It’s Halloween season again. This means pumpkins, squash and orange-tinted everything all round. Trick-or-treating might not be the same again during this pandemic but there is no reason you should not be introducing a bit of festive orange to your plates.
Since it’s always good to celebrate festivities with low calorie foods, this is the perfect time to share one of my favourite recipes (see below). It doesn’t all have to be sweets, candies and pumpkin pie, though. Butternut squash (Curcubita Moschata D.) can also become a delicious and nutritious first course.
I spoke at length about the health benefits of the pumpkin and the squash family in general in an earlier blog post (here). This time I am taking a more in depth look at the differences between pumpkins and butternut squash.
The new kid on the block Curcubita Moschata D.
Curcubita Moschata D., better known as butternut squash, is a fruit belonging to the curcubita family, which is in season around September and October, making it a member of the winter squash club. Unlike pumpkins, this fruit has not been around long.
Apparently the butternut variety of winter squash did not exist before 1944 when an insurance agent, Mr Charles Legget, of Stow, Massachusetts (U.S.A.) developed this variety. Following his doctor’s advice to spend more time outdoors, he took up gardening initially growing corn, but later moving onto squash. He produced this new variety by crossing Gooseneck squash with Hubbard squash to come up with a long-neck shaped squash with orange flesh and pale orange skin. When asked what he would call it he described it as being “as smooth as butter and as sweet as a nut”, which resulted in its name butternut squash.
Are squash the same as pumpkins?
Although many consider pumpkins and squash to be the same, and use the names interchangeably, asides from the obvious difference in their shapes (pumpkins are round flattened balls, butternut squash have a longish neck and bulbous bottom), there are some other notable differences between them. In the kitchen the pumpkin is tougher, both skin and flesh. The butternut squash is also much softer and sweeter and can be easily mistaken for a sweet potato in both taste and texture.
However, these differences also depend on the variety and origin of the pumpkin and squash. It has been suggested that Northern American pumpkins are less suited to cooking than European ones, and are better for carving Jack o’ Lanterns. European varieties are typically easier to swap out for most recipes.
There are also a few interesting differences in their nutritional properties.
The nutritional differences between butternut squash and pumpkin
Although Butternut Squash and Pumpkins share most of the nutritional and health properties, and are both considered nutritionally dense, there are some interesting differences which can be seen in the table below. (The comparison is for 100grams of RAW fruit.)
|
Values are per 100g, raw |
BUTTERNUT SQUASH |
PUMPKIN |
||
|
Water |
86.4 |
g |
91.6 |
g |
|
Energy |
45 |
kcal |
26 |
kcal |
|
Carbohydrate, by difference |
11.7 |
g |
6.5 |
g |
|
Protein |
1 |
g |
1 |
g |
|
Fiber, total dietary |
2 |
g |
0.5 |
g |
|
Total lipid (fat) |
0.1 |
g |
0.1 |
g |
|
Sugars, total including NLEA |
2.2 |
g |
2.76 |
g |
|
Calcium, Ca |
48 |
mg |
21 |
mg |
|
Iron, Fe |
0.7 |
mg |
0.8 |
mg |
|
Magnesium, Mg |
34 |
mg |
12 |
mg |
|
Phosphorus, P |
33 |
mg |
44 |
mg |
|
Potassium, K |
352 |
mg |
340 |
mg |
|
Sodium, Na |
4 |
mg |
1 |
mg |
|
Zinc, Zn |
0.15 |
mg |
0.32 |
mg |
|
Copper, Cu |
0.072 |
mg |
0.127 |
mg |
|
Manganese, Mn |
0.202 |
mg |
0.125 |
mg |
|
Selenium, Se |
0.5 |
µg |
0.3 |
µg |
|
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid |
21 |
mg |
9 |
mg |
|
Thiamin (Vit B1) |
0.1 |
mg |
0.05 |
mg |
|
Riboflavin (Vit B2) |
0.02 |
mg |
0.11 |
mg |
|
Niacin (Vit B3) |
1.2 |
mg |
0.6 |
mg |
|
Vitamin B-6 |
0.154 |
mg |
0.061 |
mg |
|
Folate, total |
27 |
µg |
16 |
µg |
|
Vitamin A, RAE |
532 |
µg |
426 |
µg |
|
Carotene, beta |
4230 |
µg |
3100 |
µg |
|
Carotene, alpha |
834 |
µg |
4016 |
µg |
|
Cryptoxanthin, beta |
3470 |
µg |
0 |
µg |
|
Vitamin A, IU |
10600 |
IU |
8513 |
IU |
|
Lutein + zeaxanthin |
0 |
µg |
1500 |
µg |
|
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) |
1.44 |
mg |
1.06 |
mg |
|
Vitamin K (phylloquinone) |
1.1 |
µg |
1.1 |
µg |
(source: USDA’s Food Data Central)
In other words, Butternut Squash may have more calories (although still classified as low G.I.) carbohydrates and sodium, but it comes with significantly more fibre, calcium, magnesium, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamins B1, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B6 and folate than your average pumpkin.
