Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita
native to the New World, also called marrows depending on
variety or the nationality of the speaker. In North America,
squash is loosely grouped into summer squash or winter squash,
as well as autumn squash (another name is cheese squash)
depending on whether they are harvested as immature fruits
(summer squash) or mature fruits (autumn squash or winter
squash). Gourds are from the same family as squashes. Well known
types of squash include the pumpkin and zucchini. Summer
squashes, including young vegetable marrows (such as zucchini
also known as courgette, pattypan and yellow crookneck) are
harvested during the growing season, while the skin is still
tender and the fruit relatively small, they are consumed almost
immediately and require little or no cooking. Winter squashes
(such as butternut, Hubbard, buttercup, ambercup, acorn,
spaghetti squash and pumpkin) are harvested at maturity,
generally the end of summer, cured to further harden the sk