|
|
Post by mattiemeg on Dec 9, 2015 15:59:30 GMT -5
Hi Walk, I was initially concerned too about the squash being difficult to deal with in the kitchen for being too bumpy: like notonari's, mine are just a bit bumpier than a hubbard and certainly not warty (as some pictures show). My seeds were from Baker Creek. In any case, the bumps do not seem to interfere with the eating quality of the skin: it can be surprisingly soft (again, similar to a buttercup).
Re: Queensland Blue: I grew my first here in the UK this year. Like you, I was worried that Aussie Blues may struggle in the UK. We've had a cool and wet summer. It was planted out late June with fleece protection and I harvested the fruit mid-October so with any luck it may mature in Minnesota with a bit of early and late cover? I have yet to taste the QB though: perhaps the lack of sun may adversely affect the flavour. Although some pepos seem to mature early (e.g. Kakai, Tonda Padana), I find delicatas surprisingly late in our conditions and are almost always the last fruit I harvest off the patch in late October before first frosts. Good luck with the Aussie if you decide to grow them!
|
|
|
|
Post by Walk on Dec 10, 2015 9:52:58 GMT -5
Hi Mattiemeg, Let me know how your QB tastes when you get around to cooking one. Yesterday we cooked up half of one of the biggest OHSM fruits (it was over 18#). It had a small spot of isolated spoilage starting. Thought we would be feeding it to our sheep. Surprisingly this one was edible - not very good but not terrible like the others. I think it's good enough to turn some of it into spiced squash bread but there's plenty to share with our critters as well. I also rehydrated some of the UDDD that I had cooked and dehydrated a week or so ago. It was delicious even after that additional processing. If we were to grow a larger patch of the UDDD we could just cook up an extra squash or two each time we are having them to eat and dehydrate them over the woodstove at this time of year (if we were having our normal heating season as this year even in Minnesota we've only had sporadic heating fires). I'm feeling inticed to trial the Marina di Chioggia and possibly Blue Kuri from Adaptive Seeds, although I'm tempted to just plant the UDDD and let them open pollinate rather than hand pollinate. That way I could make better selections based on the individual fruits rather than being limited to only a few possibilities. Maybe I can get someone else to grow the trial varieties elsewhere?
|
|
|
|
Post by mattiemeg on Jan 24, 2016 10:23:02 GMT -5
Hi Walk, just reporting back on the QB which I cooked today. The fruit was in pristine condition, having now been in storage for ~4 months. I think it would have kept far longer. Taste-wise it was a little disappointing: I was hoping that it would be dry, nutty and sweet but it turned out more watery than I would have liked. This isn't a typical description of QB that I've read, so it could just be due to suboptimal growing conditions last summer. Nonetheless, it had enough dry matter for a hearty soup. It did have a good depth of flesh (2 to 2.5 inches for a fruit 9 inches in diameter) and a smooth fibre-free texture.
|
|
|
|
Post by Walk on Jan 24, 2016 11:52:47 GMT -5
Hi Walk, just reporting back on the QB which I cooked today. The fruit was in pristine condition, having now been in storage for ~4 months. I think it would have kept far longer. Taste-wise it was a little disappointing: I was hoping that it would be dry, nutty and sweet but it turned out more watery than I would have liked. This isn't a typical description of QB that I've read, so it could just be due to suboptimal growing conditions last summer. Nonetheless, it had enough dry matter for a hearty soup. It did have a good depth of flesh (2 to 2.5 inches for a fruit 9 inches in diameter) and a smooth fibre-free texture. I read that some of the dry-fleshed maximas gradually become more moist the longer they are stored as sugars and starches convert, can't remember the exact process going on. I think I read that on some link that Johnnys Seeds had. Sorry to be so vague on this. We've eaten up all of the UDDD and are slowly cooking up the OHSM, LSR, and Gold Nuggets. All of them are dismal at best, but at least the sheep and chickens are eating them now. The Dostal Cucumber (pepo) is keeping very well and tastes OK although it's not highly flavored. The Waltham Butternuts can't be beat for storage and the flavor is quite good right, even a year after harvest. Going to try Blue Kuri and Candystick Delicata from Adaptive Seeds and Marina di Chioggia from Fedco this summer. |
|
|
|
Post by mattiemeg on Jan 24, 2016 12:09:57 GMT -5
I wonder if my QB specimen simply didn't have a long enough season: here's a photo just before cooking. There is distinct pale green zone just under the skin which may be a sign of poor ripening and hence low sugar content. I'll try again this growing season, but Marina di Chioggia remains my most consistent maxima so far.  |
|
|
|
Post by notonari on Jan 26, 2016 7:41:23 GMT -5
Yes, the longer you store a squash the more starch will be converted to sugar, which will affect the taste and the texture. Any squash stored for over half a year will be less starchy and more sugary than it was after 2 months. I suppose the speed of this process depends on the variety (i.e. the amount of dry matter you start with) and the storage temperature. My guess is that if you want a squash that keeps a good eating quality far into spring, you should start with a variety that has a very high dry matter content and store it at fairly low temperatures.
