Benefits of cushaw squash.

Good evening! I wanna talk about the health benefits of cushaws cause they have vitamins A, B and C that contribute to our bodies. They also help our vision, immune system, skin and things of that nature. Anybody had cushaw before for soup and stuff? I had some in the past as as a stew or pie a couple of years ago. If anybody wants to share their experience with cushaws, please let me know. Thanks!

I've never heard of Cushaws. I'll check them out.

I grow cushaw winter squash every year. Pumpkins don't do well for me, but cushaw does great. It tolerates heat and drought, and isn't bothered much by bugs or disease. They get pretty big (some as big as 20 pounds) and store really well. Some of the old timers in my area call them cushaw pumpkins. I substitute them in any pumpkin or winter squash recipe: soup, pie, pancakes, muffins, cookies, cake, quick bread, plain baked, steamed, or mashed.

Some of my cushaw harvest

Pumpkin soup with cushaw instead of pumpkin.

Cushaw pie

The immature green ones can be eaten like summer squash.

Seasoned sauteed green cushaw.

This year we had an early frost, so I put the mature cushaws in the pantry and canned some of the green ones.

Canned green cushaw

They're easy to grow, but they do take up a lot of room in the garden because their vines really spread.

@Leigh Tate
Your description sounds exactly like Tromboncino squash.  It is an Italian variety that I really like.  It is a vine that can grow up to 40' long, is resistant to vine borers and disease, can be eaten when younger like a summer squash or allowed to fully mature and turn yellow as a winter squash.  The biggest difference is the shape, with Tromboncino being long and thin with a bulb at the end where the seeds are located.  The long meaty part is seedless and works well for pickling while the end has the seeds which can be cooked like pumpkin seeds.  I grow mine in my mini orchard so it doesn't actually take any additional growing space.  It starts up one fruit tree and then climbs into the other trees.  The squash develop after the fruit (peaches/pears/plums) are harvested, so I get two harvests off of those trees.

[Not my picture]

I grew up on Cushaw, this squash, indigenous to West Africa, has many varieties.  Many of the vegetables that are known to manifest essential nutrients and benefits were undoubtedly brought to America’s during the Transatlantic Enslavement industry. That's another story altogether. Furthermore,  Cushaw, like sweet potatoes, were often a vital part of my childhood and adult life. Holidays, especially were filled with the aromatic fragrance of freshly-baked Cushaw of different colors,  but mainly the Gooseneck, white, yellow, and green combinations. My mom and grandma are no longer on this side of heaven, but the sweet smelling memories of Cushaw baking and Caressing my taste and smell sensory have never left my palate.

Many of these photos and posts do not look like real cushaw, as I know them here in Appalachia. If you research online, you will see photos of what a true cushaw is. Sure, you can overlap many winter squashes in recipes, switching out one for another and it usually works out fine. I planted one seed this year, by suggestion of a friend, as I had not grown this type of squash before, and low and behold, I got over 15 HUGE cushaws from one seed, vining all over my property, into the peppers, beans, everywhere. I let them do their thing and am harvesting them now in October in zone 6b. They weigh anywhere from 15 -25 pounds each. One cushaw has been enough to make 8 pies! So, I've been researching the net for recipe ideas, been giving them away to those who know a thing or two about what to do with them, etc. But I still have a TON to figure out what to do with. I will say that they are delicious! So versatile, going sweet or savory in dishes. I feel like I could almost make a project out of experimenting and creating a recipe book myself (if I had the time). I will grow these again. I usually grow a few different kinds of squash every year, switching the varieties from year to year, like so many other veggies I grow. You can't do it all every year! This year, I grew 50 pepper plants, with about 20 varieties (sweet, hot, etc). Next year, it will be other varieties. We grew 15 tomato sauce tomato plants, 2 cherry varieties, and 10 slicer varieties. So much fun with all the different colors, shapes, etc. But, back to the cushaw. Apparently, the cushaw is a traditional staple in the Appalachians. I moved to this area from Colorado 5 years ago and have been learning so much I never had heard of before. I had no idea what pokeweed or pawpaws, or cushaws were something people looked forward to eating every year around here. Now, I'm learning to make soup, pancakes, bread, stew, pie, cake, gratin, and more with the humble cushaw. They are delicious and yes, nutritious, packed with carotene, vitamins A, B6, & C, folate, magnesium, riboflavin, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron. Cushaw is anti-inflammatory, boosts immunity, delays aging, improves vision, improves lung health, lowers blood pressure. Can help reduce birth defects of babies. Seeds are rich in oil and protein. Attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. The flesh is used in Yucatan folk medicine to treat burns, sores and eczema. Nursing women eat the seeds to help them lactate. Used for pain relief.

To me, cushaw squash taste bland and uninteresting—white flesh.

I haven't previously observed a cushaw squash with tan skin. The peduncles, skin color, and flesh color on Leigh's photos look like moschata to me.

Joseph's note about the bland flavor is interesting. Always assumed squash being bland was a preparation problem, but if it's genuinely the variety there's not much cooking around that. Does anyone find the flavor changes much with storage time, like some winter squash get sweeter after a few months?