The tender flesh of a butternut never gets boring during preparation. It goes well with both savory and sweet dishes. But what about the shell? Is it also edible or does it have to be removed first?

A butternut squash is better peeled in half

Use with or without shell?

The butternut has a shell that is theoretically edible. But unlike Hokkaido, it is rarely eaten. The reason is that the shell does not soften enough even after long frying or boiling.

Since only the pulp is usually used in the preparation, the butternut, as this type of pumpkin is called in German, has to be peeled.

The challenges of peeling

Peeling a butternut is not as easy as peeling a potato, for example. When removing the skin of this type of pumpkin, several challenges await the cook:

  • the pumpkin is large, heavy and unwieldy
  • cannot be held well in the hand
  • the round shape does not stand securely on the wooden board
  • the shell is smooth, knife slips off easily
  • the peel is thick and requires force when cutting

These challenges cannot easily be mastered by an inexperienced amateur chef. A few tricks and tips are certainly welcome.

The two halves of the butternut

The butter squash, as the butternut is also called, is not a spherical fruit. It is rather elongated, with the middle being slimmer than the rest of the fruit.

If the fruit is cut open lengthways, you can clearly see that there is only a cavity with seeds in the lower half.
The upper half, on the other hand, is completely filled with pulp.

For peeling, the butter squash is divided into the upper and lower part and processed separately.

Helpful kitchen utensils

To cut the butternut and then peel it, you need the following kitchen utensils:

  • a large and sharp serrated knife
  • a large wooden board
  • a tablespoon

Cut the butternut in half

Before the pumpkin is peeled, it must first be washed thoroughly. Ideally, it is brushed off under running water with a vegetable brush.

Then lay the squash flat on a wooden board and cut it in half. However, the cut is not made exactly at the narrowest point. Move the knife a few inches off the center toward the half with the handle. So after cutting through, the bottom half will be slightly larger, but will contain the entire core.

In a second step, cut off the two ends.

Remove the skin from the top half of the squash

  1. Place the top half of the squash upright on the wooden board.
  2. Hold the squash half in place with one hand while slicing away the skin with the other hand.
  3. Position the knife at the top of the fruit and run it all the way down the line with a sawing motion and light pressure.
  4. Continue this step until the whole half is free of the shell.
  5. The pulp that has been freed from the skin can now be further processed according to the recipe.

If only half of the butternut is enough for the current recipe, you can leave the other half unpeeled and keep it in the refrigerator for several days.

tips

Don't cut the skin too thin, as there is very fibrous flesh just below. This should be generously removed.

Remove the skin from the bottom half of the squash

The lower half of the pumpkin not only has to be freed from the shell, the core also has to be removed.

  1. Place the squash half upright on the wooden board.
  2. Cut the squash lengthwise into four pieces.
  3. Remove all seeds with a tablespoon.
  4. Set out a quarter of the squash and slice off the skin in strips, working from top to bottom, as described previously for the top half of the squash.
  5. Remove the peel from each quarter one at a time.

tips

Don't throw away the kernels. Dried and roasted, they make a delicious snack.

When the shell can stay on

The shell of a butternut often, but not always, needs to be removed. If, for example, the pumpkin pieces are finely pureed after cooking, the skin can remain on. It is then cut up so small that it is no longer a nuisance.

Conclusion for fast readers:

  • Peel: Is edible, but remains hard even when cooked; peeling is necessary
  • Exception: If the cooked pumpkin is pureed
  • Preparation: Clean the pumpkin thoroughly under running water
  • Halve: Use a large serrated knife; thicker pumpkin part should be slightly larger
  • Halve: Lay flat on wooden board; cut through the middle; cut off both ends
  • Upper Half: Stand upright on the board; hold onto; Peel off the peel from top to bottom
  • Tip: Peel thickly and remove the fibrous flesh underneath
  • Bottom Half: Stand upright on the board; to quarter Remove core
  • Bottom half: line up quarters one at a time; Peel off the peel from top to bottom
  • Tip: half a butternut can be stored unpeeled in the fridge for a few days

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:

  • as a free PDF file to print out yourself

Category:

Vegetable garden