The hard squash family, which includes pumpkins, is fascinating and extensive. The many varieties exhibit a wide range in color, texture (from superfine to stringy), and degree of sweetness. McGrath Family Farms is growing MOROCCAN PUMPKINS. Due to their bumpy exterior the easiest way to get to their sweet, orange flesh is to bake the…
This magnificent heirloom pumpkin variety was originally grown in southern France but ours are organically grown on California’s central coast. The Musque de Provence is heavily lobed and beautifully colored with amazingly thick walls of deep orange flesh. The flesh has a fine texture and rich flavor, and when cooked, weeps very little and holds…
Also known as the ” Pumpkin Patch Pumpkin,” this variety of winter Squash is bright orange and substantially smaller than the carving pumpkins that stare at us with candlelit smiles on Halloween night. The flesh of the Pie Pan Pumpkin is sweet and nutty, and never as bland as the flesh of the larger Pumpkin…
Elegant additions to any holiday décor, Baby Pam pumpkins with stem are also very highly rated for use in pumpkin pies. They are considered a “small pie” pumpkin variety, and are usually 5 to 8 inches in diameter and weigh around 2 pounds. To serve a main course soup or ragout in individual pumpkin ramekins,…
Amy Goldman wrote the definitive book on Squash, The Compleat Squash. In it she says the winter Luxury Pumpkin has outstanding flavor and testure, holds it shape when cut into quarters and roasted. The Winter Luxury are the ideal Pumpkins to make the very best Pumpkin pies.
These small (nickel-size or smaller) size French Breakfast, Easter Egg and Round French Radishes have exceedingly fine texture and beautiful color. Because Radishes grow so quickly, our farmer usually has this size for only two to three weeks at a time so grab them while you can!
Much smaller than regular Watermelon Radishes, and certified organic, these Baby Watermelon Radishes are about the size of a golf ball and their flesh is mottled with bright pink and creamy white. Very fine texture and midly radish-y.
On the evening of December 23, in the year 1897, the mayor of Oaxaca, Mexico, inaugurated the first Noche de los Rabanos, the Night of the Radishes. The festival honors Mexico’s introduction to the radish by the Spaniards. OAXACAN RADISHES grow to extraordinary sizes, and three days before the festival, artists begin carving these giant…
A Chinese variety, these beautiful little radishes have delicate texture and flavor. About the diameter of a Sharpie, Shunkyo Radishes yield beautiful, small slices.
Though its flavor is typically Radish, it is the Watermelon Radish’s arresting color combination makes it a perennial favorite.
Baby gold zucchini is a smaller version of the ever-popular gold bar squash. It is a great way to add its beatiful gold color to salads and side dishes. Baby gold zucchini does not travel as well as baby gold summer, so we recommend shipping this item by air.
BABY GREEN SCALLOPINI SQUAQSH has a beautiful dark green color and the shape of a pumped-up space ship. Closely related to Baby Green and Yellow Summer squash, this baby variety distinguishes itself with its unusual combination of color and shape. Not many growers plant this variety, and we think that’s a darned shame. BABY GREEN…
Specific scallop-edged BABY YELLOW SUMMER SQUASH varieties have been around since before 1860. This species, probably developed from a cross between a cucumber and a squash, was actually cultivated by Native Americans in pre-Columbian times, and is still a widely grown, highly-esteemed vegetable in the United States. It is excellent simply served with butter, but…
Baby Zucchini with Flowers are one of the most impressive and readily available specialty items. These female blossoms are larger than the male blossoms, which do not have the 8 attached. The male flowers are usually pan-fried or deep-fried, while these are best suited to stuffing and they create a lovely splash of color in…
Also known as Po Qwa, Pul Qua and Wee Lo Swa, Bottle Gourds are used as a vegetable while still immature. Treat them as a winter squash. If very fresh, they will keep as long as a month. To use, peel and scoop out the seeds, and cut as desired or cut in half, remove…
Buttercup looks similar to Kabocha but with a light colored button on the blossom end of the squash. It has a very thin shell, and dark orange, sweet, smooth flesh that tastes of honey, roasted chestnuts and sweet potato. And if you’re looking for a sweet winter squash with a dry texture, this is it!…
Calabaza (abobora, ahuyama, crapaudback, Cuban squash, giraumon, toadback, West Indian pumpkin, zapallo) is a very large, spherical or slightly pear-shaped squash with a fine-grained orange-colored flesh and a flavor similar to that of a pumpkin but moister and sweeter. Calabaza is popular throughout the Caribbean as well as Central and South America. This sweet hard…
An Italian heirloom variety, Butternut Rogosa Violina Gioia has a violin shape and rustic looking, wrinkled tan skin. The flesh is deep orange and sweet perfect for desserts, roasting, stuffing and baking. They weigh around 3 lbs each. Organically grown in California’ s central valley.
Tahitian Squash is a big, beautiful Hard Squash variety with a long, thick neck and small seed cavity in its base it basically looks like a giant Butternut Squash with a stretched neck. Tahitian Squash is very dense and each piece weighs around 10 pounds. It boasts gorgeous orange flesh, rich, sweet flavor, and very…
This plump, sweet vegetable has many monikers. In most of the U.S. it is called chayote, but the Aztecs who first cultivated it called it chayotl. It is christophene or brionne in the West Indies, chochoute in Madagascar, xuxu in Brazil and pepinella, mirliton or vegetable pear in other parts of the world. And as…
