About 20 years ago when I was getting interested in cooking, I decided
to try all those wildly shaped and lovely colored winter squashes that I
saw in the grocery store this time of year. I went through them all,
baking each one in turn and deciding what I thought of them. They did
taste different but not in such a distinctive way that I had any clear
preference. I decided to stick with the ordinary. I like acorn squash
and butternut more because they're readily available and an easy size to
work with. Since then, I've found enormous variety within the variety.
I've had acorn squash that were fabulous-- sweet, flavorful, perfect,
the sort of thing you buy a bunch of, bake up and want to eat 3 times a
day while the good luck lasts. Then I've gone back to the same table at
the same store, gotten the next shipment and had them be starchy and
sawdusty. If I could figure out how to choose a good squash from
picking it up in the supermarket, I'd be a happy woman.

--Lia