Pictures: Know your pumpkins (and squash)

Buttercup: This squash looks like a kabocha, but on the underside there is a telltale “cup” or ridge around the blossom scar. The flavor is mild; the texture is dense.

Carnival: Carnival looks like a brightly colored acorn squash. It has a nutty flavor and buttery texture.

Fairytale pumpkin: An old French variety, the fairytale has a tough outer rind but a relatively small seed cavity, meaning there’s plenty of sweet, creamy meat.

Sweet dumpling: This mini-squash is growing in popularity because of its sweet flavor and soft texture. It can be cooked whole.

Spaghetti: Delicately vegetal in flavor, the texture of this squash is so dry and fibrous that when you scrape it with a fork, it comes loose in “spaghetti” strands.

Red kuri: The same as the French heirloom potimarron, it has a delicate nutty flavor and a firm, fairly dry texture.

Delicata: Most winter squash look like pumpkins; the delicata looks more like a brightly colored zucchini. Appearances aside, the flavor is sweet and mildly vegetal, and the texture is creamy.

Acorn: Acorn is probably the squash most Americans are familiar with. It has a fairly sweet nutty flavor and a fairly creamy texture.

White pie pumpkin: This ivory-colored pumpkin is similar to a sugar pie, it’s a manageable size (one pumpkin is roughly enough for a pie) and the flesh is sweet with a buttery texture.

Fairy: Not often seen, the Fairy squash has a rich, honeyed flavor and dense, velvety flesh.

Musquèe de Provence: This variety is traditionally sold in wedges in French markets. The flesh is rich, sweet, creamy and dense.

Musquee de Provence (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Pink pumpkin: This is a new variety that is also called porcelain doll. Though the peel is pale pink, the flesh is deep orange and the flavor is mild and sweet. A network of retailers pledges a donation to breast cancer research for every pumpkin sold.