Gem squash is just the right size

Little gems, that’s what they are. And Suzanne Zipperer says more people ought to enjoy them.

Zipperer met up with her first gem squash in Zimbabwe, where she lived from 1980 to 1987.

“I was traveling in Africa, and I ran out of money,” she explained.

It just so happened that Zimbabwe was a new country, having gained independence from the United Kingdom just a few months before she showed up in November. With her associate degree in horticulture, she was hired to teach agriculture at a boarding school to children who were former refugees.

The school raised chickens and had a garden, and that’s where she was introduced to gem squash, known botanically as cucurbita pepo.

“Here (in the U.S.), we eat broccoli,” Zipperer said. “There, they eat gem squash.”

Zipperer returned to Milwaukee in 1987 and began working as a state employee. She retired this April as a communications specialist with the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare. She lives now on a family farm near Manitowoc, Wis., homesteaded by her great-grandparents in the 1880s, a farm she named Viola’s Kitchen Garden after her grandmother. And there, she grows gem squash.

For 2013’s test crop, she bought seeds from a Michigan farmer whose name she found on the Internet. For 2014’s planting, she got permission from the USDA to import seeds from South Africa. She has not seen seeds for gem squash in any seed catalog, and she knows of no one else in Wisconsin growing them.

What makes them so special? Their size, for starters. Each squash is about the size of a softball, enough for a single serving.

“I don’t want a big acorn squash,” Zipperer said, noting that most squash varieties are even larger. “I don’t want to eat squash five times a week. I want it once a week.”

Each plant produces squash with light green variegated skin, as well as some solid dark green squash that can grow to the size of an elongated softball. Zipperer says the smaller squash in general are more flavorful.

The texture of the cooked squash is similar to spaghetti squash, but with less-defined strands — and Zipperer says the gem squash taste better.

She said that she doesn’t know why they’re not grown commercially in the U.S., but she did note that with the wet weather in many regions, the plants are vulnerable to powdery mildew, something she has fought in her organic field. Though the plants keep producing even with the mildew, over time it can kill them.

Healthy plants produce squash from mid-July until frost, making them both a summer and winter squash. Like winter squash, gem squash are good keepers that don’t have to be refrigerated, Zipperer said.

In addition to growing squash for sale, she said she hopes to develop seeds to sell to other farmers, selecting plants for mildew resistance.

Zipperer and her three sisters inherited this farm, and they’ve agreed that they don’t want to sell.

She figured, “the best way to keep the next generation from selling it is to keep it as a productive farm.”

Gem Squash With Cheesy, Spicy Creamed-Corn Filling

Makes 4 side-dish servings

The simplest way to enjoy gem squash is to cut one in half around the equator, place the halves cut side down in a microwave, cook on high 3 minutes, then let them sit 3 minutes before scooping out the seeds. If you want, you can add a dab of butter and bit of sweetener — or another seasoning — before eating. In Zimbabwe, the most popular preparation is stuffed with creamed corn and topped with cheddar cheese — as in this recipe found at cooksister.com.

2 gem squash

1 to 2 green onions (to taste)

1 large clove of garlic

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 can of creamed corn

1 teaspoon hot sauce of your choice (optional)

½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Cut squash in half around their equators. Place cut side down in a steamer over a pot of boiling water and steam until a knife can pierce the flesh easily. Alternatively, place cut side down in a microwave and cook on high about 4 to 5 minutes; let sit a couple of minutes until done.

Remove seeds with a spoon and keep squash halves warm.

Slice onions into small rounds and crush the garlic.

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan and sauté until onions are soft and translucent but not caramelized. Turn down heat, add creamed corn and hot sauce (if using), and heat through.

Heat broiler. Place the gem squash cut side up on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Fill each hollow with as much of the corn mixture as will comfortably fit. Divide cheese among the 4 squash halves, sprinkling over the corn. Heat under broiler until cheese begins to bubble and brown.

Bacon-Rice Stuffed Gem Squash

Makes 6 servings

This recipe, adapted from gemsquashnz.com, stuffs the squash with bacon, rice and mushrooms and tops them with cheese and breadcrumbs.

3 gem squash

Salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 onion finely chopped

3 strips bacon, diced

¾ cup finely diced mushrooms

¾ to 1 cup cooked rice (brown or white)

Grated cheese and fresh breadcrumbs (or panko) for topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cut gem squash in half across their equators, remove seedy centers and sprinkle with salt.

Heat oil in a skillet and sauté garlic, onion and bacon until onion is soft and bacon is cooked through. Drain off oil. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender. Add rice and mix well.

Fill centers of squash halves with mixture, mounding as desired. Top with grated cheese and bread crumbs.

Bake in the preheated oven 15 to 20 minutes, until squash is tender.