290615 Tue Oct 22 10:20:39 -0700 2002 14 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1578142 Based on an earlier thread to this board I got very excited when I saw Delicata squash in my Coop. Well, I got home last night and started to cook. I used several types of knives and couldn't get through - the squash was like a brick. I finally used a cork screw to make a few holes and put the thing in the oven. It softened up pretty quickly but inside was almost no flesh - pretty much all seeds with less than 1/2 inch of flesh. Now-this squash had a delicata sticker on it and was about 8 inches long and 3.5 to 4 inches in diameter. It was oblong and creamy yellow with green stripes. Was it simply too large/old? Did I not select correctly? or do I simply not get the point of Delicata squash (I generally do like all winter squash). Help?! Tue Oct 22 10:20:39 -0700 2002 0 Kass 1 1578144 Did ya taste it? As a rule, delicata does not have very thick flesh. Though it does sound like you got a wierd one. If you did taste it, delicata can very tremendously in flavor. Some are delicious, sweet, and complex, others insipid, watery, and bland. And though delicata can be hard, usually not that hard. Kabocha or Buttercup are sometimes so hard that I have to use a mallet to get the knife through. I don't have a tip for picking a good delicata, but buttercup/kabocha should be very dense. For any given size, you want the heaviest of the lot. Better luck next time. Tue Oct 22 10:34:06 -0700 2002 1578142 0 StriperGuy 1 1578145 Sounds like you got a bad one, though Delicata are not abundant in flesh like butternut, eg. Maybe the tough skin is because of drought.... Tue Oct 22 10:35:53 -0700 2002 1578142 0 Karl S. 1 1578147 Like the other replies, I agree, the Delicata squash you bought and cooked sounds a bit off. The coloring, size and shape and thin flesh sound right, but it was too tough to slice in half with a sharp knife? That's very odd. Do you have a farmer's market nearby you can buy your squash from next time? As a gardener, several years ago I cooked a whole bunch of different winter squashes and then my daughter and I did a blind taste test. The Delicata flavor won by a long shot, and now that's the only winter squash that I grow. Do you have a 4 x 4 plot of dirt you could use to grow your own next year? If you only have a little bit of space, you can grow one in a container and trellis the squash upward to save on room. If you have a sunny spot in the backyard, start a couple of plants next spring and you will have abundant quantities of delicata squash by late fall that will likely be much more tender and delicious than the one you bought from the store. Tue Oct 22 10:44:25 -0700 2002 1578142 0 Olympia Jane 1 1578149 You bought an ornamental gourd! Some of them have the same color pattern. If they sold it from a display that claimed it was a delicata, they had it in the wrong place. Tue Oct 22 10:48:58 -0700 2002 1578142 0 ironmom 2 1578150 LOL :) Did not occur to me, but you're right, must have been a gourd if it was that hard! Tue Oct 22 10:59:06 -0700 2002 1578149 0 StriperGuy 2 1578155 Sounds like a reasonable explanation, although if you are correct that your squash was 3 1/2 - 4 inches in diameter, it may have just been too damned old. Try again with a smaller squash -- it's really worth the effort! Tue Oct 22 11:22:07 -0700 2002 1578149 0 GG Mora 1 1578157 I had the same experience as Kass. The squash was exactly as described as above and I could hardly cut into it with a heavy cleaver. The taste was just OK but not as good as a butternut. I do not believe this was an ornamental gourd as someone else has suggested. Anyone have any idea what is going on here? R Tue Oct 22 11:23:49 -0700 2002 1578142 0 Seattle Rose 1 1578168 Thank you for all of your replies. The minimal flesh in the squash did taste good. I think that what I got was either picked when it was too mature or effected by the drought. I will not give up on them! I will even try to get my act together to plant some next year (assuming no drought). I appreciate everyone's thoughtful input! Tue Oct 22 12:22:03 -0700 2002 1578142 0 Kass 2 1578182 Hi Kass, I went in search of the Delicata squash last week and was just about to buy when my head was turned by a beautiful squash called Carnival. I'm so fickle! It's beauty was not just skin deep. Try one of these some time. Pat Tue Oct 22 14:13:07 -0700 2002 1578168 0 Pat Hammond 3 1578195 Pat - What does the Carnival squash look like? TIA, GG Tue Oct 22 15:17:03 -0700 2002 1578182 0 GG Mora 4 1578198 Look here. Link: http://www.harrismoran.com/products/squash/carnival.htm Tue Oct 22 15:21:33 -0700 2002 1578195 0 Karl S. 5 1578199 Hummmmm. Just this afternoon, I passed those over for something called Honey Delight. I will, of course, report back. This is becoming something of an obsession. (Or is it a compulsion?) Tue Oct 22 15:32:03 -0700 2002 1578198 0 GG Mora 6 1578206 Karl's picture is better than my description would have been. But they're very beautiful. My grandson, who just turned one, thought it was the best stuff! I didn't embelish it with anything but a tiny bit of salt, since I shared with him. This squash served a dual purpose: first he got to play with it, and then he got to eat it. It was mild, but sweet, and cooked up to a lovely consistency. Tue Oct 22 16:41:38 -0700 2002 1578199 0 Pat Hammond 7 1578248 Thanks very much - I will ask my coop to order some. It sounds sooo good. Kass Wed Oct 23 07:43:34 -0700 2002 1578206 0 Kass