[Sca-cooks] squash recipes

[Decker, Terry D.]

Gourds have round stems and the stems in the picture are ribbed (a feature
found in the Cucurbita and a point used in determining species).  The squash
in the painting closely resemble the Japanese pumpkin.  Other sources have
identified them as squash, so I'm comfortable with the identification.

There is a second rather large pumpkin shaped fruit in the picture, but the
stem is hidden under a plate placed upon it, so it may be either a pumpkin
or a basket gourd.

Still Life with Fruit, which I believe is a Carravagio from roughly the same
period has a more gourd-like fruit which can be identified as a squash.

Bear

> How do you know it is squash? The picture of an edible gourd in _The
> Four Seasons of the House of Cerruti_, which is from before Columbus,
> looks rather like a modern squash. Different varieties of C. Pepo
> vary a lot, and I presume the same would be true for the old world
> gourds.
> --
> David/Cariadoc