BEHR Gemüsegarten: Products

Butternut pumpkin

There are five main types of squash or pumpkin, which together produce hundreds of different varieties. The three species that can be found in our latitudes are the muscat pumpkin, the garden pumpkin and giant pumpkin. Butternut pumpkin is a variety of muscat pumpkin and is now considered to be the finest edible pumpkin. Muscat pumpkins have been around since 1000–3000 BC and originate from modern-day New Mexico and Peru. They are therefore very heat-loving plants.

Even the name butternut indicates that its melt-in-the-mouth, light-orange flesh has a buttery, slightly nutty aroma. Butternut pumpkin has a pear or peanut-like shape with an average length of 15 to 30 cm.

Its skin is cream-coloured, slightly yellowish. Compared to other types of pumpkin, butternut has a thin, easily peelable skin and a relatively small core. This core is only found in the lower part of the butternut pumpkin. The upper part has no core. As a result, it has a very high pulp content and is also particularly easy to process.

Cultivation and harvesting

We grow our butternut pumpkin in Winsen/Luhe, south of Hamburg (Lower Saxony).

It is an annual, frost-sensitive plant that puts out long tendrils.

Plenty of space is therefore needed for cultivation. Pumpkins need adequate fertilisation and thrive in particularly humus-rich soils with an even supply of water.

The pumpkins are harvested entirely by hand in late summer and into the autumn.

Preparation and freshness tips

To prepare the pumpkin, first cut it in half using a sharp knife. Then scrape the seeds out of the pumpkin halves with a spoon. Now remove the skin using a knife or peeler. Now you can chop the pumpkin into pieces of any size, cut it into slices or grate it finely.

Butternut pumpkin is extremely versatile. It can be used for baking, roasting, stuffing, soups and casseroles. Its nutty, buttery flavour makes it ideal for savoury dishes as well as pies, cakes and jams.

When buying a butternut pumpkin, make sure that its skin is smooth and intact and that the stem base is still present, otherwise rot can quickly set in at the cut.