Cucurbita pepo.

One of the most astonishing squashes in the world — not for its outward appearance (a fairly ordinary cream-yellow oval fruit), but for what hides inside: flesh that, when cooked, spontaneously breaks down into long parallel filaments unmistakably evoking strands of pasta — hence the name. Native to Japan, where it was developed around the middle of the 19th century, spaghetti squash was introduced to North America in 1936 by the Japanese seed house Sakata Seed Co., and commercially distributed by Burpee under the English name Vegetable Spaghetti.

For decades it remained a curiosity for passionate gardeners; it experienced a major renaissance in the 1990s-2000s with the low-carb diet wave, which turned it into the vegetable alternative to pasta. Botanically, it's still and always a Cucurbita pepo — the same species as all squashes (zucchini, pumpkins, crookneck, marrow squash, Delicata).

Elongated oval fruits, broad-egg-shaped, 20 to 30 cm long, with smooth firm skin of a beautiful uniform cream-yellow at full maturity — skin colour is itself one of the best maturity indicators (harvest when the yellow is solid and the skin resists thumb pressure). Raw flesh pale yellow, firm, without particular flavour, but cooked, the magic happens: cut the squash lengthwise in two, scoop out the seeds, bake 40 to 50 minutes at 200 °C (or 20 minutes in the microwave for the hurried), then scrape the flesh with a fork to get the extraordinary "spaghetti" effect — hundreds of fine parallel filaments releasing in a bouquet. Mild, neutral, lightly sweet flavour, to be served as you would pasta: with tomato sauce and meatballs (the spaghetti and meatballs version with real spaghetti squash in place of pasta), with alfredo sauce and parmesan, with Genoese basil pesto already described in our pages, with butter and cheese, with bolognese sauce, or simply with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Also excellent sautéed aglio e olio, baked au gratin with mozzarella, or in a vegetable pad thai with peanuts and lime.

Grower's tip: Indoor start 3 to 4 weeks before transplanting, or direct-sow in early June once the soil is well warmed to 18 °C. Vigorous semi-running plant to spread over 3 to 4 metres, spaced 1 m apart. Like all Cucurbita pepo already described, vulnerable to the squash vine borer (Melittia cucurbitae) — same prevention advice. Harvest at full maturity when the skin is uniformly yellow and the stem turns dry (generally late September in Québec, before the first hard frost). Post-harvest curing of 7 to 10 days at room temperature to develop sugars and harden the skin.

Storage: 2 to 4 months in a cool dry root cellar (10-15 °C, 50-70 % humidity — careful not to place it somewhere too damp like some other squashes); shorter than Butternut or Buttercup already described, longer than Delicata.

• Open-pollinated. Japanese heirloom variety, introduced to North America in 1936. Annual. Monoecious, bee-pollinated, so crosses with other Cucurbita pepo (zucchini, crookneck, pumpkins, marrow, Delicata, pattypan) — isolate for seed saving.
• Vine length: 3 to 4 m, semi-running habit.
• Maturity: 100 to 110 days after transplant.
• Exposure: full sun, warmth.
• Very rich, well-drained, warm soil. Generous compost application at planting. Space plants 1 m apart.
• Indoor start 3 to 4 weeks before transplanting, or direct-sow in early June in Québec once the soil is at 18 °C. Storage 2 to 4 months in the cellar (10-15 °C, dry).