The peak-season for winter squashes is from mid-autumn through early winter.
The Blue Hubbard Squash—which is also called the New England Blue Hubbard—is a great choice for a sweet tasting winter squash to serve on a cold, late autumn evening. The flesh of the Blue Hubbard is deep orange. It is dense and starchy and has the nutty, sweet taste of a sweet potato.
The Blue Hubbard is best steamed or baked. You can serve it topped with brown sugar or maple syrup and a pat of butter right in the empty seed cavity. It can also be mashed or puréed with butter and seasoning before serving.
Unlike summer squashes, winter squashes like the Blue Hubbard are allowed to mature on the vine. Their skin is hard and inedible—unlike summer squash such as zucchini. While winter squashes get their start in the summer along side summer squashes, their thick rinds allow them to be stored for many months—right through the winter.
The Blue Hubbard grows to about 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter and can weight from about 11 to 20 pounds (4.9 to 9 kg). It has a dusky gray-blue skin. There is an orange golden-skinned version of the Blue Hubbard–called the Golden Hubbard–which is slightly smaller and is more orange on the inside and out than golden. But the Golden Hubbard is less flavorful and hardly sweet at all.
When choosing a winter squash, select a squash that is rock hard. There should be no give when you press the skin. The stems should be full and corklike. Avoid winter squashes with soft spots or bruises.
The winter squash harvest begins in August and runs through March, but the peak season is from October through January. Other winter squashes include the acorn, buttercup, butternut, kabocha, spaghetti and pumpkin.
Winter squashes will sweeten off the vine if they are stored in a cool, dry place. They should be stored unwrapped at less than 50°F (10°C) and will keep for up to 6 months.
You can bake the Blue Hubbard whole. Just poke it with a knife in a few places so that it doesn’t explode in the oven. Like other winter squashes, the Blue Hubbard can also be roasted: cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and place the squash cut side up in a shallow pan of water. Roast at 400° F (204°C) for 1 hour.
By the way, if the Blue Hubbard is too much squash for you and your family, the Baby Blue Hubbard is a cross between a buttercup squash and the Blue Hubbard. It tastes the same but maxs out at abut 5 inches (13 cm) in diameter and weighs from about 3 to 5 pounds (1.3 to 2.3 kg).
(If you decide to grow your own next season and go looking for seed or plant starts in the spring, the Blue Hubbard’s botanical family is Cucurbita maxima.)
This is the first year I have tried to grow squash, other then acorn, now I have butternut, and blue hubbard, and don’t know what to look for or when to harvest them. I hope someone will give me a hint!!! Thanks so much. I live in N.E. Nevada
Jim
Butternut and Blue Hubbard are winter squashes. Harvest winter squash when the shell or skin is hard enough that you cannot dent it with your fingernail. All of your winter squash should be harvested as soon as the first light frost comes and kills the vines. Don’t leave winter squash in the garden after a light frost; the next frost will shorten it’s storage life. Harvested winter squash should “cure” in the sun for 10 to 14 days. If a frost threatens, cover the squash. Curing winter squash will sweeten the flesh while toughening the skin for storage. Out of the garden, store winter squash in a cool, well-ventilated place. You can wipe the skin with a weak bleach solution to help prevent rot.
Hi this is Jim again, and I wanted to update you on the squash. The temp. went from the 50′s to 19, and is now snowing out. I covered the garden with a tarp the first night, but the next morning I went to check, and it looked as if they froze on the top part that was touching the tarp. So I took all the squash off the vine, blue hubbard, and butternut. I think alot of the butternut is O.K. as they have turned tan, or well on their way to turning tan, but the hubbard was still green, they are all 7-12 pounds, but none the less still green. I cleaned them all, wrapped them in news paper, and put them in our back bedroom. Does that sound alright, or do I need to unwrap them, and set them out, but I cannot set them outside, because they will freeze. Will they ripen like this, or am I fighting a loosing battle?
Thanks
Jim
To tell if winter squash is ready for use rap on it with your knuckles. If the squash is hard, it should be ready. (If winter squash dents to the pressure of your thumb nail, it’s not ready and the growing season came up short this year.) You can always use the taste test: choose a squash for the kitchen and prepare a simple dish to test the flavor. All in all, it sounds like you got the crop in on time. (When you cover winter crops with cloth, be sure to set up a temporary frame so that the cloth does not touch the crop and act as a wick to deliver the freeze to the crop.) You can leave the just harvested squash in the back bedroom for a week or so to cure; just open the blinds so that the light hits the squash. But curing winter squash is not an absolute necessity–it’s more of a long-standing tradition. Some studies say winter squash does not need to be cured, but stored in a dry spot where temperatures range in the 40s and 50s. So if your back bedroom is warmer, move the squash to a cooler location until you are ready to use them. If the squash do not touch, you don’t need to keep them wrapped in paper. Allow the air to circulate freely around the squash. As for next year, you might want to start your squash indoors next spring–4 to 5 weeks before the last expected frost. Three weeks after the last frost in spring, set the transplants into the garden. You will have gained a month on the season, and hopefully won’t come up short on growing time next year. Winter squash can take from 60 to 110 days to reach harvest.
This is Jim again, I took your advise, and cut one of the hubbards in squares, and cooked it, well about a third of it ( they are soooo!!!! big) and it without a doubt the best tasting squash I have ever tasted, it is so full of flavor, and nutty, and pretty to look at with that fresh looking pink flesh, it is now my, and my wife’s favorite. And my 1 1/2 year old grand son just loves it to death, he ate almost a whole piece by himself. I thank you for your tips, and all your help, you just made the day for me, and I will not be affraid to grow any type of squash from now on. I do recomend the blue hubbard to anyone that has the space to grow one, but just remember blue hubbards are BIG!!! to big for just one or two people, unless you can eat alot of squash. I guess my last question is how do I store the sqash that I have already cut? can I just freeze it, of do I have to blanch it? any Ideas?
Thanks
Jim
You can can or freeze winter squash, pumpkin, banana, hubbard, and butternut squashes.
///////Canning: Cut through the rind and cut the flesh into strips with the rind still attached; scrape away all of the seeds and fibrous material. Place the cleaned rind-flesh-strips in a steamer over boiling water or boil in small amount of water until the flesh is soft. Scrape the flesh from the rind and press through a colander or mash. Put the flesh into a pan and bring to boiling, stirring. Pack hot into jars to within half an inch from the top of the jar. Add a half teaspoon of salt to pint jars; add 1 teaspoon of salt to quarts. Seal. Use a good reference book on canning to make sure you are canning safely. There can be health risks if you get it wrong.
////////Freezing: Wash the squash then cut it open and remove the seed and fibrous material. Cut into strips or chunks and boil in a small amount of water until the flesh is soft. Scrape the flesh from the rind and mash (or puree); cool the flesh. Pack in ridgid freezer containers to freeze; allow room a the top of the container for the squash to expand when it freezes. Label and freeze immediately.