Hubbard

Hubbard (Baby Blue), another scaled-down squash for smaller families, is a Buttercup and Blue Hubbard cross (Cucurbita maxima) and one of the few “baby” cultivars that retain the thick, dry flesh of real storage pumpkins. (How anyone ever packed those biggies into this little chassis, I don’t know.) Typically, it ranges from 3 to 5 pounds. The 2-pound sample pictured is smaller than characteristic, but it tasted just dandy. Baked or steamed, the smooth, starchy, golden-orange flesh happily suggests both its parents. The plump baby holds its shape neatly for stuffing or for serving in wedges. The skin does not make for good eating.