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Acorn Squash is a winter squash with dark green skin, but it's not unusual to see some whose skin is coloured with blotches of green and orange.

The rind is quite hard. The upside of this is that it holds together well for baking and transferring to a plate. The downside is that it requires a firm arm to cut it in half when you are preparing it. The squash inside, however, is very sweet and easy to cook.

Varieties of Acorn Squash include Acorn, Royal Acorn, Table King, Table Queen and White.

Pepper Squash is the same squash as Acorn Squash; however, it tends to be applied more to the squashes without the pronounced acorn-like shape to them.

Cooking Tips

Traditional: Halve and seed the acorn squash. Place cut side up in an oven proof dish or on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with brown sugar (you may also sprinkle with ground cinnamon and/or cloves to taste.) Dot with butter (optional as well.) Cover with tin foil, and bake until soft, about 45 minutes.

Low fat: Instead of dotting with butter, sprinkle with orange juice.

In Risotto: Cube it, fry in olive oil with a little garlic until tender, then stir into a risotto which is just about ready.

Substitutes
Any other squash including pumpkin.

Literature & Lore
The name comes from its resemblance to a large -- very large -- acorn, the size that your neighbourhood squirrels dream of during long winter nights.

Also called:

Other entries for:

Acorn Squash
Cream of the Crop Acorn Squash, Delicata Squash, Heart of Gold Squash, Sweet Potato Squash, Table Ace Squash, Tay Belle Squash, White Acorn Squash

Other entries for:

Winter Squash
Baby Blue Hubbard Squash, Banana Squash, Berrettina Piacentina Squash, Black Futsu Squash, Blue Ballet Squash, Blue Banana Squash, Blue Lakota Squash, Boston Marrow Special Squash, Boston Marrow Squash, Buttercup Squash, Butternut Squash, Carnival Squash, Cornell Bush Delicata Squash, Crown Prince Squash, Cushaw Green Striped Squash, Galeux d'Eysines Squash, Gem Squash, Golden Delicious Squash, Golden Nugget Squash, Hubbard Squash, Jarradale Squash, Lakota Squash, Mammoth Squash, Mountaineer Squash, Muscat de Provence Squash, Orange Banana Squash, Piena di Napoli Squash, Pink Banana Squash, Pink Mammoth Jumbo Banana Squash, Queensland Blue Squash, Red Warty Thing Squash, Rugosa Butternut Squash, Rumbo Squash, Spaghetti Squash, Sucrine du Berry Squash, Swan White Acorn Squash, Sweet Dumpling Squash, Sweet Keeper Squash, Sweet Kikuza Squash, Sweet Meat Squash, Table King Bush Acorn Squash, Tennessee Sweet Potato Squash, Tonda Padana Squash, Turban Squash, Winter Luxury Pie Squash, Young's Beauty Squash, Zapalo Plomo Squash

Other entries for:

Squash
Gourds, Pumpkins, Squash Blossoms, Summer Squash, Ugu

Other entries for:

Vegetables
Agave, Artichokes, Asparagus, Brassica Family, Canned Vegetables, Cardoons, Celery, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Frozen Vegetables, Garlic, Horseradish Tree, Leafy Vegetables, Lotus, Mixed Vegetables, Mushrooms, Pak Wan, Peas, Peppers, Root Vegetables, Sago Palm, Seaweed, Spinach, Sprouts, Tomatoes, Viscous Vegetables