How a Chef and a Professor Made the Perfect Squash for Roasting

Honeynut squash is a chef-designed, farmer-bred cousin of butternut that’s smaller, sweeter, and easier to cook (no peeling required!).

What do you get when a scientist and a star chef collaborate on a new variety of butternut squash? Honeynut: the butternut hybrid that’s smaller, denser, and more concentrated in flavor. Here’s the scoop on how the Honeynut came to be the vegetable phenomenon it is today, plus tips on how to select, store, and prep the sweet, petite autumn gourds.

Honeynut squash’s story starts back in the 1980s, when Cornell professor and vegetable breeder Richard W. Robinson first developed the miniature butternut varietal. Back then, people expected winter squash to be big, so there wasn’t much market for smaller varieties, no matter how innovative they were or how good they tasted.

Fast-forward to 2009: Dan Barber, the chef-owner of Michelin-starred Blue Hill in New York, featured roasted Honeynut squash on a menu he prepared for Cornell faculty members, including associate professor and plant breeder Michael Mazourek.

“Blue Hill was roasting the squash very hot to embrace the Maillard reactions that sensory scientists avoid in their studies,” Mazourek recalls. “It opened my eyes to the interaction of technique with flavor. … That dinner with Dan changed how I looked at breeding vegetables.” Mazourek set out to develop an even more delicious version, with a more concentrated flavor.

There’s a lot to love about Honeynut 2.0 (as Mazourek refers to today’s Honeynut varieties). The handheld size makes it easy to prepare and serve. Its sweet, smooth, colorful flesh is luscious in pies, soups, and mashes. And unlike regular butternut squash, Honeynut has thin skin that’s edible once roasted, meaning you don’t have to peel it. (If you do prefer it peeled, the skin slips off easily after roasting.)

Just like other specialty squash (including delicata), honeynuts are harvested in early fall and are at peak flavor and availability September through November. When Honeynut squash isn’t available, you can look for its cousins (also hybrids developed by Cornell), Brûlée and 898. Brûlée squash boasts extended storage times (6 months or more), so it may be easier to find after Honeynuts have gone out of season.

Honeynut squash’s skin turns from deep green to a rich honey hue as it matures, making it easy to find perfectly ripe specimens at the farmers market or in the supermarket produce section.

Choose Honeynut squash that are uniformly golden in color with smooth, unblemished skin. Wrinkled skin is a sign the squash is past its prime and beginning to dry out.

All mini-butternut varieties will keep for a month or more when stored in a cool, dry place. Keep cut and cooked squash in the fridge, but avoid refrigerating squash when it’s still whole. The refrigerator’s humid environment can promote mold development on the Honeynut’s thin skin. Sliced and cubed honeynut squash can also be frozen.

Honeynut squash was literally developed to be roasted, and roasting remains Mazourek’s prep method of choice. Roasted Honeynut halves are delicious on their own, and the flesh can be used in any recipe that calls for mashed, puréed, or even canned pumpkin or squash. Here’s how to roast it.

Honeynut squash’s petite size and edible skin make it an especially good option for stuffed squash dishes. Honeynuts can be used interchangeably with other types of winter squash (except spaghetti squash) in most recipes. Here are a few of our favorites to try.

Featured photo by Valereee, licensed via CC 4.0