Can You Eat the Pores and skin on Butternut Squash?

Butternut squash is a winter squash, though it’s out there year-round. It’s additionally the most well-liked winter squash, primarily for its candy, barely nutty taste.

However that doesn’t imply cooking it’s straightforward, particularly given how powerful and sturdy the pores and skin is. In case you have ever struggled to peel a butternut squash, chances are you’ll marvel if it’s even definitely worth the effort and in case you can eat it as a substitute.

Most individuals are in a position to safely eat the pores and skin of butternut squash, Lauren Manaker, MS, RDN, LD, a Charleston-based registered dietitian, informed Well being. “The pores and skin is edible and non-toxic. The problem is extra about preferences, since it may be powerful to eat.”

Butternut squash pores and skin is unquestionably not palatable for everybody. Most individuals discover it powerful to eat, leathery, stringy, and troublesome to tear aside or chew. It will possibly additionally irritate some individuals with meals sensitivities.

Butternut squash’s pores and skin and flesh may cause an allergic response in some individuals. Though unusual, some individuals develop contact dermatitis after coming into contact with squash. It’s nonetheless not clear which compound in squash is chargeable for the response, however the allergy could also be extra frequent than most notice as a consequence of underreporting.

The pores and skin of butternut squash is a supply of fiber, which helps digestion and helps you are feeling full longer, in response to Manaker. “Like the within of the squash, it additionally incorporates antioxidants like beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A,” she mentioned. “[This] helps eye well being and immune well being.”

Moreover, the pores and skin offers phenolic antioxidants, in response to Janelle Bober, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian with Dietitian Dwell. “There are some research which have proven the phenolic compounds current in lots of squashes assist with antioxidant exercise, particularly in comparison with the flesh of the squash,” she mentioned.

Bober mentioned that leaving the pores and skin on can even improve the quantity of phytochemicals you get. These phytochemicals, together with fiber, gradual carbohydrate absorption, so you have got a extra blunted glycemic load, whereas the antioxidants might help with irritation and cell safety.

Whereas butternut squash pores and skin is technically suitable for eating, most individuals don’t take pleasure in it.

“To me, butternut squash pores and skin stays chewy or papery until you roast wedges exhausting at 425 levels Fahrenheit or pressure-cook halves first, and even then, the feel remains to be not my favourite,” Jessica Randhawa, chef and proprietor of The Forked Spoon, informed Well being.

The pores and skin can even style bitter, mentioned Bober. Nevertheless, lengthy braising can soften and caramelize the pores and skin, making it a little bit milder in style, extra palatable for many, and sweeter.

Based on Randhawa, there are a selection of drawbacks to consuming the pores and skin of butternut squash. These embody:

Inflicting pores and skin irritation
Being a doable allergen
Having leathery-tasting pores and skin
Containing a chewy texture
Having pesticide residue (if not natural)
Inflicting digestive upset
Being incompatible with some recipes (like a puree)

If you wish to attempt butternut squash pores and skin, Bober suggests scrubbing it effectively, oiling and generously salting the pores and skin, and reducing it into smaller items to scale back its chewiness. “The highest strategies to cook dinner the pores and skin embody high-heat roasting at round 425 levels Fahrenheit. It’ll offer you crisp edges [and] soften the pores and skin and the flesh. It’ll be a little bit bit sweeter as effectively.”