I never ate any kind of squash when I was a child, but I’ve eaten summer squashes like green zucchini and yellow squash as an adult. It’s only been in the last couple of years that I’ve tried any of the winter squashes: Butternut Squash, Spaghetti Squash, and Delicata Squash.

When people in the 1800s cooked foods in their wood burning stoves, there were no thermometers. So recipes referred to the oven temperature as a slow, moderate, or hot oven. The cook gauged the heat based on how long she could hold her hand inside it without burning.

Slow oven = 300-325 degrees Fahrenheit 
Moderate oven = 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit
Hot oven = 400-425 degrees Fahrenheit

INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS:

Winter Squash is the kind of squash that may be removed from the vine in the fall and stored for winter use. Although both summer and winter squashes are closely related, they differ considerably in appearance, flavor, texture, and composition.

The different varieties of winter squash are usually larger than summer squashes and have a very hard outside covering. They also contain less water and more carbohydrate and have a higher food value. Winter squashes are usually taken from the vines in the fall before the frost sets in.

Before they are placed in storage, they are allowed to lie in the sunshine for a few days until the skin hardens. If the outside covering is unmarred when the squashes are stored, they will remain in good condition almost the entire winter season, provided the storage place is cool and dry.

COOKING WINTER SQUASH
To prepare winter squash for cooking, cut it open, remove the seeds, and peel off the outside skin. Because of the hardness of the covering, a cleaver or a hatchet is generally required to open the squash and cut it into pieces. With this done, scrape out the seeds and with a very sharp large knife, peel off the skin. The squash may then be cooked in any suitable manner.

MASHED SQUASH
If winter squash is desired as a vegetable, it is very often boiled and then mashed. Squash prepared in this way, with the exception of the seasoning, is also used for pie that is similar to pumpkin. In fact, many persons prefer the flavor of squash pie to that of pumpkin pie.

Cut pieces of peeled winter squash into cubes about one inch in size. Put these to cook in a small amount of boiling water, add enough salt to season, and cook until tender and quite dry. Season the cooked squash with pepper, add one tablespoon of butter for each four persons to be served, and if desired to increase the sweet taste, add a small amount of sugar. Mash until smooth and serve hot.

BAKED WINTER SQUASH
Winter squash, because of its hard covering, is very satisfactory when baked in the shell. Wash a squash and cut or split it into pieces of suitable size for serving. Remove the seeds from each piece and make several gashes (at right angles to one another) cutting through the pulp down to the shell. Place the pieces (shell down) on the grating in the oven and bake (at moderate temperature) until the pulp is tender. Serve hot, with butter, salt, and pepper.

SQUASH AU GRATIN
Wash, pare and cut the squash into pieces, discarding the seeds. Steam until tender and then drain well and stand on the back of the range to dry. Now rub the pulp through a sieve. Measure and add to each cup of pulp:
One well-beaten egg,
Two tablespoons of butter,
One teaspoon of salt,
One-half teaspoon of paprika,
Two tablespoons of milk,
One tablespoon of finely minced parsley.

Pour into a well-greased baking dish and cover with fine bread crumbs and two tablespoons of grated cheese. Bake in a slow oven for twenty minutes.

SQUASH PUDDING
Take a large heaping cup of Hubbard squash, measured after it is baked and mashed smooth, a heaping tablespoon of butter, melted and stirred into the squash, a heaping teaspoon of flour mixed with four tablespoons of milk, and one egg beaten light. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and turn into a buttered pudding dish and bake about twenty minutes. Serve in the dish in which it is baked. If any is left over, make it up into little round cakes and brown in butter for luncheon.

SQUASH PUDDING No. 2
Pare, cut in pieces, and stew in a very little water, a yellow winter squash. When it is quite soft, drain it dry, and mash it in a colander. Then put it into a pan, and mix with it one=fourth pound of butter. Prepare two pounded crackers or an equal quantity of grated stale bread. Stir gradually one-fourth pound of powdered sugar into a quart of rich milk, and add by degrees, the squash, and the powdered biscuit. Beat nine eggs very light, and stir them gradually into the mixture. Add a glass of white wine, a glass of brandy, a glass of rose water, and a table-spoonful of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon powdered. Stir the whole very hard, till all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Bake it three-fourths of an hour in a buttered dish and when cold, grate white sugar over it.

SQUASH SOUFFLE
To one cup of cooked squash pulp, add one tablespoon of grated onion, two tablespoons of finely minced parsley, one tablespoon of melted butter, two teaspoons of salt, one teaspoon of paprika, one cup of very thick cream sauce, and the yolks of two eggs.
Beat to blend and then carefully fold in the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs. Pour into well-greased individual custard cups and set in a pan of warm water. Bake slowly in a moderate oven until firm in the center, usually about twenty minutes. Let stand about three minutes after removing from the oven and then turn on a slice of toast and cover with cheese sauce and serve.

SQUASH ITALIENNE
Take one and one-half cups of prepared squash pulp, one and one-half teaspoons of salt, one teaspoon of paprika, two tablespoons of finely minced parsley, Two tablespoons of finely minced onions.

Mix thoroughly and then dice two ounces of salt pork. Brown the salt pork nicely and then drain off about one-half of the fat in the pan. Turn the squash mixture on the salt pork and heat and serve.

SQUASH BISCUIT
Place in a bowl three and one-half cups of sifted flour, one teaspoon salt, and five teaspoons baking powder. Sift to mix and then rub in five tablespoons of lard and mix with one cup of cooked squash pulp. Work to a dough and blend evenly, then roll out on a slightly floured board three-quarters of an inch thick. Cut and brush the tops with milk and bake in a hot oven for fifteen minutes.

Squash may be used to replace potatoes when making bread. Add one cup of squash pulp to ginger-bread, or when making small cakes. It will be found to be delicious when used this way.

Image from Deposit Photos

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