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Calabaza is the generic name in the Spanish language for any type of
winter squash Winter squash is an annual fruit representing several squash species within the genus ''Cucurbita''. Late-growing, less symmetrical, odd-shaped, rough or warty varieties, small to medium in size, but with long-keeping qualities and hard rinds, a ...
. Within an English-language context it specifically refers to what is also known as the West Indian pumpkin, a winter squash typically grown in the West Indies, tropical America, and the Philippines. Calabaza is the common name for ''
Cucurbita moschata ''Cucurbita moschata'' is a species originating in either Central America or northern South America. It includes cultivars known as squash or pumpkin. ''C. moschata'' cultivars are generally more tolerant of hot, humid weather than cultivars of ...
'' in Cuba, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines (where it is also spelled ''kalabasa''). ''C. moschata'' is also known as ''auyama'' in Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela; ''ayote'' in Central America; ''zapallo'' in certain countries of South America; and "pumpkin", "squash", or "calabash" in English-speaking islands.


Etymology

The French term ''calebasse'', and hence the English "calabash", is based on the older Spanish.


Cultivars

In North America, the Spanish word ''calabaza'' may refer to any of several species of squash of the genus '' Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly used for cultivars of the species '' C. moschata'', which is native to the Caribbean. The skin color typically varies from dark green to light yellow. The flesh can also vary in color, but most common is bright orange or yellow. Varieties differ somewhat in taste and texture, but are generally slightly sweet with a firm but soft texture. Cultivars of the species '' C. maxima'' may also use the term if they resemble the ''C. moschata'' cultivars, and widespread species '' C. foetidissima'' specifically identifies "calabaza" as one of its common names.


Botanical description

Calabaza plants are monoecious and are pollinated by insects like honeybees and bumblebees. The plants have long internodes and vines that are up to from the crown of the fruit to the plant. Most plants have vine-type growth; however, there are some ''Cucurbita moschata'' that are recorded to have bush-type growth. They typically yield between two and fifteen fruits, but the bush types provide higher yields. The fruit may weigh , and fruit shape varies from oval, spheroid, obovate, pear, oblate, to elliptic. Improved types tend to be spheroid, oblate or flat. The rind varies in color from a light to dark green when immature and a light orange to beige when mature, and can be smooth or warted. The inside flesh is green-yellow to orange in color and is about thick.


Uses

Calabaza is eaten many different ways, such as in stews, cakes, and candies. It can also be used in place of pumpkin varieties. The taste is smooth and somewhat sweet. Calabaza is a good source of beta-carotene, some of which can be converted into vitamin A. Under Spanish colonial influence, ''C. moschata'' became established in the Philippines and is a staple vegetable used in a variety of dishes. It is known in Filipino as ''kalabasa'', or in
Philippine English Philippine English (similar and related to American English) is any variety of English native to the Philippines, including those used by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos and English learners in the Philippines from adja ...
as "squash" or "pumpkin". The flower (''flor de calabaza'') is used as an ingredient in
quesadilla A quesadilla (; ; Mexican diminutive of ''quesada'') is a Mexican dish consisting of a tortilla that is filled primarily with cheese, and sometimes meats, spices, and other fillings, and then cooked on a griddle or stove. Traditionally, a c ...
s,
empanada An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spanish, other Southern European, Latin American, and Iberian-influenced cultures around the world. The name comes from the Spanish (to bread, i ...
s and other dishes in Mexican cuisine and New Mexican cuisine, and in pupusas in Salvadoran cuisine. The flowers (''bulaklak ng kalabasa'') are also commonly eaten stuffed (''relyeno'' or ''relleno''), or as ingredients in soups in
Philippine cuisine Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose F ...
, along with young leaves (''talbos ng kalabasa''). The seeds, toasted and seasoned, known as ''
pepita A pumpkin seed, also known in North America as a pepita (from the Mexican es, pepita de calabaza, "little seed of squash"), is the edible seed of a pumpkin or certain other cultivars of squash. The seeds are typically flat and asymmetrically ...
s'', are a common snack.


See also

* Kabocha *
Butternut squash Butternut squash ('' Cucurbita moschata''), known in Australia and New Zealand as butternut pumpkin or gramma, is a type of winter squash that grows on a vine. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has tan-yellow skin an ...


References

{{Cookbook, Calabaza Fruit vegetables Philippine cuisine Jamaican cuisine Mexican cuisine Salvadoran cuisine Central American cuisine Flora of Jamaica Mesoamerican cuisine Cucurbitoideae