Kabocha is a Japanese variety of winter squash that is commonly known as the Japanese pumpkin. Today many of the kabocha in the market are of the type called Kuri kabocha, which was created based on Seiyo kabocha (buttercup squash). It's popular for its intense yet sweet flavour and moist, fluffy texture, which is similar to its perfect partner, the chestnut.
Kabocha is firm one shaped like a squatty pumpkin, and has a dull finished deep green skin with some celadon-to-white stripes that wraps the an intense yellow-orange flesh within, which often reminds me of sunflowers gazing the setting sun in Italy.
With its amiable flesh comes the explosive package of nutrients; Kabocha is high in carotene and could provide protective effects against vision loss, heart disease, and cancer. It is also a good source of fiber, potassium, vitamins C & E and iron, with smaller traces of calcium, folic acid, and minute amounts of B vitamins.
When kabocha is just harvested, it is still growing. Therefore, unlike other vegetables and fruits, freshness is not as important. It should be fully matured first, in order to become flavorful. First, kabocha is ripened in a warm place (77°F) for 13 days, during which some of the starch converts to carbohydrate content. Then it is transferred to a cool place (50°F) and stored for about a month in order to increase its carbohydrate content. In this way the just-harvested, dry, bland-tasting kabocha is transformed into smooth, sweet kabocha. Fully ripened, succulent kabocha will have reddish-yellow flesh and a hard skin with a dry, corky stem. It reaches the peak of ripeness about 1.5–3 months after it is harvested.
With this golden gem roasting in the oven, the experiments begin....
6 comments:
Coming from Japan, I am familiar with this vegetable. But, my family has never treated it with a careful ripening procedure described here (13 days in a warm place and a month in a col place). My memory of Kabocha was a typical winter vegetable, but it is not associated with intense sweetness (I remember sweet potatos were sweeter). Perhaps, I should tell my family about the ripening procedure.
I teamed the kabocha with butternut and delicata squashes and made an amazing soup. My family loved the soup and we used it as a started for Thanksgiving dinner. A truly great find!
I got a couple of these Kabochas in my last CSA box, and haven't made them yet. Thanks for some great ideas! For Thanksgiving, I made a really great pecan pie using brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup... maybe I'll have an excuse to make it again and use the Kabocha!
Thanks so much for your support!
Tom: I agree with you that sweet potatoes are sweeter than Kabocha, but within the pumpkin and squash family, I believe Kabocha is the most intensely flavoured, and sweetness.
Karen: Have you tried making the soup with just Kabocha?
RCakeWalk: I must try rice syrup next time when I make it. Please do let me know what you think of the Kabocha addition.
I've seen this japanese pumpkin in one of my local supermarkets, but they have a pale yellow flesh instead of the deep orange colour shown in the picture above. Does this indicate that the former ones have not fully ripen/matured and therefore not sweet?
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