Kabocha

Kabocha(/kəˈboʊtʃə/; fromJapaneseカボチャ,南瓜) is a type ofwinter squash, a Japanese variety of the speciesCucurbita maxima.It is also calledkabocha squashorJapanese pumpkinin North America. In Japan, "kabocha" may refer to either this squash, to the Westernpumpkin, or indeed to other squashes.In Australia, "Japanese pumpkin" is a synonym ofKent pumpkin, a variety ofwinter squash(C. moschata).
Many of the kabocha in the market arekuri kabocha, a type created fromseiyo kabocha(buttercup squash). Varieties of kabocha include Ajihei, Ajihei No. 107, Ajihei No. 331, Ajihei No. 335, Cutie, Ebisu, Emiguri, Marron d'Or and Miyako.
Kabocha is hard on the outside with knobbly-looking skin. It is shaped like a squat pumpkin and has a dull-finished, deep-green skin with some celadon-to-white stripes and an intense yellow-orange color on the inside. In many respects it is similar tobuttercup squash, but without the characteristic protruding "cup" on the blossom (bottom) end.An average kabocha weighs two to three pounds, but a large squash can weigh as much as eight pounds.
Kabocha has an exceptionally sweet flavor, even sweeter thanbutternut squash. It is similar in texture and flavor to apumpkinandsweet potatocombined.Some kabocha can taste likeRusset potatoesorchestnuts.The rind is edible although some cooks may peel it to speed up the cooking process or to suit their personal taste preferences.  Kabocha is commonly utilized in side dishes and soups, or as a substitute for potato or other squash varieties. It can be roasted after cutting the squash in half, scooping out the seeds, and then cutting the squash into wedges. With a little cooking oil and seasoning, it can be baked in the oven. Likewise, cut Kabocha halves can be added to a pressure cooker and steamed under high pressure for 15–20 minutes. One can slowly bake Kabocha whole and uncut in a convection oven, after which the entire squash becomes soft and edible, including the rind.
Kabocha is available all year but is best in late summer and early fall. 
Kabocha is primarily grown in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, California, Florida, Hawaii,Southwestern Colorado, Mexico,Tasmania,Tonga, New Zealand, Chile, Jamaica, and South Africa, but is widely adapted for climates that provide a growing season of 100 days or more.  Most of the kabocha grown in California, Colorado, Tonga and New Zealand is actually exported to Japan.
In Japan, kabocha is a common ingredient in vegetabletempuraand is also made into soup andcroquettes.Less traditional but popular usages include its incorporation in desserts such as pies, pudding, and ice cream.
In Korea,danhobak(단호박) is commonly used for makinghobak-juk(pumpkin porridge).
Fak thong(Thai: ฟักทอง) is used in traditionalThai desserts and main courses. Kabocha is used in Jamaican chicken foot soup.
This squash is rich inbeta carotene, withiron,vitamin C,potassium, and smaller traces ofcalcium,folic acid, and minute amounts ofB vitamins.
When kabocha is just harvested, it is still growing. Therefore, unlike other vegetables and fruits, freshness is not as important.  It should befully maturedfirst, in order to become flavorful, by first ripening the kabocha in a warm place (77 °F/25 °C) for 13 days to convert some of the starch to sugar.  Then the kabocha is transferred to a cool place (50 °F/10 °C) and stored for about a month in order to increase carbohydrate content. In this way the just-harvested, dry, bland-tasting kabocha is transformed into a smooth, sweet kabocha. Fully ripened, succulent kabocha will have reddish-yellow flesh, a hard skin, and a dry, corky stem.  It reaches the peak of ripeness about 1.5–3 months after it is harvested.
Allsquasheswere domesticated inMesoamerica.  In 1997, new evidence suggested that domestication occurred 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, a few thousand years earlier than previous estimates.That would be 4,000 years earlier than the domestication ofmaizeandbeans, the other major food plant groups in Mesoamerica.Archeological and genetic plant research in the 21st century suggests that the peoples ofeastern North Americaindependently domesticated squash, sunflower,marsh elder, andchenopod.
Portuguese sailors introduced kabocha to Japan in 1541, bringing it with them fromCambodia. The Portuguese name for the squash,Camboja abóbora(カンボジャ・アボボラ), was shortened by the Japanese tokabocha. Alternatively, the Portuguese origin is the wordcabaçaforgourd. Kabocha is written inKanjias南瓜(literally, "southern melon"), and it is also occasionally referred to as南京瓜(Nankingmelon).In China, this term is applied to many types of squashes with harder skin and beefier flesh (including pumpkins), not just kabochas.