Butternut squash is a winter squash, but it actually matures in late summer and early fall. The name is a playful misdirection—it’s harvested in autumn but can be stored through winter.
5 Signs Your Butternut Squash are Ready for Harvest - The Seasonal
In Italy, butternut squash is often called zucca and used in risottos that taste like golden velvet. In the American South, it gets roasted with brown butter and sage until it becomes a savory candy.
Here’s a fun little fact: butternut squash was developed in the 1940s by a botanist named Charles Leggett. He crossed a Gooseneck squash with a Hubbard squash, creating the smooth-necked, seed-packed beauty we know today. He was basically the Steve Jobs of squashes.
