January: Butternut Squash

Butternut squash will be available at your school on Monday, January 11^th.

1. Contact your teacher to schedule a time for your tasting.
2. Check with your teacher if any students have food allergies.
3. Take the Harvest of the Month home and prepare them for your tasting! There are many recipe ideas included in the handouts, but you can always keep it simple.
4. Look over the curriculum and plan key education nuggets you think your class will enjoy.
5. Return the green canvas bag the produce came in to the pick up location.

Let’s talk butternut squash

• Have you tasted butternut squash?
• How would you eat it: roasted, in soup, or as fries?
• What color do you think the inside is?
• What would you name a squash?

Botanical facts

• Scientific name: Cucurbita Moschata
• Family: Cucurbitaceae
• Classification: Botanically Fruit, Culinary Vegetables

Reasons to eat

• Butternut squash has vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber.
• It is bright, naturally sweet, and yummy in soups or roasted dishes!

Produce tips

• Store whole squash in a cool, dark place.
• Wrap cut squash in plastic and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
• Keep squash away from heat and humidity.

How does it grow?

• Butternut squash starts from seeds and grows on long vines.
• It likes 6–8 hours of full sun each day.
• Warm soil and air—about 60–80 degrees—help it grow.
• Plant in late spring or early summer, after the last frost.
• Harvest comes in late summer or autumn, after about 100–120 days.

• Squash is botanically a fruit, but we use it like a vegetable.
• People first cultivated squash for its seeds.
• Native Americans enjoyed squash and used the “Three Sisters” method: corn, beans, and squash growing together.
• Squash is one of the oldest crops in the Western Hemisphere.
• In the 1940s, Charles Leggett developed today’s butternut squash in Stow, Massachusetts.
• California leads the nation in squash production, mainly in the Central San Joaquin Valley.
• The 2022 Agricultural Census counted 6,164 harvested acres in California.

Butternut Squash Rainbow Fries

• butternut squash
• a little olive oil
• cinnamon or mild seasoning.

Directions:

• An adult cuts the squash into sticks.
• Toss with oil and seasoning.
• An adult roasts until tender and lightly golden.

Ask an adult for help with cutting and the oven.

Check out these other great recipes

• Butternut Squash and Black Beans | EatFresh
• Lightly Curried Butternut Squash | EatFresh