Summer squash can either refer to a squash plant with fruit that is harvested when immature, or the fruit itself. The word "summer" reflects their early harvest period and short storage life, in contrast to winter squashes. Some Cucurbita species and varieties are cultivated for both "summer" and "winter" fruit.
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👉 Summer squash in the context of Healthy diet
A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthful diet provides the body with essential nutrition: water, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.
A healthy diet may contain fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and may include little to no ultra-processed foods or sweetened beverages. The requirements for a healthy diet can be met from a variety of plant-based and animal-based foods, although additional sources of vitamin B12 are needed for those following a vegan diet. Various nutrition guides are published by medical and governmental institutions to educate individuals on what they should be eating to be healthy. Not only advertising may drive preferences towards unhealthy foods. To reverse this trend, consumers should be informed, motivated and empowered to choose healthy diets. Nutrition facts labels are also mandatory in some countries to allow consumers to choose between foods based on the components relevant to health.
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Summer squash in the context of Cucurbita
Cucurbita (Latin for 'gourd') is a genus of herbaceous fruits in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae (also known as cucurbits or cucurbi), native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five edible species are grown and consumed for their flesh and seeds. They are variously known as squash, pumpkin, or gourd, depending on species, variety, and local parlance. Other kinds of gourd, also called bottle-gourds, are native to Africa and belong to the genus Lagenaria, which is in the same family and subfamily as Cucurbita, but in a different tribe; their young fruits are eaten much like those of the Cucurbita species.
There is debate about the taxonomy of the genus and the number of accepted species varies from 13 to 30. The five domesticated species are Cucurbita argyrosperma, C. ficifolia, C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo, all of which can be treated as winter squash because the full-grown fruits can be stored for months. However, C. pepo includes some cultivars that are better used only as summer squash.
Summer squash in the context of Cucurbita pepo
Cucurbita pepo is a cultivated plant of the genus Cucurbita. It yields varieties of winter squash and pumpkin, but the most widespread varieties belong to the subspecies Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo, called summer squash.
It has been domesticated in the Americas for thousands of years, from where it was spread by early colonisers to Europe and later across the rest of the Old World in the context of the Columbian Exchange. Some authors maintain that C. pepo is derived from C. texana, while others suggest that C. texana is merely feral C. pepo. They have a wide variety of uses, especially as a food source. C. pepo seems more closely related to C. fraterna, though disagreements exist about the exact nature of that connection, too.
Summer squash in the context of Winter squash
Winter squash is an annual fruit representing several squash species within the genus Cucurbita. Late-growing, less symmetrical, odd-shaped, rough or warty varieties, small to medium in size, but with long-keeping qualities and hard rinds, are usually called winter squash. They differ from summer squash in that they are harvested and eaten in the mature stage when their seeds within have matured fully and their skin has hardened into a tough rind. At this stage, most varieties of this vegetable can be stored for use during the winter. Winter squash is generally cooked before being eaten, and the skin or rind is not usually eaten as it is with summer squash.
Summer squash in the context of Zucchini
Zucchini (/zuːˈkiːni/ zoo-KEE-nee; pl. zucchini or zucchinis; in Italy, Australia, and North America), courgette (/kʊərˈʒɛt/ koor-ZHET; in France and Britain), or Cucurbita pepo var. cylindrica is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are still soft and edible. It is closely related, but not identical, to the marrow; its fruit may be called marrow when mature.
Ordinary zucchini fruit are any shade of green, though the golden zucchini is a deep yellow or orange. At maturity, they can grow to nearly 1 metre (3 feet) in length, but they are normally harvested at about 15–25 cm (6–10 in). In botany, the zucchini's fruit is a pepo, a berry (the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower) with a hardened epicarp. In cookery, it is treated as a vegetable, usually cooked and eaten as an accompaniment or savory dish, though occasionally used in sweeter cooking.