Kabocha

Kabocha is hard on the outside with knobbly-looking skin that is often dark green, red-orange, or gray. It is shaped like a squat pumpkin and has an intense yellow-orange color on the inside. In many respects it is similar to buttercup squash, but without the characteristic protruding "cup" on the bottom. An average kabocha weighs two to three pounds, but a large squash can weigh as much as eight pounds. == Culinary use ==

Kabocha has an exceptionally sweet flavor, even sweeter than butternut squash. It is similar in texture and flavor to a pumpkin and sweet potato combined. Some kabocha can taste like russet potatoes or chestnuts. The rind is edible, although some cooks may peel it to speed up the cooking process or to suit their personal taste preferences. Kabocha is commonly used in side dishes and soups, or as a substitute for potato or other squash varieties. It can be roasted after cutting the squash in half, scooping out the seeds, and then cutting the squash into wedges. With a little cooking oil and seasoning, it can be baked in the oven. Likewise, cut kabocha halves can be added to a pressure cooker and steamed under high pressure for 15–20 minutes. One can slowly bake kabocha whole and uncut in a convection oven, after which the entire squash becomes soft and edible, including the rind. Kabocha is available all year but is best in late summer and early fall. Kabocha is primarily grown in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, California, Florida, Hawaii, Southwestern Colorado, Mexico, Tasmania, Tonga, New Zealand, Chile, Jamaica, and South Africa, but is widely adapted for climates that provide a growing season of 100 days or more. Most of the kabocha grown in California, Colorado, Tonga and New Zealand is actually exported to Japan. Japan In Japan, kabocha is a common ingredient in vegetable tempura and is also made into soup and croquettes. Less traditional but popular uses include incorporation in desserts such as pies, pudding, and ice cream. Nimono of japanese pumpkin 2014.jpg|Nimono of kabocha, part of Japanese cuisine Tempura.JPG|Shown on the right, kabocha is a common ingredient in tempura Korea In Korea, danhobak () is commonly used for making hobak-juk (pumpkin porridge). Danhobak literally means 'sweet pumpkin'. Danhobak-buchimgae 2.jpg|Danhobak-buchimgae (kabocha pancake) Danhobak-jjim 2.jpg|Danhobak-jjim (steamed kabocha) topped with red beans and jujube Danhobak-juk.jpg|Danhobak-juk (kabocha porridge) Danhobak salad (kabocha squash salad).jpg|Danhobak-salad (kabocha salad) Danhobak-sanyak-yanggaeng.jpg|Danhobak-sanyak-yanggaeng (kabocha and yam jelly) Danhobak latte.jpg|Danhobak-latte (kabocha latte) Thailand Fak thong (Thai: ฟักทอง) is used in traditional Thai desserts and main courses. Kabocha is used in Jamaican chicken foot soup. ==Nutrition==

This squash is rich in beta carotene, with iron, vitamin C, potassium, and smaller traces of calcium, folic acid, and minute amounts of B vitamins. ==Ripeness==

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, by first ripening the kabocha in a warm place (77 °F/25 °C) for 13 days to convert some of the starch to sugar. Then the kabocha is transferred to a cool place (50 °F/10 °C) and stored for about a month in order to increase carbohydrate content. In this way the just-harvested, dry, bland-tasting kabocha is transformed into a smooth, sweet kabocha. Fully ripened, succulent kabocha will have reddish-yellow flesh, a hard skin, and a dry, corky stem. It reaches the peak of ripeness about 1.5–3 months after it is harvested. ==History==

All squashes were domesticated in Mesoamerica. In 1997, new evidence suggested that domestication occurred 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, a few thousand years earlier than previous estimates. That would be 4,000 years earlier than the domestication of maize and beans, the other major food plant groups in Mesoamerica. Archeological and genetic plant research in the 21st century suggests that the peoples of eastern North America independently domesticated squash, sunflower, marsh elder, and chenopod. Portuguese sailors introduced kabocha to Japan in 1541, bringing it with them from Cambodia. The Portuguese name for the squash, Camboja abóbora (), was shortened by the Japanese to kabocha. Alternatively, the Portuguese origin is the word cabaça for gourd. Kabocha is written in Kanji as (literally, "southern melon"), and it is also occasionally referred to as (Nanking melon). In China, this term is applied to many types of squashes with harder skin and beefier flesh (including pumpkins), not just kabochas. == Gallery ==

File:Kabocha (GH) 21June2005 sown 14June.JPG|Seedling File:Kabocha 5July2005 sown 14June.JPG|First leaf File:Kabocha KK 17July2005.JPG|Branching habit File:Kabocha female 4August2005 (side) sown 14June.JPG|Flower File:Kabocha males 4August2005 sown 14June.JPG|Flower and flower bud File:Kabocha KK female fruit 9August2005 sown 14June.JPG|Young fruit File:Kabocha 1st Harvest 18September2005.JPG|Whole squashes File:Kabocha Cut Open 29September2005.jpg|Section, showing seeds File:Kabocha Flower Scar 18September2005.JPG|Flower scar File:Kabocha Peduncle 18September2005.JPG|Peduncle File:Kabocha Roasted 29September2005.jpg|Dish of roasted kabocha ==See also==