A Sweeter, Creamier Butternut Squash Is Coming To Whole Foods This Fall

Pumpkin may lead the charge of ushering in all things fall, but autumn is also the season of squash. You can cook with many types of pumpkin and squash, but butternut squash gets a lot of attention due to its mild flavor and wide availability. The problem with butternut squash is that for every sweet and creamy, long-necked, bulbed-bottom one you peel, seed, and chop, another one is pale, stringy, and bland. Sure, you can disguise those flaws with a heavy hit of sugar or spices before cooking, but if you would rather just start with a consistently better squash, there is good news on the horizon.

Row 7 Seed Company is dedicated to developing produce and seeds through careful breeding and cross-pollination efforts (in addition to time) that offer superior flavor and texture, including potatoes, beets, tomatoes, Sweet Garleek, and, of course, squash. If you have encountered the petite Honeynut squash in the last several years, then you are already familiar with Row 7 and the highly flavored and vibrantly colored squash it grows, but the Honeypatch is different than Honeynut. This fall, in close to 300 Whole Foods stores on the East and West Coasts, the Honeypatch squash is one to look for. Honeypatch is sold in a multipack, with 2 to 3 small squash per package, for $5.99 and is currently available on the West Coast, with East Coast availability imminent.

More than just a shrunken version of a butternut squash (though that's exactly what it looks like), the Honeypatch squash was carefully developed by vegetable breeder Michael Mazourek to have a sweet, creamy, and deeply orange interior, as well as a long shelf life. Honeypatch can be used similarly to a butternut squash, so it's easy to swap into your favorite roasted squash salad, become the base of a soup, or be mixed into a savory quiche with bacon. The earthy-sweet flavor of the squash pairs well with everything from fiery chiles, fresh herbs, and salty spices, to dessert recipes laced with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

Beyond using a Honeypatch as part of a recipe, it can also be served very simply: halved, seeded and roasted until it's tender and scoopable. There is some variation in size between Honeypatch squash, as there is with all things grown, but its small size means that one squash can easily serve one to two people. This helps eliminate the hassle and potential food waste of storing large squash.