Benefits Of Summer Squash

Summer squash belongs to the group of squashes that is harvested when it is immature. In other words, it is harvested while the rind is still tender and edible. The fruit is small in size and can be eaten with little or no cooking. It hails from the family of Cucurbitaceae and shares some similarity with melon and cucumber. Though widely available throughout the year, its main growing season is the summer months between May and July. Summer squash comes in different varieties, all of which share some common characteristics. Some of the widely known varieties of summer squash are Zucchini, Crookneck and Straightneck Squash and Pattypan Squash. Whole of the vegetable is edible, including its flesh, seeds and skin. In certain varieties, even the flowers are edible.

 

Summer squash is more fragile in comparison to the winter squash and thus can be stored only for short time period. It originally grew as a wild plant in the area between Gautemala and Mexico. It has been more than 10,000 years since the fruit is being eaten by people. Earlier, it was eaten primarily for its seeds, as it contained less of flesh, which generally tasted bitter. Now, the whole of the fruit is consumed. With the passage of time, summer squash came to be cultivated extensively all around America. Christopher Columbus brought it back to Europe. Consequently, the Portuguese and Spanish explorers brought the cultivation of summer squash to different corners of the world. Today, the leading commercial producers of the squash are China, Japan, Romania, Turkey, Italy, Egypt, and Argentina.