Pattypan squash: the scalloped summer squash we carry in winter

Pattypan is the saucer-shaped summer squash with the scalloped rim, the one chefs roast whole when it is small and slice into coins when it is larger. At King Quality Produce it is a specialty item rather than a daily volume mover: we carry it in the winter months, December through February, in 10 lb boxes of mixed sizes. Here is what it is, where the winter supply comes from, how to judge and hold it, and what it offers in the kitchen.

What pattypan is

Pattypan, also sold as scallop or scallopini squash, is a soft-rind summer squash: it is harvested immature and eaten whole, skin and seeds included. The UC Davis Postharvest Technology Center lists Patty Pan and scallopini alongside zucchini, yellow straightneck and crookneck as the main soft-rind types, all picked before the seeds enlarge and harden². UC's production guide for summer squash describes scallop fruit as white, yellow or green and "wider than thick," and notes that Spanish speakers often call this type simply "summer squash"⁴, which is why it sits in our catalog under that name.

The scallop varieties grown in California include Early White Bush, Peter Pan, Scallopini, Sunburst and Bennings Green Tint, and the type reaches harvest in about 55 days from seed⁴. Sunburst is the yellow one; Peter Pan and Bennings Green Tint run pale green. KQP sells pattypan as mixed sizes in a 10 lb box, so a case usually runs from golf-ball to palm-sized fruit; if you need a tighter band, ask the office what is on the floor.

Where it grows and why ours is a winter item

Summer squash grows in nearly every part of California. The major districts are the Imperial Valley in the southern desert, the Central Valley from Kern to Merced counties, and the south-central coast from Santa Barbara north; the counties with the most acreage in the UC survey were Santa Barbara, Fresno, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Monterey and Orange⁴. Most of that production is spring and summer. Acreage falls off sharply in the fall because aphid-transmitted viruses and silverleaf whitefly make late plantings risky⁴.

That seasonal gap is where our program sits. Desert growers plant seed in December and January for early-spring squash⁴, and Mexican shipments carry the Los Angeles market through the cold months. The UC guide observed that Los Angeles terminal prices peaked in mid-March, once Mexican zucchini shipments tapered off, and ran high again from October through December⁴. Those are 1999 figures: the pattern of the season, not this week's price sheet. Our growers are in Mexico, the Southwest and California, and our pattypan runs December through February.

How to buy it and what to look for

Summer squash is one of the few items where size is not part of the federal grade. The USDA standard, revised effective September 6, 2016, defines only U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2, and says there are no size requirements in the grades because preferences vary by variety and market; buyers may specify a minimum or maximum diameter or length by contract³. A U.S. No. 1 squash must be fairly young and fairly tender, fairly well formed and firm, with the stem or a portion of it attached, and free from decay and from damage by discoloration, cuts, bruises, scars, freezing or insects. The No. 1 tolerance is 10 percent defects by count, including not more than 5 percent serious damage and 1 percent decay³. Our mixed-size pack fits that standard: you are buying on condition, not on a count.

In practice, "fairly young and fairly tender" is the whole game with pattypan. The standard defines it as fairly tender skin for the variety, fairly tender undeveloped seeds, and firm, moist seed-cavity tissue³. Press the rind with a thumbnail; it should mark easily. A pattypan with a hard, dull rind and a hollow feel is past its best and will be seedy inside. On receiving, look for glossy skin, a cleanly cut stem (growers cut rather than snap, because a poorly trimmed stem end promotes decay²), and no water-soaked spots or pitting, which point to chilling in transit. Bruising, scuffing and compression damage are common on soft-rind squash²; a few marks are tolerable, a pattern across the box is a claim.

• Glossy, tender rind that marks under a thumbnail
• Stem cut clean, not torn
• No pitting, water-soaked patches or yellowing on green types
• Firm all the way around, no soft shoulders

Storage and shelf life

UC Davis puts the optimum for soft-rind summer squash at 41 to 50°F with 95 percent relative humidity, with a storage life of ideally no more than 10 days; some types hold 10 to 14 days at 45°F, and after two weeks shriveling, yellowing and decay climb quickly, especially under retail conditions². The UC production guide adds the field rule: cool fruit to 50°F as soon as possible, because delays shorten shelf life⁴.

The main risk with pattypan is cold, not heat. Chilling injury starts below 41°F if the squash is held there more than a day or two, and shows as water-soaked pitting, discoloration and accelerated decay; the damage is cumulative and can begin before harvest². Varieties differ. In UC Davis trials after 10 days at 41°F, Sunburst rated highly chilling-susceptible and Butter Scallop intermediate², so a yellow pattypan in a 36°F walk-in is at real risk. The other loss is water: dehydration is described as a serious and common problem, with firmness lost and shriveling setting in quickly unless the fruit is cooled promptly². Ethylene sensitivity is low to moderate, but low levels during distribution speed yellowing in green types², so keep pattypan away from ripening fruit.

Nutrition

USDA FoodData Central's reference entry for raw scallop squash puts 100 g at 18 calories, 94.2 g water, 3.84 g carbohydrate, 1.2 g fiber and 1.2 g protein¹. It carries 18 mg vitamin C, 182 mg potassium, 30 µg folate, 23 mg magnesium, 0.109 mg vitamin B6 and 1 mg sodium¹. Against the adult RDA for vitamin C of 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women⁵, a 100 g portion supplies about a fifth to a quarter. The entry also lists 2,310 µg lutein plus zeaxanthin, 130 µg beta-carotene and 3.3 µg vitamin K per 100 g¹.

On a menu, that is a low-calorie, high-water vegetable that is a source of vitamin C and potassium with almost no sodium of its own.

In the kitchen

Pattypan earns its place on shape. Los Angeles restaurants buy the small fruit to roast or grill whole and serve as a composed vegetable, cut a lid from the larger ones and stuff them, or slice the mid-sized fruit across into scalloped coins that read on the plate in a way zucchini rounds do not. Treat it like zucchini in the pan; it holds its shape a little better when roasted whole. Latin kitchens use it as they use calabacita, in sautés with corn and queso fresco and in soups.

Markets sell it as a specialty next to baby squash; the UC guide notes a specialty market for very small squash, sometimes sold with the flower still attached⁴. Mixed sizes in our 10 lb box suit a market that wants a colorful display and a kitchen that wants to run small ones whole and large ones sliced from the same case. Because it is a winter specialty, plan it as a feature rather than a staple.

Ordering

Pattypan is a December-through-February item for us, packed 10 lb in mixed sizes. Call the office at (213) 627-7181 for this week's counts and what sizes are on the floor.