We’re back again with another in our favorite winter squash series! This one was a surprisingly tough nut for us to crack, a proper Acorn squash!
Acorn squash are in this weird classification within the world of squash. Technically, they are recognized as winter squash, but the actual species (cucurbita pepo) is a member of summer squash varieties like zucchini and crookneck.
Given the general success that we usually see with summer squash, we were surprised to see acorn squash throw us so many troubles. The first half dozen varieties we tried simply produced nothing in our subarctic climate. We were at the point of giving up, but one last variety made it into our shopping cart quite a few years ago.
When we tried Thelma Sanders Acorn squash, we knew we’d found our solution to this particularly special and challenging squash variety! We were finally getting the acorns in droves, typically producing six to ten good sized acorn squash from two or three plants.
Acorn squash tend towards being “nutty” or “chestnut” in flavor, lending themselves well to both sweet and savory preparations. We like them since they can be easily stuffed, which makes for fairly easy dinner nights. The seeds of acorn squash can also be eaten, typically dried and roasted just like you would with pumpkin seeds.
We like the Acorn squash most for its size, though. It’s a perfect “two person” amount, meaning we don’t have to figure out alternative uses like we do with larger squash. They also keep rather well, typically lasting up until the new year.
Thelma Sanders Acorn is an American derived squash variety, originally hybridized out of Kirksville, Missouri. It was popularized when it was brought into the Ohio Seed Saver’s Exchange, an organization focused on preserving diverse heirloom genetics and major citizen-led contributor to the Svalbard Seed Vault.
We were super glad we found this one as we didn’t think our squash repertoire was complete without an Acorn variety!
