Blue Hubbard Squash Update

By Al Zehnder, CEO of Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth

For over 50 years, ever since I can remember, one of the features of our Fall menu has been our Blue Hubbard Squash. These large, blue-grey skinned gourds are locally grown for us just outside of Frankenmuth. Each individual squash can weigh 25-40 pounds, some even larger. Blue Hubbard squash are prized for their rich, sweet, slightly nutty flavor. We typically contract and process approximately 50 tons each year.

This year, everything seemed to go as usual. Seeds were planted and the Summer of 2022 provided great growing conditions. Then, about two thirds into the season our grower noticed the squash looked slightly smaller. Much smaller. After our grower communicated with the seed supplier it was determined that mistakenly, the seed supplied was of a dwarf variety. The mature squash of this variety, while the same look and flavor profile, is about the size of a football. We were told to expect about 10% of our usual amount. Certainly, too late to replant.

Our team immediately sprang into action and cobbled together a series of local farmers, hobby farmers and large city markets, etc. As you can imagine, Blue Hubbard Squash isn’t something most farms grow in large quantities; it’s more of a specialty item. Luckily, we were able to find about half of what we are normally used to purchasing.
It will be on our menu but limited to probably weekends beginning mid-October, and a day or two during the week. And, of course on special holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do. It’s Pure Michigan!

Sincerely,

Al Zehnder, CEO