bottle gourd ( butternut squash )
The butternut squash of all kinds is perhaps the most common in the supermarket. The skin is cream colored and inside it is orange in color. The taste is slightly nutty and the weight can vary from one to two kilos.
As the name suggests, this pumpkin is bottle- or pear-shaped. B utternut squash is the English name of this pumpkin variety, good to know if you are working with an English recipe.
You can fill a bottle gourd, but it is also delicious in a salad, in a salad or soup.
Hokkaido pumpkin ( red kuri squash )
You will often find this small, deep orange colored pumpkin on the shelf next to the butternut squash. This species is also widely eaten. It is not too big and varies in weight from half a to two to three kilos. Because of the soft skin you can also eat it with a jacket. Preferably buy an organic version.
You can make delicious soup with it or use it as a main ingredient in a cake. Surprisingly delicious!
Spaghetti squash ( spaghetti squash )
This is a species that you see a lot less in the Netherlands. It is a real winter variety and has a beautiful yellow color. Only when you cut open the fruit do you understand what it owes its name to. The structure of the flesh is very stringy and if you pull it off with a fork it looks just like spaghetti. This type of pumpkin is actually used as an alternative to pasta.
kabocha pumpkin
The kabocha is originally a Japanese pumpkin. It has a matte green color with light spots and stripes and has a nice sweet taste. What appeals to many people is that the pumpkin has a chestnut-like taste after preparation.
This pumpkin variety is widely used in Japanese cuisine for example oden (a kind of broth-based soup filled with egg and seaweed) and tempura. Because of its sweet character, it also fits perfectly in sweet baked goods.
The giant pumpkin
And what about that big, beautiful orange colored pumpkin? What might be good to know: the smaller the pumpkin, the more flavor. A large pumpkin therefore has much less flavor and is better used for decoration.
For the kitchen, we recommend using a small hokkaido or butternut squash instead.