Butternut Squash... a question

[RawMagnolia]

I was just about to make a soup from Butternut Squash, and as soon as I opened up my squash I noticed that it's HARD. Is this normal? Is it not ripe yet?

Thanks,
Sandra

[samadhisoul]

i have cooked that once and it was HARD to cut up. never cooked it again.
I think it is supposed to be hard.

[karenbeel]

Raw butternut squash is always hard, it only gets soft if you bake or steam it. You could grate it and then blend it into a soup that will make it easier for your food processor or blender which ever you are using. Hope this helps. Let us know ow the soup turns out :D . Blessings Karen

[Shivananda]

Didn't I just answer this elsewhere? :)

Butternut, like acorn, turban, and hubbard, are hard squashs with very low water content. That makes them ideal for keeping a long time, we used to have them last all winter on a shelf in the celler, but it does mean you have to grate or puree them to use them raw.

[levamssg]

Yep - butternut squash is hard - and can be a bugger to peel. Buy ones with fat tops verses the fatter bottom, and you get more squash to use. The bottom is where the seeds are. It has a nice sweet taste.

once peeled, shred it in the food processor if you are using a blender for soup, or cut it into little chunks if you are making soup in the vitamix. It akes delicious soup.

At one of my raw food demos, we made "noodles" out of butternut squash (using a spirooli). They were quite good with marinara and alfredo sauce!

[Secret Heart]

I should try making noodles with butternut squash with my mandolin...it's more sturdy than my Joyce Chen, which is now gathering dust. When I make noodles now it's just with zucchini and I use my trusty veggie peeler...it makes great fettucine type noodles!

Heather

[Shivananda]

Yep - butternut squash is hard - and can be a bugger to peel. Dan Hoyt at Quintessance in NYC showed me how to avoid all the hard work of peeling hard squashes...

First cut them into manageable sized chinks with the peel still on, then stand the pieces up on a cutting board and use a sharp chef's knife to cut slices of peel off in a downward motion. It's maybe five times as fast as peeling them. I've never done it the old way since.

Maybe this should go on my kitchen tips thread... :)