Cucurbita moschata Duch.
This variety of pumpkin has a fibrous pulp and releases a lot of liquid when cooked. Therefore, it is widely used in Brazil to prepare desserts, either cubed and candied, cooked in syrup or mashed into a paste, all of them popular at tables of the Southeast region. In the Northeast of the country, it is cooked with meat and also used in salads, soups and mashes. Butternut is one of the largest squash varieties – some can weigh over twenty pounds. Plump at the bottom and tapered in the upper part, forming a “neck” (hence the name “de pescoço” in Portuguese), it is a relative of another squash found in Brazilian markets: the abóbora- paulista (literally, “São Paulo squash”), very similar in shape and color, but smaller in size. Butternut squash can be found all over the country; the best ones are harvested from June to September.
