No Need to Peel! Some Squash Skins Are Edible – Find Out Which!

No need to wait until Halloween to get spooked by a squash. Just the thought of having to peel one can send shivers down your spine! Confronted with these often hefty, unevenly shaped gourds, it’s understandable to feel utterly defeated. Even the sharpest knives struggle to make an impression: their tough, rugged skins fiercely resist our desperate slicing attempts. Vegetable peelers approach the task with equal trepidation, always on the verge of slipping at the first encounter with a bump. Needless to say, we’re all for skipping the peeling chore… when possible, at least.

It’s well known that some varieties don’t require peeling. A prime example is the red kuri squash, whose very thin skin softens during cooking. On the other hand, the skins of very mature pumpkins and Provence musquée squash, which are thicker, must be removed. Then there are ambiguous cases that are hard to decide on, like the butternut squash. Most of us opt to peel it before cooking, fearing it might be tough to chew. Well, you’ll be pleased to know that you’re sometimes working harder than necessary.

As gardening enthusiast Mélanie Guisset points out, butternut squashes can be eaten with their skin on if they are young or small. In this case, they can be roasted in the oven, simply halved or cut into pieces on a baking sheet, drizzled with oil and aromatic herbs, or steamed (or in a pot) for a tender, lighter result. For older specimens that you might not want to peel, there’s always the option to make them into a soup or purée, perhaps simmering them a bit longer than usual. After a good blend with an immersion blender (or a regular blender), their skins blend seamlessly into the mixture without a trace…

And just for good measure, the same rule applies to scallop squashes, spaghetti squashes, and small edible decorative squashes like Jack Be Little, Baby Boo, or Sweet Dumpling (also known as patidou). There are plenty of options to save you from breaking a sweat over the cutting board!