Spaghetti Squash in the Spotlight

The fall season not only marks the beginning of cool weather, but it also introduces autumn produce! Pumpkins and apples are popular choices among consumers at farm markets during this time of year, but spaghetti squash is often overlooked. Baking and scraping the inside of the squash reveals spaghetti-like flesh that is lower in calories and more nutrient dense than typical spaghetti. As spaghetti squash starts to take root in American households, it’s important to recognize the origins and development of this unique squash. 

  The traditional ‘Vegetable’ spaghetti squash, which grows on vines, originated in Mexico and Central America, but ‘Orangetti,’ a more commonly seen orange spaghetti squash that grows in a more compact habitat, was developed in Israel during the early 1990s. ‘Orangetti’ was then altered into ‘Hasta la pasta,’ which grows similarly to other summer squashes like zucchini and yellow squash, allowing it to be grown in the U.S.

If you're wondering how these types of squash differ, researchers from the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station compared ‘Vegetable’ and ‘Hasta la pasta’ squashes according to a nutrient analysis and consumer preferences. Nutritionally, the ‘Vegetable’ squash contains slightly more glucose and sucrose than ‘Hasta la pasta,’ which could explain their participants’ taste preferences for ‘Vegetable’ squash. Visually, however, consumers preferred ‘Hasta la pasta’ due to its brighter outer orange coloring. In retail, they found that more ‘Vegetable’ spaghetti squash were sold, but the researchers suggest this may not be solely attributed to taste preference. ‘Vegetable’ spaghetti squash plants produce a greater yield compared to ‘Hasta la pasta,’ so more ‘Vegetable’ spaghetti squash may be sold simply because of the plant’s  efficient production of fruit, causing farmers to harvest larger quantities of ‘Vegetable’ squash. 

Before the seasons change and winter arrives, stop by your local market to try spaghetti squash. Can you spot or taste differences between the squash? Instead of cooking the same old pumpkin recipes, get creative with spaghetti squash this year!

Red this information and more at: https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/v5-445.html and http://www.eatright.org/resource/food/nutrition/healthy-eating/fall-produce-picks