Introduction
Most of the population loves gardening and planting trees. It is a hobby of thousands of people all across the world to grow fresh vegetables and seasonal fruits in their gardens. Zucchini and squash are two most loved vegetables grown by people in their gardens throughout the year as there are summer as well as winter zucchini and squash varieties plants present. Zucchini is a summer squash. it can reach a meter in length but is usually harvested at half that size or less for better taste. Though zucchini can be avail throughout the year, the best ones grow during late spring. Squash is a versatile healthy fruit under which zucchini falls as summer squash.
Difference Between Zucchini and Squash in Tabular Form
| Parameters | Moist, rich, and nutty in texture. | Squash |
| Definition | Zucchini is a long, thin vegetable with green skin. It is a summer squash. | Squash is a healthy fruit which is served as cooked. |
| Texture | Crunchy in texture. | Moist, rich, nutty in texture. |
| Size | Six to eight inches. | It can grow up to 10 inches long. |
What is Zucchini?
Zucchini resembles the cucumber and the color varies from a pale yellow to a deep green. The zucchini is also known as courgette in many countries and can grow to about a meter in length. It gives us about 17 calories. The vegetable is low in calories, and most of it is water.
Types of Zucchinis
1. Black Beauty- It is one of the most popular varieties of zucchini in the market. It is glossy green in color and available over a long season. It is also a compact bush variety that is suitable for small containers and small gardens.
2. Raven- Raven is dark green zucchini that is loaded with lutein. Lutein is an antioxidant that protects the eyes from ultraviolet damage. It is a good variety of zucchini for a small garden.
3. Fordhook- It is a cylindrical and smooth green fruit. Mostly it is straight in shape, but there can be a few slightly curved.
4. Dunja- It is high yields of deep green straight zucchinis. It is an open plant, and it doesn’t have any spine, which makes it easy to harvest. Its flesh is creamy and white in color.
5. Gadzukes- It produces dark green Italian zucchinis that have light green ridges. It tastes sweet, and its texture is crispy.
6. Gourmet Gold- It produces bright orange zucchini. It is a medium size plant that is open and bushy. It is easy to harvest Gourmet Gold.
7. Cocozelle- it produces leafy green fruits with dark green strikes. It is good for stuffing.
8. Caserta- It is a beautiful lighter greenish-grey color zucchini with darker green stripes. It is creamy and dense in texture. This zucchini can be harvested larger than any other zucchini.
9. Magda- Magda has pale green skin. It is the best-flavored zucchini in the middle-east region. It is dense and nutty in flavor. It is best for grilling. It is harvested during its small size for the best texture and flavor.
10. Green Tiger- This Zucchini takes 55-60 days to produce. It generally looks gorgeous and its fruit has big darker green stripes. It is voted as the best-looking and tasting zucchini by chefs. This kind of zucchini does not have ridges. This zucchini can be grown in small containers.
11. Italian Ribbed- This zucchini is popular in Italy. Its slices are star-shaped. It is best for roasting and sauteing.
12. Bush Baby- This type of zucchini is smaller than most zucchini. The color of this fruit is forest green, with lighter green stripes all over its body. It is excellent in flavor and great for grilling. It is one of the best zucchini varieties which can be grown in containers.
13. Patio Star- This type of zucchini can be grown in containers and pots. These plants are open and spineless, which makes them easy to harvest. It needs to be planted early as it keeps producing through a long season. It has beautiful dark green leaves.
14. Golden Egg- It is a gorgeous summer yellow squash that looks like an egg. It is voted the best creamy, flavorful flesh squash by most chefs.
15. Round De Nice- These are round dark green fruits. It is good for stuffing as it has a sphere. It can be grown in small areas.
Benefits of Zucchini
We will look at some of the benefits of Zucchini
1. You can watch yourself lose extra pounds with zucchini. It is low in calories, thus making you feel full for a longer period.
2. Zucchini helps to keep many diseases at bay. Zucchini is rich in fiber, vitamin C, and better carotene, to name a few that shield the body cells from damage that can lead to colon cancer.
3. Zucchini is rich in magnesium, protects the heart, and further reduces the risk of getting a heart attack.
4. Zucchini is filled with antioxidants that flush out all the unwanted toxins from the body. it makes the body free from bad cholesterol by including this vegetable in the diet more frequently.5. Zucchini is a good source of vitamin B that balances the sugar level in the body. Diabetes patients should include zucchini in their diet.
6. Zucchini promotes healthy eyes. It is rich in vitamin A, which is good for the eyes. It increases vision by strengthening the cells.
7. Zucchini is full of vitamin E and vitamin C which help in improving the elasticity of the skin, lines, wrinkles, and acne.
8. Zucchini promotes hair growth since it is rich in vitamin A.
9. Zucchini can help in reducing inflammation in the joints caused by excessive levels of uric acid in the body. It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids that indirectly treat effectively
10. Zucchini is a good source of vitamin C that goes a long way in keeping the bones strong and healthy. Someone suffering from low calcium levels should immediately start munching zucchini.
What is Squash?
Squash is a versatile, healthy fruit that serves as a cooked vegetable. Squash is related to ornamental gourds. It comes in a variety of colors, shapes, and flavors.
Types of Squash
There are two types of squash Summer Squash and Winter Squash. These two types of seasonal squash is subdivided into different varieties of squash.
