# When butternut squash attacks! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400 "2012-03-10T18:48:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400/21 "2012-03-12T17:20:07Z")
> [@Aestivalis](#): > > I usually cut them into rounds, and slice off the skin using a chef’s knife. It’s not that hard if you have a good knife and know what you’re doing. Good idea. There’s actually more than just the skin to deal with; there’s a sort-of rind underneath that can be bitter if it’s not trimmed off, so a knife would work well. ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400/22 "2012-03-12T17:24:07Z")
Two tricks to avoid the ooze. One, rub your knife blade with a little oil before you cut the squash in two. Two, roast/bake the halved squash and then seed it and scoop out the flesh for your soup. Cooking pretty much destroys the ooze. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400/23 "2012-03-12T18:28:49Z")
> [@JohnM](#): > > Two tricks to avoid the ooze. One, rub your knife blade with a little oil before you cut the squash in two. Two, roast/bake the halved squash and then seed it and scoop out the flesh for your soup. Cooking pretty much destroys the ooze. This particular recipe calls for cooking the squash in stock. We always roast it if we’re just eating the squash as a side veggie, though. The ooze comes upon peeling, not just cutting. I suppose I could wear latex gloves while doing it. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400/24 "2012-03-12T20:49:50Z")
I had forgotten about it until I read your post, but the same thing (or something very similar happened to me back in October or so when I made my first batch of butternut soup. Then it didn’t happen all the subsequent times I made it. so it’s just some of them, how weird. ---
**Author:** ![Deegeea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Deegeea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deegeea)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400/25 "2012-03-12T21:48:16Z")
Suggestions from a search are that briefly cooking it in a microwave or boiling water makes it much easier to peel. [Google Answers: Painlessy Peeling a Butternut Squash](http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/430055.html) for example ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400/26 "2012-03-13T01:48:01Z")
If you’re making a blended soup, don’t bother peeling it. Steamed or roasted, the skin blends so fine as to be unnoticeable. ---
**Author:** ![Normal\_Phase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Normal\_Phase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Normal_Phase)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400/27 "2012-03-13T17:15:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I think you’d be surprised. Butternut squash or (more usually) pumpkin make for fantastic vegetarian curries. (I find the two squashes fairly interchangeable.) Look up _kaddu ki subji_ or _mathanga erissery_ for ideas. I was gonna say. We use butternut and other mild squashes as the vegetable ingredient in our sambars on a frequent basis, and you cannot get much more intense in terms of flavor than a south Indian sambar containing mustard seeds, asafoetida, tamarind and chilis, among other things. Butternut squash holds its own and even adds to the flavor of the dish. Chayote or daikon, _those_ get pretty much overwhelmed. Anyway, um yeah. Squash will do that sometimes. Not as bad as the starch from potatoes, though. This thread has reminded me that we have a butternut on the counter and we’re almost out of sambar. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400/28 "2012-03-14T00:03:19Z")
Chayotes are worse than butternuts when it comes to leaving residue on the hands. If I don’t wear gloves when peeling and cutting up chayotes, I end up with stuff on my hands that no amount of scrubbing will remove. As for peeling butternuts - the problem is that they are hard, have a concave shape, and have slippery insides. I have found two things that work: either use a vegetable peeler (instead of a knife), or cut the squash into pieces that will lie flat on a cutting board and make vertical cuts to trim off the peel a little at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400/29 "2012-03-14T03:45:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Am I going to wake up in a pod? Will I become some sort of squash-like creature, moaning and drooling in the night, searching out new victims for my insatiable _cucurbita_ appetites? I’m picturing the first act from _Alien_, when they’re on board the abandoned alien ship, except instead of eggs, the room is filled with thousands and thousands of butternut squashes… ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400/30 "2012-03-14T10:45:23Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > If you’re making a blended soup, don’t bother peeling it. Steamed or roasted, the skin blends so fine as to be unnoticeable. Yes, but if you ingest the skin, then the creature takes up residence inside of you. So the next time you cut your finger, it will ooze… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-butternut-squash-attacks/615400.md?page=1)