Japanese Food Tips

Most Japanese translate kabocha into English as pumpkin. However, the kabocha that is actually distributed in Japan is buttercup winter squash (kabocha squash), which has a smooth, dark green skin. Summer squash or Halloween pumpkins, which are orange-skinned pumpkins, are rarely seen in Japan. So, most Japanese people think pumpkin is buttercup winter squash. It is characterized by its sweet, rich flavor, much like chestnuts and is in season from June to late November and becomes sweeter as winter approaches. In Japan, buttercup winter squash is often used for simmered dishes, salads, tempura, soups, and stir-fries. Simmered kabocha is especially common. Our recipe site has a simmered recipe, so please try cooking it! There is also ancient kabocha (Japanese squash), which has a lighter flavor than buttercup winter squash and has a bumpy, blackish-green skin. Today, Japanese squash is rarely grown. In Japan, there is a custom of eating kabocha on the winter solstice, and it is said that this custom was established in the Edo period (1603-1868). Unlike today, it was difficult to preserve most vegetables then. Kabocha, however, was easy to preserve and had high nutritional value, so the custom of eating kabocha on the winter solstice was born from the wisdom of the ancients, who wanted to survive the cold winter by eating it.