Open Sesame

[Anna Blume]

None of the knives or even the cleaver seem to be sharp and sturdy enough to slit open a formidable, waxed kabocha squash.

Originally wished to peel it and chop into small dice. Ha. Will settle on halving the thing. No chisel. No scythe.

Some folk roast spaghetti squash whole, poking holes into the thing first to prevent a messy explosion. Not sure I can stick anything far enough into Its Royal Durableness to aerate the cavity.

Any brilliant ideas?

[Pat]

None of the knives or even the cleaver seem to be sharp and sturdy enough to slit open a formidable, waxed kabocha squash.

Originally wished to peel it and chop into small dice. Ha. Will settle on halving the thing. No chisel. No scythe.

Some folk roast spaghetti squash whole, poking holes into the thing first to prevent a messy explosion. Not sure I can stick anything far enough into Its Royal Durableness to aerate the cavity.

Any brilliant ideas?

If it's that hard, what about hammering a long nail into it at several points to aerate it?

[Anna Blume]

Premature plea, but thanks. ^Kind of hard to steady the bumpy, round squash, though I hadn't tried a nail. Was about to secure it w towels when I decided to hack one last time. Once I got the chef's knife all the way through, I banged the vegetable against the cutting board w knife serving as mallet. Uneven bisection effected by prying open what was not fully severed. Since this is not a unique problem, I am sure ol_i's suggestions (below) will be of use.

[KMango]

None of the knives or even the cleaver seem to be sharp and sturdy enough to slit open a formidable, waxed kabocha squash.

Originally wished to peel it and chop into small dice. Ha. Will settle on halving the thing. No chisel. No scythe.

Some folk roast spaghetti squash whole, poking holes into the thing first to prevent a messy explosion. Not sure I can stick anything far enough into Its Royal Durableness to aerate the cavity.

Any brilliant ideas?

The Super Squashy Secret

I paid $4 for the tool five years ago and have cleaved with glee ever since.

(another secret is)

(kmango adores alliteration)

[ol_ironstomach]

Not sure I can stick anything far enough into Its Royal Durableness to aerate the cavity.

Great name

At L'Academie they suggested using a serrated bread slicer on large gourds and melons; it has worked for me, but I'd consider wearing a sturdy glove in case of slippage. Or, apologies in advance, some time in the nuker will soften up the rind, but it gets a bit cooked in the process.

Of course, Dan and I did take over half-an-hour to bust into that ostrich egg, so you might want to seek advice from someone swifter.

[Pat]

Premature plea, but thanks. ^Kind of hard to steady the bumpy, round squash, though I hadn't tried a nail. Was about to secure it w towels when I decided to hack one last time. Once I got the chef's knife all the way through, I banged the vegetable against the cutting board w knife serving as mallet. Uneven bisection effected by prying open what was not fully severed. Since this is not a unique problem, I am sure ol_i's suggestions (below) will be of use.

That's how I usually hack open hard-shelled quash, but I never feel confident in the leverage and am afraid I'm going to stab myself some day with that approach. I have tried serrated knives but don't recall the results.

[zoramargolis]

None of the knives or even the cleaver seem to be sharp and sturdy enough to slit open a formidable, waxed kabocha squash.

Originally wished to peel it and chop into small dice. Ha. Will settle on halving the thing. No chisel. No scythe.

Some folk roast spaghetti squash whole, poking holes into the thing first to prevent a messy explosion. Not sure I can stick anything far enough into Its Royal Durableness to aerate the cavity.

Any brilliant ideas?

I have a wooden mallet and an old, heavy chef's knife that I keep just for jobs such as whacking a large hard squash in pieces. The mallet is also handy for spatchcocking large birds. I bang on the dull edge of the knife blade with the mallet until the sharp edge penetrates, and then whack on the knife until it goes all the way through. This shouldn't be done with a delicate Global knife, which could shatter, but the old heavy Henckels I use doesn't seem to mind.

Sometimes, rather than go to all of the effort to peel and chop a raw squash into small pieces, I hack it into several chunks, remove the seeds, and then roast the pieces. Much easier to peel and cut up after it has been baked.

[lperry]

When I was little, I read in the "Little House" books about cutting hubbard squashes with an axe. Since that time, I have found that a hatchet does a remarkable job on any squash that the big chef's knife can't handle. Granted, a cheap knife and a rubber mallet is a great idea, but how often do you get to bring a hatchet into the kitchen? It's almost as exciting as cutting a coconut with a machete.

[Anna Blume]

Again, thanks, everyone. I bought a rubber mallet years ago to assemble furniture, but I am telling you, this particular squash... I gotta wonder if one of the farm hands got wax-happy or something odd happened during storage to cause a weird chemical bond that only intensified during roasting. When the squash was done, the skin had turned into a really hard, thin shell. Sort of reminded me of a cross between a fired clay vessel and dried-out gourds, only the flesh was perfectly fine and still quite flavorful.

[Dave Pressley]

Premature plea, but thanks. ^Kind of hard to steady the bumpy, round squash, though I hadn't tried a nail. Was about to secure it w towels when I decided to hack one last time. Once I got the chef's knife all the way through, I banged the vegetable against the cutting board w knife serving as mallet. Uneven bisection effected by prying open what was not fully severed. Since this is not a unique problem, I am sure ol_i's suggestions (below) will be of use.

I would have used a new blade on a reciprocating saw. That's because I have one and I can never find enough uses for it.

[FunnyJohn]

I would have used a new blade on a reciprocating saw. That's because I have one and I can never find enough uses for it.

or perhaps a wedge and a small hatchet like what you would use for splitting smaller logs