Cuisine to Cultivar
HAVE YOU HEARD OF the Honeynut squash? At the request of chef Dan Barber, Michael Mazourek, an associate professor in plant breeding and genetics at Cornell University, began to breed this better butternut in 2009. Although not the initial goal, he packed the squash with nutrients, reduced its size, and made its skin thinner for easier preparation. First and foremost, Mazourek crafted this new breed to improve its flavor.
No more than half the size of its butternut predecessor, Honeynut is compact and undiluted by water, so it packs a much stronger punch when it comes to taste. This small squash has such a rich taste — vibrant, smooth, sweet, and nutty — that you might imagine it’s topped with brown butter or maple syrup. And while the squash is now beloved by chefs and growers, Barber and Mazourek originally feared that this wouldn’t be the case. Gardeners, cooks, and consumers alike (particularly in the United States) lean toward a more rigid view of what produce should look like. If something new