The nutritional properties of cooked butternut squash
As you know from earlier blog posts, once cooked the nutritional properties of foods can vary from their raw state so below you can see the properties of a serving (205g) of cooked butternut squash, more or less a plate of soup. You will also find the recommended Daily Value (DV) of some of the nutrients, where Vitamins A and C stand out from the rest..
- 82 calories
- 21.5 grams carbohydrates
- 1.8 grams protein
- 0.2 gram fat
- 22,869 IU vitamin A (457 percent DV)
- 31 milligrams vitamin C (52 percent DV)
- 0.4 milligrams manganese (18 percent DV)
- 582 milligrams potassium (17 percent DV)
- 59.4 milligrams magnesium (15 percent DV)
- 2.6 milligrams vitamin E (13 percent DV)
- 0.3 milligram vitamin B6 (13 percent DV)
- 0.1 milligrams thiamine (10 percent DV)
- 2 milligrams niacin (10 percent DV)
- 38.9 micrograms folate (10 percent DV)
- 84 milligrams calcium (8 percent DV)
- 1.2 milligrams iron (7 percent DV)
- 0.1 milligram copper (7 percent DV)
- 55.4 milligrams phosphorus (6 percent DV)
The Health Benefits of Butternut squash
In layman terms this means that Butternut Squash is:
1. High in antioxidants which help fight oxidative stress and the signs of ageing (thanks to the Vitamin A etc)
2. It helps to boost the immune system (thanks to Vitamin C)
3. It helps reduce inflammation thanks to the content of beta-carotene, alpha-carotenes and beta cryptoxanthin
4. Helps prevent different types of cancer (e.g.skin, lung and ovarian) thanks to, among others, a protein which researchers have identified as a skin cancer inhibitor.
5. Keeps bones healthy thanks to the potassium (which results in denser bones), the manganese and calcium.
6. Reduces fatigue and muscle cramps thanks to the Vitamin C and magnesium.
7. Can help reduce the symptoms of PMS. Studies have identified a direct link between low levels of manganese, Vitamin K and E and PMS. The Magnesium and potassium can also help alleviate muscle cramps.
Vitamin A from food vs supplements
As you can see from the nutritional table above, Butternut Squash is an excellent source of Vitamin A and has much higher content than its cousin the Pumpkin. Vitamin A is important for overall health and it affects multiple functions and organs in the body. However, taking high amounts in supplement form has been found to be toxic and can be dangerous. This is not the case when the Vitamin A comes from food sources.
The skin and seeds of the Butternut Squash
According to a research study published earlier this year (May 2020) on Food Science Nutrition online, the seeds and skin of the butternut squash (Curcubita Moschata D.) are also packed full of nutritional benefits, not just the flesh (for more information on this see the link provided at the bottom of the page). Wash them and eat them! They are excellent when oven baked and it would be a shame to toss away such natural goodness.
Butternut Squash in the Kitchen
When it comes to the flesh, this is one of my favourite all time Butternut Squash recipes and how to make it.
Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup
(a.k.a. Halloween Soup for the younger audiences)
Ingredients
1 small brown onion
½ small butternut squash
2 handfuls of red lentils (quick cook)
2 tbsp olive oil
1tsp Sea salt
½ lemon
Method
1. Wash the butternut squash in a sodium bicarbonate and water bath for a few minutes. Pat dry and peel. Save the peel and seeds for baking. Then chop the flesh into small cubes.
2. Peel and finely chop the onion.
3. Bring approximately 1 litre of water to the boil using a kettle. In the meantime heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion until it is translucent.
4. Add the butternut squash cubes and allow to begin cooking at medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the red lentils (the variety I chose cook in 10 minutes) and sea salt to the pot, then cover with water. The lentils will expand during the cooking process so depending on how much water you add you will get either a thin runny soup or a more thick, purée-like consistency.
6. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Allow to simmer for approximately 15 to 20 minutes until all the vegetables and the lentils are soft.
7. Using an immersion or other blender, purée the soup to obtain a smooth silky cream.
8. Serve warm with squeezed fresh lemon. The lemon will enhance the flavours in an extraordinary way. Try it with and without to taste the transformation.
Other recipes with butternut squash
Recently I also tried new recipes with this squash. Butternut squash fries cooked in a pan with only a drizzle of oil and with herbs such as tarragon, thyme or sage plus some salt are amazing. They taste like the sweet potato fries which have become so popular in recent years, and could easily be mistaken for them. Other recipe ideas can be found in an earlier post here.
Whichever recipe you try have a...
Happy (Healthy) Halloween!
Useful links:
Evaluation of bioactivity of butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata D.) seeds and skin https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7382094/
