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Squash, or dish pumpkin, is an annual herb of the pumpkin family, a common pumpkin type. People cultivate it all over the world; the plant is unknown in the wild.
Squash is a vegetable – people usually use the edible fruits of this plant in the same way as zucchini. The most common is to boil and fry the vegetable. Squash is a close relative of pumpkin. The best time to harvest the fruits is on the fifth or sixth day of ripening: graceful pumpkin-snowflakes are especially tender when you pluck them small. They are so beautiful that a rare chef will raise a hand to cut them into cubes or rings.
Squash are garden vegetables popular in our latitudes, close relatives of squash and pumpkin, whose homeland is Central America. It is noteworthy that only their young fruits, which you collect no later than 8 days after setting, are best to eat. If you skip this moment, they will become tasteless, suitable only for livestock feed.
What is squash?
In Europe, and then in our country, squash appeared in the 17th century, and people appreciated it immediately. Today, this vegetable garden is often present on many of our families’ tables in the summer season. And on garden beds, it is more common than, for example, spinach. We can explain this very simply – squash is quite easy to plant and unpretentious in care, and cooks have come up with a huge number of tasty, low-calorie dishes from their young fruits.
Squash Composition
This vegetable’s composition includes an amazing complex of vitamins that the body of any person needs – A, C, E, and PP, and some useful vitamins from group B.
The starch present and them will ensure the elimination of excess fat and toxic substances from the body; pectin can remove “bad” cholesterol. The enzymes containing the pulp and juice of the fruit help improve digestion, and the wonderful mineral complex, which includes phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron, sodium, and titanium, effectively replenish the body’s reserves and reduces the damage caused by free radicals.
Such useful properties of squash, with their regular use in food, will improve the work of all organs and systems. They have a particularly beneficial effect on the state of the cardiovascular and circulatory system if, of course, there are no contraindications to their use. This vegetable’s calorie content is negligible; you should use it for treating hypertension, anemia, atherosclerosis, and other vascular diseases and blood disorders.
BENEFICIAL FEATURES
The benefits of squash for our body are obvious. Their unique composition, which includes a huge amount of vitamins, minerals, and other useful substances that take part in all life support processes, contributes to overall health and protective forces’ strengthening. Perhaps only a unique sorrel can compete with it, which also has low-calorie content, has an excellent effect on the body’s general condition without harming it.
The beneficial properties of this vegetable directly depend on the micronutrients included in their composition, or, more precisely, on the effect they have on our organs and systems. In our country, there are highly popular to grow several varieties of squash. The orange variety will be the leader in the content of medicinal substances in its composition. People value it, first of all, for the content in its juicy pulp of such a rare substance for food as lutein. It is an excellent antioxidant, which supports vision, strengthens the immune system, and effectively prevents blood clots.
Beneficial composition
The high water content in young fruits contributes to their easy digestibility and protein breakdown. Squash takes part in the composition of special therapeutic diets. Their pulp is helping to reduce the harm done by anemia, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular ailments. Useful properties are present in the fruits of this garden plant but also in the seeds – they contain a huge amount of vegetable protein and lecithin, due to which they can compete even with a chicken egg in this parameter.
People are using seeds to strengthen the nervous and endocrine systems of our bodies. And the deliciously delicious squash juice helps prevent depression and other similar disorders.
POSSIBLE HARM
Despite the beneficial qualities, excessive use of squash with no control can harm your body instead of providing benefit, causing dysfunction of the digestive system. Besides, people should not include squash in the diet in case having diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, pancreas, and gastrointestinal tract. It is highly undesirable to give it to children in a can. Of course, we cannot exclude individual intolerance, which may have people prone to allergic reactions.
COOKING SECRETS
Unlike other garden vegetables, squash, such as radishes, requires heat treatment before eating. It is popular to fry, boil, stew, pickle, stuff, and can vegetable. After frying squash, it usually tastes like zucchini.
The taste will vary depending on the chosen cooking method. People use squash to prepare first courses, second courses, appetizers, and even desserts. Squash is an incredibly healthy vegetable, but you should include it in the diet carefully, excluding contraindications to its use.
Calorie content of squash
The calorie content of squash is 19 kcal per 100 grams of product.
The composition of the squash
Young ovaries are good for food, containing vitamins, sugar, mineral salts, enzymes, etc. The nutritional value of squash is higher than marrow, but the yield is lower. The fruits are precious for their high taste properties.
Its pulp is very dense, firm, crispy, tender. The fruits of technical ripeness contain 6-10% dry matter, 2-4% sugars, 20-30 mg / 100 g of vitamin C. Delicate taste, the beautiful and peculiar shape of the fruit make squash a decoration of the table.
Cosmetology masks
Squash nourishing mask for all skin types (universal)
You can prepare a nutritious squash mask as follows. Mix 1 tsp vegetable juice with egg yolk. You must apply the resulting mixture to the face for 20 minutes. After that, wash the mask off with warm water, then rinse the face with cold water.
Squash mask for dry skin
The squash mask helps to soften the skin, restores elasticity and tone, and nourishes it. Apply the grated squash to gauze, distribute over the face and neck area. This mask helps to moisturize and rejuvenate the skin. You can also spread thin rings of squash on the face and neck area.
Squash mask for combination skin
The mask has an excellent refreshing effect. For its preparation, grate the squash on a fine grater. Steam the oatmeal with water. Mix squash with oatmeal in a 1: 2 ratio. Apply the mask to the face for 20 minutes, then rinse with warm water or unboiled milk.
Use in folk medecine
The beneficial properties of the squash are highly appreciated in folk medicine. Tibetan healers treat gastritis and stomach ulcers with squash. The vegetables’ seeds and juice help relieve puffiness and improve the functioning of the kidneys, liver, and gallbladder.
Crush the clean seeds and take half an hour before meals, 1-2 tablespoons, wash down with water. You may also mix fresh squash juice with honey (1 teaspoon honey per 100 grams of juice) and take up to four times a day.
The juice also helps eliminate constipation; it is good to drink once a day on an empty stomach in 100-150 ml. Patissons have a regenerating effect. Therefore they help to treat damage to the skin and mucous membranes. To do this, lubricate the affected area with a small amount of fresh squash juice or apply gauze with grated pulp.
Squash baked with cheese and sour cream
Summer abundance. I will offer garnish squash that you need to bake in the oven with cheese and sour cream.
- Food (for 4 servings)
- Squash – 700 g
- Sour cream – 200 ml
- Hard cheese – 150 g
- Egg – 1 pc.
- Green onions (or fresh dill) – 20 g
- Salt to taste
- Ground black pepper – to taste
Check out the video overviewing how to grow a squash:
