Chayote Not-A-Squash ???



M

Mark Thorson

Guest
I've recently been experimenting with the vegetable
marketed under the name "chayote squash", though I'm deeply
skeptical that it's any kind of a squash. For one thing, it
has one great big seed in the middle, unlike any other
member of the squash family that I've ever seen, which
always have many seeds.

At first, I used it unpeeled, but I've since decided it
should be peeled for best effect. I've tried cooking it,
using it in soup, but it seems best raw. I've found that it
is great sliced into thin sticks, with a generous splash of
balsamic vinegar. So now I've got two things to use balsamic
vinegar for.

Chayote is slightly sweet, without any vegetable flavor like
you have with zucchini. It has a firm, crunchy, flesh very
much like a cucumber, but firmer and crispier.

My mom said when she was a kid (living in Hawaii), she had
seen this vegetable then, but never tried it. It was
something the Philipinos would eat.
 
>Mark Thorazine:
>
>I've recently been experimenting with the vegetable
>marketed under the name "chayote squash",

I've not ever seen chayote labeled "chayote squash", only
"chayote", or "mirlitin"... you hallucinated that in your
psychotic little lentil of a brain. Chayote is not a
squash, it's a "gourd", like that hollow thingie setting on
your shoulders

>I'm deeply skeptical that it's any kind of a squash. For
>one thing, it has one great big seed in the middle, unlike
>any other member of the squash family that I've ever seen,
>which always have many seeds.

chayote [chi-OH-tay] Once the principal food of the Aztecs
and Mayas, this gourdlike fruit is about the size and shape
of a very large pear. Beneath its furrowed, pale green skin
is a white, rather bland-tasting flesh surrounding one soft
seed. In the United States, chayote is grown in several
states including California, Florida and Louisiana (where
it's known as mirliton ). Chayote are widely available
during winter months, but can be found in some supermarkets
throughout the year. Look for those that are small, firm and
unblemished. Refrigerate in a plastic bag up to a month.
Chayotes can be prepared in any way suitable for summer
squash. It can also be split, stuffed and baked like acorn
squash, or used raw in salad. Because of its mild flavor it
requires assertive seasoning. Chayote, known in France as
christophene , is a good source of potassium. THE FOOD
LOVER'S COMPANION

Encyclopædia Britannica

chayote

also called Huisquil, or Chocho (Sechium edule), tendril-
bearing perennial vine of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae),
native to the New World tropics, where it is widely
cultivated for its edible fruits. Chayote also is grown as
an annual plant in temperate climates. The fast-growing vine
bears small, white flowers and green or white pear-shaped
fruits with furrows. Each fruit is about
7.5 to 10 cm (about 3 to 4 inches) long and contains one
seed. The fruits are boiled, baked, or eaten raw, and the
young root tubers are prepared like potatoes.

Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.
<http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=23090> [Accessed
May 16, 2004].

---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =--- ---= Move
UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without
tribulation." Sheldon ````````````
 
>I've recently been experimenting with the vegetable
>marketed under the name
"chayote squash"...<

It's actually a fruit, as described here from
Epicurious.com

chayote [chi-OH-tay] Once the principal food of the Aztecs
and Mayas, this gourdlike fruit is about the size and shape
of a very large pear. Beneath its furrowed, pale green skin
is a white, rather bland-tasting flesh surrounding one soft
seed. In the United States, chayote is grown in several
states including California, Florida and Louisiana (where
it's known as mirliton ). Chayote are widely available
during winter months, but can be found in some supermarkets
throughout the year. Look for those that are small, firm and
unblemished. Refrigerate in a plastic bag up to a month.
Chayotes can be prepared in any way suitable for summer
squash. It can also be split, stuffed and baked like acorn
squash, or used raw in salad. Because of its mild flavor it
requires assertive seasoning. Chayote, known in France as
christophene , is a good source of potassium.
 
Mark Thorson wrote:
>
> (...) but it seems best raw. I've found that it is great
> sliced into thin sticks, with a generous splash of
> balsamic vinegar. So now I've got two things to use
> balsamic vinegar for.

It pairs well with jicama in this usage. rms
 
Here are some way my family eats chayote.

Dice the whole smooth skinned chayote (seed and all) and
cook like hashbrowns in butter with salt pepper and a little
sugar accentuate it's sweetness.

Slice a smooth skinned chayote and spray with olive oil.
Grill on a ribbed cast iron grill till tender and have nice
grill lines, this take a long time because they are full of
moisture. Season with salt and pepper.