What is Summer Squash?
Summer squash is generally tender, a warm-season plant that is harvested before the rind hardens and the fruit matures. These squash plants are bush types of plants, and it forms soft, thin, edible skin squash. Summer squash can be eaten both raw and cooked. The flavor of summer squash is mild flavor ranging from sweet to nutty.
Types of SUMMER SQUASH-
1. Zucchini- Zucchini is the most popular of all summer squash. It goes both as savory and sweet dishe.
2. Yellow- There are two varieties of yellow squash, one is straight neck and another is crock-neck. It has fatter bottoms and tapers towards the neck.
3. Pattypa- It resembles a mini flying saucer which is small, round, and flat in shape. The color of the pattypan is yellow, white, or green. It is slightly buttery in flavor. Its meat is dense and it is crunchier than zucchini and yellow squash.
4. Cousa- Cousa is shorter and stockier than zucchini. Cousa’s color is a mix of pale and medium green striations. It tastes more like a yellow squash than a zucchini. It is best for stuffing, stir-fries, and pickling.
5. Zephyr- It is a hybrid of yellow crookneck, delicata, and yellow acron squash. Zephyr has firm flesh, a long cylindrical body, and a distinct bottom portion that can vary in hue from pale to deep green.
What is Winter Squash?
Winter Squash is generally harvested in late summer through fall when the fruit becomes fully mature ripe, and hard. The most popular winter squash is pumpkin and gourd. Winter squash is sweeter, denser, and firmer in texture than summer squash. Winter squash is used in casseroles and desserts.
Types of winter squash-
1. Tromboncino- Tromboncino is a long-neck seed-free squash that can be left to harden as a winter squash or harvested early as a summer squash. It has more flavor if eaten in summer. It is sweeter than zucchini.2. Acron- Acron is a dark green squash with firm and yellow flesh. It features a mild, slightly sweet flavor that’s perfect for roasting. Acoron is a perfect squash for stuffing.
3. Buttercup- It is a paler green squash, and it works best as roasted and mashed.
4. Butternut- It is a popular winter squash. It has orange flesh and delicate sweetness. It can be found in any grocery throughout the year. It is perfect for soup, risotto, gnocchi, and ravioli.
5. Delicata- Delicata is a long, slender with thin, edible skin similar to summer squash. Its flesh has a creamy texture that is similar to sweet potato. It can be baked, sauteed, steamed, or stuffed.
6. Sweet Dumpling- It tastes like as sweet potato and can be baked, roasted, mashed, or used in soups.
7. Blue Hubbard- Blue Hubbard is lumpy and bumpy in texture. Its color is unusually grey-blue. It is high in moisture with rich, sweet yellow flesh. It is a substitute for pumpkin in sweet dishes.
8. Kabocha- Kabocha is nutty in flavor. Its sweetness is similar to chestnuts. It is a moist squash and uses in soups, mashed, pies, and cakes.
9. Sugar Pumpkin- Sugar pumpkin is rich in flavor. It is ideal for making pumpkin puree.
10. Red Pumpkin- Red pumpkins are a Japanese variety of squash that is known for its creamy and sweet golden yellow flesh and deep orange skin.
11. Spaghetti- it is an excellent substitute for pasta. Spaghetti is a deal for absorbing cheese or sauce.
12. Carnival- it is a cross between an acron and sweet dumpling squash.
13. Banana- it is Bright orange in color, dense in flesh, and an excellent substitute for butternut.
Benefits of Squash.
Squash is a vegetable that belongs to the gourd family. We will discuss some benefits of Squash. Squash is a tender vegetable with deep ridges that contains Potassium, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Vitamin C, K, B6, B9, Calcium, and Iron.
1. Squash plays a major role in improving blood flow and regulates blood pressure levels.
2. Squash intake in a diet, helps us to cut down Fatty Deposits from the liver.
3. This vegetable brings down bad cholesterol levels.
4. Squash intake can improve insulin sensitivity and regulates blood sugar levels.
5. It helps to slow down the progression of cancer cells, especially in the case of leukaemia and cervical cancer.
6. Squash is very effective in improving mood disorders and it prevents depression.
7. Squash is incredibly nutrients dense.
8. Consumption of squash regularly can help to promote the overall health of bones.
9. Squash intake can boost the immune system and help to fight bacterial disease.
10. Consuming Squash regularly can help with weight loss and healthy weight management.
Difference Between Zucchini and Squash in Points
1. Zucchini is one of many squash varieties. We can say all zucchini are squash, but all squash is not zucchini.
2. The main difference between a squash and a zucchini is that Squash belongs to the gourd family and a zucchini is a summer squash that falls under the same species.
3. Summer squash like zucchini can be consumed raw, but other squash varieties need to be cooked alongside other different vegetables.
4. Zucchini is smaller in size, whereas Squash can be ten times bigger than Zucchini.
5. Zucchinis is good for weight loss, whereas squash is good for diabetes control.
Conclusion
The main difference between zucchini and squash is that squash is a fruit of the gourd family, while zucchini is a type of summer squash. Since zucchini is a summer squash, it can be consumed raw, but we do not consume other squash which is uncooked. However, both zucchini and all other winter and summer squashes are rich in fiber and other nutrients such as vitamins A, B, C, and Potassium.
