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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Sept 10, 2012 23:01:41 GMT -5
A couple days ago my daughter gave me a 34 pound winter squash that she grew in her garden. None of the kitchen tools were capable of cutting it, so I had to resort to tools in the workshop. I considered a hand saw, a machete, and an axe before rejecting them all in favor of the chainsaw. That sure made a huge mess!!! but it cut the squash as nice and quick as could be. ;D It made me curious: How do you cut huge winter squash?
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Post by kwilds on Sept 10, 2012 23:54:23 GMT -5
An axe - outside of course. General I try to avoid anything big enough to resort to that though!
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Post by circumspice on Sept 10, 2012 23:57:39 GMT -5
My sister & I pondered this question... I would probably have used a fine tooth hand saw... The kind that you use to cut lumber with. My sister suggested a band saw, if you have well appointed a wood shop.
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Post by MikeH on Sept 11, 2012 4:05:55 GMT -5
Sawzall with a 12" blade. Sawzall is to chainsaw what scalpel is to machete.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Sept 11, 2012 4:14:46 GMT -5
I have never seen a squash that wouldn't surrender to a heavy knife/ machete and a mallet. Basically I set the blade on the squash in the line of the cut I want to make and then smack the back of the blade with the mallet. Once your cut is started you just keep working your way around the circumference till you've gone all the way around. Then you can just pry the halves apart. For butternuts you can cut perpendicular to the neck and take off slices. I've also heard of just taking huge hubbards outside onto a concrete surface and dropping them.
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Post by ferdzy on Sept 11, 2012 11:08:50 GMT -5
Yeah, I understand dropping it from a second-story window works quite well. Personally I have never met a squash quite that large...
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 11, 2012 14:45:59 GMT -5
I have met that squash and invited her to dinner.
....and call in Leo with the machete and mallet.
When he wasn't home, I just pricked one all over the top with a knife and put the whole thing in the oven.
Took the whole oven and made some 20 pounds of finished squash. I wasn't able to save the seeds, but I avoided chopping off my toes with Leo's razor sharp machete.
Leo says to think of it like splitting a piece of wood. We have a squash stump. And the problem with dropping them out the window, is they roll into the creek and then you gotta climb down the 15 foot bank and back up with a 30 pound squash...dribbling with slime.
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Post by wolfcub on Sept 11, 2012 15:45:57 GMT -5
I use the largest axe I can lay my hands on. Blue Hubbards always need the axe to split them.
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Post by steev on Sept 11, 2012 19:35:57 GMT -5
A drill and an M80 will work.
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Post by Drahkk on Sept 11, 2012 21:52:15 GMT -5
Sawzall with a 12" blade. Sawzall is to chainsaw what scalpel is to machete. Ditto, though I find shorter blades give more control. I have three sawzall blades in my kitchen utensil drawer that are only used for food: one fine tooth 6" for bones, and 6" and 9" coarse blades for tough veggies like squash and pumpkins. MB
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Post by ilex on Sept 12, 2012 2:20:20 GMT -5
I have never seen a squash that wouldn't surrender to a heavy knife/ machete and a mallet. Basically I set the blade on the squash in the line of the cut I want to make and then smack the back of the blade with the mallet. Once your cut is started you just keep working your way around the circumference till you've gone all the way around. Then you can just pry the halves apart. That's exactly what I do.
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Post by mayz on Sept 12, 2012 9:49:24 GMT -5
Dominant Hi allele was reported to inhibit hard rind in C maxima. Thus sharpen your knives or eat a Hi squash
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2012 13:21:06 GMT -5
I pointed a sturdy butcher knife, downward, with the blade away from me, worked it like a lever.
A job for someone with good balance and a firm grip.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Sept 28, 2012 10:09:20 GMT -5
At a gathering of friends and family the other day, my daddy tasked me with the job of slicing a 40 pound Hubbard squash to share. Thanks to your great advice I got out a machete and a 3 pound hammer. It worked really well.
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Post by bunkie on Sept 28, 2012 10:55:38 GMT -5
mchete and hammer is the way i'd go too!
joseph, no pic of the 34 pounder?!
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