Get your pup into the fall spirit with a treat that combines tasty harvest flavors with the impressive nutritional benefits of pumpkin and Korean sweet potato!
Harvest Hearts is Gogoma's first limited edition seasonal flavor that celebrates the flavors of fall with ingredients like kabocha squash, ground turkey, and cranberry. And of course we didn't forget the Korean sweet potato!
What is kabocha?
Kabocha is a winter squash with a naturally sweet, nutty flavor. It immediately came to mind as a perfect complement to our inspiration ingredient, Korean sweet potato. In fact, kabocha is often described to be closer in flavor and texture to sweet potato than to the traditional pumpkin we associate with Halloween.
Kabocha is part of the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes gourds and pumpkins believed to have originated from the Americas. In the U.S., kabocha is also called Japanese squash, but it’s actually a misnomer.
The squash was introduced to Japan by Portuguese traders who arrived from Cambodia during the 16th century. The Japanese kanji characters for kabocha mean “southern melon,” a reference to Cambodia.
Kabocha is widely used in Korean, Japanese, and Thai dishes. In Korean, kabocha is called danhobak and is eaten as a side dish (banchan), as a sweet porridge called hobakjuk, or in sticky rice cakes called hobaktteok.
Nutritional benefits
Kabocha is packed with nutrients that support immune and heart health, reduce inflammation, and regulate blood sugar levels. Like Korean sweet potato, kabocha is rich in vitamins A, C, beta-carotene and fiber. And both dogs and humans love the delicious flavor – just like goguma!
The nutritional benefits of kabocha are much the same as jack-o-lantern pumpkins – if not more. Kabocha contains more vitamin C and carotenoids, which act like an antioxidant, than traditional pumpkin.
Special fall-festive treats!
Kabocha’s irresistible flavor and impressive nutritional profile inspired us to create Gogoma’s first seasonal limited edition recipe based on fall flavors! Harvest Hearts is available just for the season, so grab some before fall slips away!
Sources:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/winter-squash/
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2017/09/09/food/attention-turns-kabocha-squash-cooler-weather-looms/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264131737_Comparison_of_Nutritional_Composition_and_Antioxidative_Activity_for_Kabocha_Squash_and_Pumpkin