Buttercups typically have thick, dark-green skin with light stripes and a blockier shape than kabochas. Their flesh is orange-yellow, sweet and dry, though not as dry as the flesh of kabochas. Buttercups have a protruding lighter gray-green “button” surrounded by a circular scar at the blossom end of the fruit.
It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has tan-yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp with a compartment of seeds in the blossom end. When ripening, the flesh turns increasingly deep orange due to its rich content of beta-carotene, a provitamin A compound.
Buttercup squash are round, green-skinned winter squash, many of which develop the characteristic turban-shaped cap. These are long-keeping squashes. The most difficult thing about winter squash is peeling it -even smooth-skinned varieties, such as butternut, can defeat many peelers.