I still bake it the way my Mother prepared it. Brown sugar and all that butter. Perhaps a dribble of honey too. If you like Yams (we called them sweet potatoes, the purples), then you must try the recipe that I will be posting here in a few minutes. You'll never see this squash in "whole" form at the grocery store....it is always cut into pieces when sold retail.
We planted this test crop late Spring......to see what issues there might be with insects, rabbits....oh, and the five farm dogs! Growing these are not new to me. I used to grow these giants just to see how large I could get them to grow. Banana squash is named for its shape (duh!)....... can grow so large, they are usually sold in pieces because the fruit can weight up to 30 -50 pounds. The vines are also a bit extreme, at 12 - 15 feet. Getting fruit that is 4-5 feet long is common! Long storage for months in a cool dark area of the house, is another great reason to grow these.
Not a bad crop. Not real great either. Might be that the weather here in Sacramento County was totally ridiculous this year. A very late Spring start with warm weather....then wild wind for days ......and to top it off with extreme temperatures. First time ever that I actually wore a jacket for a few days in July!
Like most of the test crops, I love to give the excess to family and friends. This led to a major discovery about Banana squash.....no one knew how to cook it! Now I am thinking of not growing it for resale because of this fact.
Here's a simple recipe for making a real treat for dinner tonight.
1 cube of Butter
1/2 cup of dark Brown Sugar
3-4 tablespoons of Honey
Begin by cutting the stem end and base off. No need to peel the skin. Cut the squash into 3- to 5-inch "rounds". Remove seeds and such. Place in a roasting pan and coat with the mixture above.... until well coated. Place a aluminum "tent" over the fruit entirely. Roast in 350f oven until the squash is tender and browned, between 45 minutes to an hour. Take off "tent" before removing from the oven. Broil for 3-5 minutes for a yummy appearance.
One more thing to say..........the five farm dogs didn't bother the crop. They too, didn't know how to cook Banana squash.
