Golden Nugget, Gold Nugget

A fairytale miniature pumpkin, this salmon-colored, finely-ridged, hard-shelled squash ranges from orange- to grapefruit-sized. Developed in North Dakota (in 1966) at the State University, where a great deal of research has been done with winter squash, the golden nugget has rather a spare quantity of flesh (the cavity is large), which is as brightly orange as the skin, moist, fairly firm, and very smooth. The flavor is mild and squashy, and can range from delightfully sweet and buttery to not-so-sweet and dull-bland. This is a squash in which full maturity is absolutely essential or it will have no taste. Be sure you follow selection guidelines.