How to prevent watery spaghetti squash

Question

I've tried using spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta a few times, but every time I do the dish ends up really watery.

I've been roasting the split squash for about 45 min in the oven, then scraping out the flesh and then mixing it with my sauce. When I first shred the flesh it's definitely moist and steamy, but it doesn't seem to be overly wet. A few minutes after I've added it to the pan with my sauce however, it renders off what seems like a cup or two of water.

Most recently I've even tried wringing out the strands in a clean towel over the sink before mixing it. That did seem to help, but it still watered down the sauce way too much for my taste.

Has anyone else encountered this issue? Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to prevent it?

Asked by Mike Deck

Answer

One simple change you could make is to simply not mix the squash with the sauce, instead, plate the squash and then pour sauce over the top, the sauce will cool quicker which will reduce the amount that the squash cooks past the point you decided that it was ready.

If the squash still cooks too much on the plate, try starting your sauce earlier and letting it cool so it's warm but not scalding when served.

I wouldn't recommend just taking the squash out before it's done and letting it finish in the sauce, since as it's cooking, it releases water, which would be lost in the oven, but would thin the sauce if it's cooking in the sauce pan.

If you need mix it with the sauce before serving, let the sauce cool to the point where it won't cook the squash further before doing so.

Answered by Theodore Murdock

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Why did butternut squash make my fingers dry and yellow?

Question

Last weekend I made butternut squash soup. In an experiment to get more of the squash browned I peeled two medium squash and cut them into 2 inch chunks, rather than just halving it, before roasting in the oven. (Result of the experiment was OK, but the extra exposed area also allows more moisture to escape, so I wouldn't recommend this method.)

Halfway through peeling the 2nd squash I noticed that the fingers on my left hand (I'm right-handed) were getting yellow and that the skin was drying, cracking, and tightening up. The yellow I can understand as transfer since I was using that hand to hold the squash while peeling. But I've peeled butternut plenty of times for various recipes and this hasn't happened before. Washing my hands didn't help. The problem went away after a couple of days.

Does anyone want to venture an explanation? Did my fingers O.D. on carotene or potassium?

Asked by Galapagos Jim

Answer

It's definitely a very real reaction. I'm not sure exactly what in the squash it is that causes it, but since different people react differently - some people have strong reactions like you, some people have mild ones, and some have no problem at all - it seems to be some sort of mild allergic reaction. It's often called contact dermatitis, but that's a very generic term and doesn't really mean anything you don't already know. I'm not sure exactly what component of the squash it is that causes it, but I don't think it's carotene or potassium. It's likely some more complex molecule that tends to be present in various winter squashes.

You can avoid it by wearing gloves while working with the squash, and cortisone cream can help relieve the reaction afterward. (Or if you're lucky, you have someone else with you who can handle the squash without problems.)

(And as for your soup, there's nothing wrong with letting more moisture escape in exchange for browning. You can always just add more water or stock back into the soup. This can even be a good thing, since it lets you replace water with a more flavorful liquid.)

Answered by Jefromi

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How should I use extra summer squash?

Question

My CSA delivers me a lot of summer squash, more than I can actually find the time to cook in a week. Can I freeze the remainder in some way? Is there a quick recipe I should be making that stores well? I'm not thinking primarily of meals here -- if I had the time to cook dinners more regularly I wouldn't be overwhelmed -- but of things I can store for a while.

Answer

I feel your pain. If only I liked summer squash better...

You definitely can freeze squash -- thick slice it, blanch it in salty water briefly until almost tender, transfer to an ice bath until it's chilled, bag it, and put in the freezer.

Later, thaw and use with recipes that don't require ultra-crisp squash.

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What do green spots on the inside of a butternut squash indicate?

Question

When I was cutting a butternut squash, I noticed a greenish discoloration near around third of the seed pocket. I scraped it off, but I was wondering

1. if it would have been safe for a young toddler to eat (whose the primary consumer)?
2. with the green parts scraped off, is it safe for a toddler to eat?
3. was it in the process of going bad, so I'll know what to look for later?

Answer

I always go with my gut in these situations, so scraping it off is probably a good idea.

If the green was not really dark and moldy looking, or really soft in comparison to the rest of the flesh, it could be that it just wasn't fully ripe yet in that area.

Either way, you're planning on cooking the squash, correct? I believe that this would be perfectly safe to eat now that the questionable parts have been removed. I'd eat it with no qualms.

If the rest of the squash was firm, and not bad looking on the outside or inside, then I am guessing this is not a problem, unless said green part was much softer than the rest of the squash.

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