cover all winter and certainly the outside skin of the fruits don't seem to have been damaged at all. (But we have had a fairly mild winter and I'm not sure this would apply if we'd had heavy frosts).
I suspect that the increased sweetness may be due to the extra starch that the fruit has acquired over the winter storage. I have found this in some of my stored fruit although I now only have two Sweet Dumplings left, and being smaller squashes they do tend to become rather dry and a little more fibrous when stored this long, even if the flavour remains OK. As regards having to pick them early for fear of having them stolen from your allotment, did you store them indoors immediately? If you can bring future crops home and store them out in the garden in the sunshine until the weather gets cooler I suspect this will go some way to helping them mature before they go into storage. The skins are pretty tough and will stand a certain amount of outside weathering. One of the farm shops from which we buy varieties of squash we don't grow seem to store their unsold fruit outdoors but under cover all winter and certainly the outside skin of the fruits don't seem to have been damaged at all. (But we have had a fairly mild winter and I'm not sure this would apply if we'd had heavy frosts).
-
Colin_M
- KG Regular
- Posts: 1182
- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:13 am
- Location: Bristol
- Been thanked: 1 time
Hi Primrose, I was able to leave them all until they'd gone what seemed to be the right colour:
- Butternuts had changed from light green to yellowy brown
- Turks Turbans were fully Red & Gold
The other thing that was unusual about last year was that I got 2 crops of Butternuts. Can't remember when I picked the first ones, but they had fully ripened on the plant. Once I'd picked these, more flowers came and I got a second lot. Some of these were (understandably) smaller, but several grew to full size. I think the exceptional long warm summer helped here. All the Butternuts tasted fine from the first to the last.
However the one where the change in taste was most noticeable was the Turks Turbans - these had the normal time on the plant.
Colin
- Butternuts had changed from light green to yellowy brown
- Turks Turbans were fully Red & Gold
The other thing that was unusual about last year was that I got 2 crops of Butternuts. Can't remember when I picked the first ones, but they had fully ripened on the plant. Once I'd picked these, more flowers came and I got a second lot. Some of these were (understandably) smaller, but several grew to full size. I think the exceptional long warm summer helped here. All the Butternuts tasted fine from the first to the last.
However the one where the change in taste was most noticeable was the Turks Turbans - these had the normal time on the plant.
Colin
-
vivienz
- KG Regular
- Posts: 525
- Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:55 pm
- Location: Very north Dorset
- Has thanked: 13 times
- Been thanked: 19 times
Hi Colin,
I read somewhere over the last couple of weeks that some of the winter squashes do improve their flavour noticably if they're stored for a month or two before eating. I'm afraid I can't remember where I read it, but it was either a cookery book or seed catalogue.
Vivien
I read somewhere over the last couple of weeks that some of the winter squashes do improve their flavour noticably if they're stored for a month or two before eating. I'm afraid I can't remember where I read it, but it was either a cookery book or seed catalogue.
Vivien
Hi Primrose,
I do not think squashes are able to put on more starch after they have been picked and I would suggest that the sweetness maybe due to the existing starches converting to sugar as part of the ripening process.
People cannot understand why Cider Apples are left on the ground for about a month before being gathered and it is for this reason. The acids and starches convert to sugars and thus improve the flavour of the Cider. I suspect that this is what probably happens with Squashes but I do not know for sure.
JB.
I do not think squashes are able to put on more starch after they have been picked and I would suggest that the sweetness maybe due to the existing starches converting to sugar as part of the ripening process.
People cannot understand why Cider Apples are left on the ground for about a month before being gathered and it is for this reason. The acids and starches convert to sugars and thus improve the flavour of the Cider. I suspect that this is what probably happens with Squashes but I do not know for sure.
JB.
-
taralastair
- KG Regular
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:25 pm
- Location: Manchester
Our nice-long squashes (and a few others) most certainly rippened after picking. In fact I had one full size squash that was green when I picked it in late autumn. I hung it in a pair of tights in front of a sunny window and watched it slowly turn the normal ripe colour of a pinky brown. It was the last squash we ate (around mid-March I think) and certainly the best tasting.
Tara
Tara