|
|
|
|
Post by ilex on Feb 10, 2016 2:28:27 GMT -5
Look for East Spain's de torrar/de horno. Many, many varieties there. I've tried quite a few of those mentioned in this thread. They just don't compare.
I think squash stores much better at higher temperatures. Like sweet potatoes.
|
|
|
|
Post by ilex on Feb 10, 2016 9:10:02 GMT -5
Just tried one of mine, so I tested. ... brix 18.
Sold two more today. Brix 20 and 21.2. The one with brix 18 was more intense.
I taste squash raw. Good ones are addictive, sweet as candy.
|
|
|
|
Post by notonari on Feb 14, 2016 2:08:13 GMT -5
Interesting, just read a bit about 'dulce de horno' and 'buen guesto de horno' and the reviews do seem quite enthusiastic. Any seed companies you can recommend?
|
|
|
|
Post by ilex on Feb 24, 2016 8:59:38 GMT -5
Interesting, just read a bit about 'dulce de horno' and 'buen guesto de horno' and the reviews do seem quite enthusiastic. Any seed companies you can recommend? I haven't tried any of the commercial ones. One is not even a maxima. The best option is trades. |
|
|
|
Post by ilex on Feb 24, 2016 9:01:42 GMT -5
Opened two more. One tasteless brix 14 that went to the chickens and a 21.4 which is really good.
|
|
|
|
Post by 12540dumont on Feb 29, 2016 12:51:52 GMT -5
Walk for years we grew Marina di Chioggia believing them to be the best ever. Then when I ran out of seeds I bought more. What a disappointment. Then we finally figured it out, the seeds we had originally bought we bought from a sidewalk vendor in Venice. They turned out to be Piacentina! (And they had mixed up their seed labels). This is a lovely squash. 105 days. One of my farm customers asked if I would please grow these every year. Alas with the squash bugs, I haven't had a decent squash in 2 years. I'm lucky if I get a few zukes before they strike. We also got a weird squash that looked like a butternut gone warty. It was a Violina. It was yummy too.
Maybe someday I'll see squash again...in my lifetime. But not if the commercial grower next to me continues to grow squash. Johnno once posted strong coffee mixed with oil and soap works. I'll try it this year. Picking doesn't work. I can't pick 10,000 of the buggers.
Good luck with your squash.
|
|
|
|
Post by philagardener on Feb 29, 2016 18:40:19 GMT -5
Might a high tunnel with fabric row cover help against those squash bugs? Hand pollinating squash goes quickly.
|
|
|
|
Post by Walk on Mar 1, 2016 11:00:53 GMT -5
Walk for years we grew Marina di Chioggia believing them to be the best ever. Then when I ran out of seeds I bought more. What a disappointment. Then we finally figured it out, the seeds we had originally bought we bought from a sidewalk vendor in Venice. They turned out to be Piacentina! (And they had mixed up their seed labels). This is a lovely squash. 105 days. One of my farm customers asked if I would please grow these every year. Alas with the squash bugs, I haven't had a decent squash in 2 years. I'm lucky if I get a few zukes before they strike. We also got a weird squash that looked like a butternut gone warty. It was a Violina. It was yummy too. Maybe someday I'll see squash again...in my lifetime. But not if the commercial grower next to me continues to grow squash. Johnno once posted strong coffee mixed with oil and soap works. I'll try it this year. Picking doesn't work. I can't pick 10,000 of the buggers. Good luck with your squash. Thanks for the tip. I see that Adaptive Seeds carries Piacentina. Maybe next year as I've already filled up my planned spaces for this year. A 105 day variety is pushing the limits of our season somewhat - it depends on whether they can tolerate or thrive in a cool start/end and some cool nights in the middle of the season. Bugs aren't always a problem here, although some years can be crazy. Hope we have another year as productive as last. |
|
|
|
Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Mar 2, 2016 0:41:47 GMT -5
Is there an optimal time to eat storage squash? I've read that 4 months is when you can start eating squash, but when does it become too long?
|
|