(SPINY CHAYOTE) Find the spiny chayotes that have a tougher
skin. Boil them whole split, remove the seed and the loofa
like fiberous part that sometimes forms around the seed.
Scoop out the insides mix with chopped onions, butter,
garlic and salt to taste. Saute this filling mixture while
mashing it to remove moisture and finish cooking it. Fill
the spiny chayote halves with this mixture and top with
bread crumbs. bake in hot oven to brown the top. Careful as
the spines are sharp, don't play catch with these.

My SO just grilled me as to why I was giving her
Grandmothers recipe away to strangers, and finally conceded.

If a gourd can cross with a squash it seems to me that
chayote could be referred to as a squash, unless you are
hung up with precise taxonomy. Tomatoes are fruits,
cooked like vegetables and figs are inside out flowers
eaten like fruit.

DaveR
 
On 2004-05-16, Mark Thorson <[email protected]> wrote:

> should be peeled for best effect. I've tried cooking it,
> using it in soup, but it seems best raw.

It's perfect for nuking. Cut into 1" chunks and nuke in
loose-lid microwave safe bowl with just enough water to
keep chayote from drying out. Very sweet, enough to eat
by itself.

nb
 
PENMART01 wrote in message <20040516150348.13296.00000617@mb-
m06.aol.com>...
>>Mark Thorazine:
>>
>>I've recently been experimenting with the vegetable
>>marketed under the name "chayote squash",
>
>I've not ever seen chayote labeled "chayote squash", only
>"chayote", or "mirlitin"... you hallucinated that in your
>psychotic little lentil of a
brain.
> Chayote is not a squash, it's a "gourd", like that hollow
> thingie setting
on
>your shoulders

it's labeled that at my local stupidmarket.

--
Saerah

TANSTAAFL

"Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine
meltin' in a pot of thieves
wild card up my sleeve
thick heart of stone
my sins my own
they belong to me, me

people say "beware!"
but I don't care
the words are just
rules and regulations to me, me"
- patti smith
 
>(Tranch749) puftered:
>
> It's actually a fruit

So what... all fruits are vegetable... even you... friggin'
eggplant. <G>

---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =--- ---= Move
UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without
tribulation." Sheldon ````````````
 
"Mark Thorson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've recently been experimenting with the vegetable
> marketed under the name "chayote squash",

this is funny. Chayotes are "chokos" in Australia, and are
regarded as pest food. They grow in all warmer climates
(where there aren't frosts) on vines that grow over fences
etc. When they ripen, there's a glut of chokos everywhere,
and people compost them or use them as missiles. I saw some
in a US supermarket as Chayotes and laughted quite a bit as
they were quite expensive!

ant
 
"ant" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> "Mark Thorson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I've recently been experimenting with the vegetable
>> marketed under the name "chayote squash",
>
> this is funny. Chayotes are "chokos" in Australia, and are
> regarded as pest food. They grow in all warmer climates
> (where there aren't frosts) on vines that grow over fences
> etc. When they ripen, there's a glut of chokos everywhere,
> and people compost them or use them as missiles. I saw
> some in a US supermarket as Chayotes and laughted quite a
> bit as they were quite expensive!
>
> ant
>
>
>

AKA mirliton or xu-xu or alligator pear. Originally only
found in China and western Mexico (figure that one out).
Not a real squash, but definitely squashoid in flavor
and texture.

Chayote is plural, chayotl is singular.
 
"Saerah" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> PENMART01 wrote in message <20040516150348.13296.00000617@mb-
> m06.aol.com>...
> >>Mark Thorazine:
> >>
> >>I've recently been experimenting with the vegetable
> >>marketed under the name "chayote squash",
> >
> >I've not ever seen chayote labeled "chayote squash", only
> >"chayote", or "mirlitin"... you hallucinated that in your
> >psychotic little lentil of a
> brain.
> > Chayote is not a squash, it's a "gourd", like that
> > hollow thingie setting
> on
> >your shoulders
>
> it's labeled that at my local stupidmarket.

That's indeed the usage I see most often, though
supermarkets are not botanical authorities.

Chayote, cucumbers and melons, pumpkins and squashes, and
watermelons and gourds are in different tribes (Sicyeae,
Melothrieae, Cucurbiteae, and Benincaseae respectively) of
the cucurbits.

Chayote is thus botanically neither a squash nor a gourd,
though it is related to them. Culinarily it is closer to a
summer squash than it is to anything else.

--
Chris Green
 
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