Guide to winter squash varieties

Each type of winter squash is a powerhouse of good nutrition, the kind that fights heart disease, cancer, depression and vision loss due to macular degeneration. Here is a guide to the different varieties of winter squash.

There are many varieties of squash to choose from, each with a different shape, size and flavour. The seeds can be roasted.

1. Acorn squash. Acorn squash is small to medium-sized, acorn-shaped, with dark green, orange, green and orange, or white, deeply ridged skin. Its yellow flesh is sweet and moist. Acorn squash are best baked.
2. Banana squash. Banana squash is large and long, with yellow skin and orange flesh. Blue- and pink-skinned bananas are also grown in home gardens.
3. Buttercup squash. Buttercup squash is small to medium in size, drum-shaped, with dark green skin marked with grey. Its orange flesh is dense, dry, and sweet.
4. Butternut squash. Butternut squash is medium-sized and shaped like a big peanut. It has smooth tan or yellow-orange skin. Its bright orange flesh is mildly sweet.
5. Delicata squash. Delicata squash is small to medium, elongated, and has cream-coloured skin striped with orange or green. Unlike other winter squash, its skin is edible, its flesh is creamy, and its sweet corn-like flavour is very delicate.
6. Hubbard squash. Hubbard squash is large with dusty blue-green, warty, faintly ridged skin. Its yellow-orange flesh is dry and slightly bland in flavour.
7. Golden hubbards. Golden hubbards have dark orange skin and slightly sweeter flesh.
8. Kabocha squash. Kabocha squash is a medium-sized Japanese hybrid, shaped like a flattened globe, with dark green, bumpy skin. Its orange flesh is dense, dry and very sweet.
9. Pumpkins. Pumpkins for eating are round, ridged, and have dark orange skin. Their flesh is not as sweet as that of some other winter squash.
10. Spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is medium-sized, oblong, with smooth yellow skin. After boiling or baking, it is halved, and the flesh is pulled out with a fork into strands that are crunchy and rather bland.
11. Sweet dumpling squash. Sweet dumpling squash are very small — each squash is an individual serving. Their skin is yellow with dark green stripes, and their flesh is yellow-orange, sweet and moist. Sweet dumplings are best baked.
12. Turban squash. Turban squash has bright orange-red skin and a decorative, turban-like topknot. It is a relative of the buttercup squash, with dry, mildly sweet flesh.

1. With a knife, cut off stem and halve lengthwise. Scoop out all the seeds with a spoon.
2. Cut the halves lengthwise into quarters and then cut the flesh into chunks.

Squash are heavy consumers of nutrients in the garden, so it's best to grow a different vegetable, such as lettuce or cabbage, in its spot the following year.