Monday, 6 July 2026

Patty pans

 

Patty pans

 It had been many years – at least ten - since I had seen patty pans for sale, so I was delighted to be able to buy some recently.

Patty pans (Cucurbita pepo) look rather like flying saucers. The name derives from the vegetable’s resemblance to a shallow baking pan used for cooking patties or pasties. It is an ancient crop, archaeological discoveries indicating that it was cultivated around 8 to 10,000 years ago in North America.

They are known by a variety of other names, including custard squash, and granny squash.

I cooked them in the air fryer with no dressing or seasoning and they were soft and delicious with our main fish dish.

 

48 comments:

  1. I believe we just call them squash. I can't remember having eaten one.

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    1. You don't know what you're missing. 😃

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  2. They are beautiful, I grow various types and varieties in my garden, they don't mind the heat or the hot sun, and they are great for both savory and sweet dishes, I have made compotes for fruit salads with oranges, marmalades and the like from the Hokkaido variety. Kind regards, Jasna

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    1. I had to look up Hokkaido - aren't they a beautiful colour?

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  3. I like small squashes baked with a puddle of butter inside. Think I might have grown them as custard squash. Don't like the 'spaghetti' squash as much though.

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    1. Spaghetti squash doesn't appeal to me, either. 'A puddle of butter' sounds so good . . .

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  4. They look lovely, and sound very nice to eat the way you describe - unless you have cooked something very different in the air fryer before and forgot to clean it out - sorry, I couldn't resist ;-D

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  5. Patty pans are new to me. When I first saw the title I immediately thought of an erstwhile girlfriend!

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  6. I've seen lots of different squash around here but I don't think I've ever seen any like this before.

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    1. I hope you do find some one day - they're just lovely to look at as well as eat!

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  7. round flattened zucchinis no? Scallopini in our garden catalogue.

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  8. I enjoy all types of squash but I'm not sure I know this variety. We have butternut and acorn and summer squash along with zucchini often. Enjoy.

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  9. Squashes are versatile and tasty.

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  10. Squash, well the yellow variety, is my least favorite veg. It's a textural thing.

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    1. Ah, well, there are plenty of other vegetables. 😃

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  11. I’ve only eaten other types of squash, perhaps I should try to grow some patty pan next year, they sound delicious.
    Alison in Devon x

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    1. They look so pretty. I don't know if they take up as much room as courgettes, though.

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  12. I've never eaten these type of squash. I think they are cute.

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  13. I've had innumerable zucchini and summer squash, but for some reason patty pans are hard to find in our stores.

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  14. I love zucchini, but for some reason, I was never able to get into the Patty pans. their history that was interesting. I had no idea that they were 10,000 years old.

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  15. There are many markets in October with these pumpkins (I call them like that, there are so many varieties and recipes I like them very much.

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    1. They can be cooked in so many different dishes.

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  16. I really love these squashes. Had no idea they had been around this long.

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  17. I didn't know they were called patty pans!

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  18. I bought some of these a couple of months ago and they were good.

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  19. I haven't had those in a long time

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  20. I've never considered trying those even though I've seen them before. I may have to expand my squashy horizons!

    I have a surprise acorn squash plant growing in my garden this year and that's going to be a new one for me.

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    1. I've never had acorn squash - it looks interesting.

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  21. Delicious with fish :)

    All the best Jan

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  22. I'm familiar with pattypans but only as a little squash for display in the fall. Never have I eaten one. (In fact, I didn't know they were something people actually ate, truth be told. I'll need to try them.). (PS...For some reason, some of your posts do not show on my reading list until several days after you've actually posted them. I realize we have totally different time zones but this is different. Sometimes some of your more recent posts appear and then several days later, the older ones appear if I scroll back down the page. Very odd.)

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    1. It's Blogger bloggering about. I frequently find already published comments appearing in spam comments - very odd.

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  23. I don't think I've ever seen them. Glad they were tasty!

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    1. I hope they're back to stay now, after disappearing for several years, in the supermarkets anyway.

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  24. Hi Janice - love patty pans ... I must look in Waitrose and M&S ... cheers and thanks for the reminder - Hilary

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  25. They look lovely. Maybe I could try growing a few next year.

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    1. I should think if you can grow courgettes, you can grow patty pans. 😄

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