Awash in squash
Summer family makes the seasonal transition with pizzazz
While the ubiquitous, well-known zucchini may be the poster child of the tender summer squash family, it is by no means its only member. Its cousins are impressively scalloped and multicolored, with flavors that carry subtle, distinctive accents.
Despite the summer moniker, these versatile vegetables will be in markets well through fall. Curt Lucero of Lucero Organic Farms in Lodi grows 15 varieties of summer squash, four of which are scalloped. With continual plantings in the warmer climes of the San Joaquin Valley, he will be able to offer summer squash until mid-November.
Varieties: Disk-shaped scalloped squash is tender, with a delicate flavor. The original pattypan, the Patty Green Tint, is light green, while light-tasting Sunburst is a bright yellow-gold. Flying Saucer is a hybrid of the pattypan and the zucchini; it is yellow-gold with green stripes. Another pattypan/zucchini hybrid is Starship, which is a solid dark green — the color of a green zucchini — and has an earthier flavor.
How to select: The skin should be unblemished, with no discoloration or moldy spots, and it should be shiny, which means the squash is very fresh. Choose smaller scalloped squash, no larger than about 4 inches in diameter — about the width of your palm. Lucero says that if squash gets too big, its seeds are bigger, the flesh dries out and starts to get pithy and mealy, and the flavor can be a little bitter.
How to store: Avoid abrading or bruising the tender skin. Store squash in a paper bag in the refrigerator. If kept in plastic, the condensation causes the squash to become sticky and gluey, which can lead to rot. When kept cool and dry in the crisper, very fresh squash should easily last one week or more.