Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Some of the gourds -- not for eating! -- for sale at the Blacksburg Farmers Market.

The how-to on hard-skinned squash

• Buying: The skin of squash should be smooth and free of dark spots and the fruit should feel heavy for its size. The stem should be dry and hard.
• Cutting: Use a cleaver or large chef’s knife and rubber mallet when cutting uncooked squash to avoid gaping wounds.
• Peeling: Pierce small, whole squash in several places and microwave for 5 to 10 minutes or bake for 30 to 60 minutes, then let cool for easy cutting. Larger squash can be baked whole until soft enough to peel or cut and boiled or microwaved until soft.
• Cooking: Small to medium squash can be cut in half, cleaned of seeds and strings and roasted with honey or molasses or steamed or boiled with water or apple cider. Grated ginger or spices can be added to the cooking liquid for extra flavor. Squashes of all sizes can be cooked and pureed for soup or baking.
• Winter squash seeds rolled in oil and salt and roasted in a hot oven until golden brown make nutritious snacks.
• Storing: Dip whole, hard-skinned squashes in a weak bleach solution, let dry and keep in a cool, dark and dry place. Handle with gloves until ready to eat. Squash puree can be frozen for months and used in soups or for baking.
• SOURCES: Blacksburg Farmers Market and Cook’s Illustrated magazine

Pumpkinfest

• 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Blacksburg Farmers Market, Roanoke Street and Draper Road

Kabocha, cushaw and carnival -- there's more to winter squash than the run-of-the-mill pumpkin.

Although Blacksburg Farmers Market organizers are calling Saturday's winter squash celebration "Pumpkinfest," all kinds of exotic fruits will be on sale there from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Buy lots because one of the virtues that endeared winter squash to hungry people for the past 12,000 years is its long shelf life.

Squash seeds found in caves in Ecuador predate the presumed dawn of agriculture by hundreds of years. Some American Indian tribes buried squash seeds with their dead.

If stored properly, hard-skinned squashes can keep for up to six months. And squash puree will wait patiently in the freezer to be turned into cookies, cakes, pies and soups any time of the year.

Acorn Usually dark green and shaped like an acorn with smooth, slightly sweet flesh. The skin can be edible after cooking.

Pumpkin In the United States, usually a large, round orange squash used for jack-o'-lanterns. Small varieties like mystic or sugar are considered best for pies.

Butternut Long, solid neck with bulbous bottom. Cream-colored skin and deep orange, sweet-tasting flesh.

Buttercup Round and stocky-shaped with a dark green skin and a ring on the bottom. Flesh is fine and dry and tastes similar to roasted chestnuts or sweet potatoes.

Carnival Cross between an acorn and a sweet dumpling (see below) with a rounded shape and flattened top. Skin is marbled green and orange. Flesh is deep yellow and slightly sweet.

Cushaw Large squash with a thin neck and bulbous bottom, green or orange striped skin and moist, coarse yellow to orange flesh. Considered one of the best squashes for pie.

Delicata Oblong shape with yellow- and green-striped skin. Yellow, very sweet flesh. Skin is edible after cooking but the fruit has a short shelf life.

Gourds Very hard-skinned, usually inedible squashes used for decoration or making bowls and utensils.

Kabocha & red kuri Small round or teardrop Japanese squash with green or blazing orange skin. Flesh is deep orange or yellow and tastes sweet.

Long keeper A slightly sweet, small- to medium-sized hybrid squash grown at Five Penny Farm in Floyd.

Spaghetti Golden yellow squash that can get quite big. Lightly sweet flesh comes away in spaghetti-like strands that can be dressed like pasta.

Sweet dumpling Plump Japanese variety with cream-colored skin that's sometimes striped with green. Flesh tastes similar to sweet potato.