Chayote

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karstopography
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Chayote

#1

Post: # 68241Unread post karstopography
Fri Apr 22, 2022 5:13 am

My son that works at the College Food Pantry brought home some sprouted Chayote squash. Well, I planted one in one of my raised beds. I’ve got the long growing season and heat that these gourds evidently need to thrive covered, but I have never, ever bought one to do a meal with.

What do you do with these squash/gourds in the kitchen, providing I get any?

Any other growing or otherwise experience that might be helpful?

I’m always looking to expand hot season opportunities for new garden vegetables. This chayote seems to fit the bill, but I can’t say I’ve ever cooked with it. Maybe I’ve eaten some and didn’t realize I was eating it.

Worst case, I get a big vine with flowers.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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worth1
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Re: Chayote

#2

Post: # 68245Unread post worth1
Fri Apr 22, 2022 5:43 am

Rick Bayless uses it in one of his videos I think.
He does a ton of real Mexican food.
Worth
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pepperhead212
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Re: Chayote

#3

Post: # 68257Unread post pepperhead212
Fri Apr 22, 2022 8:15 am

They do grow as vines, but unfortunately, attract SVBs. The squash are very good - don't turn to mush immediately, like most summer squash. I find them in Asian markets, mostly, but I'm not sure what they call them. Use them in anything summer squash would be used in - they just cook a little longer. I've used several of Bayless's recipes, all good.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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karstopography
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Re: Chayote

#4

Post: # 68258Unread post karstopography
Fri Apr 22, 2022 8:20 am

SVB haven’t yet found my garden. My garden is pretty isolated from other gardens. Closest garden I can think of is several hundred feet away and I don’t know if they grow squash. My buddy in town has SVB, but a lot more gardens are nearby. Seems like I read SVB spread from other nearby infested gardens.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Tormato
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Re: Chayote

#5

Post: # 68265Unread post Tormato
Fri Apr 22, 2022 9:28 am

What to do with them in the kitchen?

Flavor them, as they are basically tasteless.

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karstopography
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Re: Chayote

#6

Post: # 68267Unread post karstopography
Fri Apr 22, 2022 10:16 am

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ch ... TLE_HDR_12

Nothing wrong with a nutritous blank slate.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Tormato
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Re: Chayote

#7

Post: # 68268Unread post Tormato
Fri Apr 22, 2022 11:33 am

As stated above, they are much firmer than most summer squash. So, it's experimenting with cooking methods and times, along with seasonings to find what one likes.

Me, I like the flavor of zucchini, along with the milder yellow summer squashes.

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karstopography
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Re: Chayote

#8

Post: # 68283Unread post karstopography
Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:48 pm

https://www.rickbayless.com/taco-tuesda ... -a-chance/
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/c ... een_chile/
Found a couple of potential recipes. Might have to actually try one of them before I get too far into growing them.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

Mark_Thompson
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Re: Chayote

#9

Post: # 68299Unread post Mark_Thompson
Fri Apr 22, 2022 9:40 pm

It may taste like water but at least it’s slimy.
Wet and windy side of a Hawaiian island, just living the dream

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worth1
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Re: Chayote

#10

Post: # 68331Unread post worth1
Sat Apr 23, 2022 11:36 am

I just bought three from the store for 64 cents each.
No idea what I'll come up with.
Differing opinions as to whether you can cut the seed out and plant it.
One guy does it with success.
I won't try this until I get ready to eat one.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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Re: Chayote

#11

Post: # 68810Unread post worth1
Sun May 01, 2022 2:18 pm

Since I left them in the plastic wrappers in the garage one has developed roots and the start of a vine.
Its now half buried sideways in the container out front to see what happens.
Notice the roots and vine come out the same end.
Weird plant. :lol:
20220501_140944.jpg
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Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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Re: Chayote

#12

Post: # 68838Unread post GoDawgs
Sun May 01, 2022 7:27 pm

Karst, your post is most coincidental as Pickles and I were kicking around the subject earlier today. I looked online for seed and then started reading about chayote and everything I read said you have to let one of the squash germinate the seed as in Worth's great photo. Thanks, Worth!

Apparently this thing is really rampant and will climb everything. LOL! Here's an article from Mother Earth I found and bookmarked. It also gives ideas on what to do with them.

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic ... z80ndzraw/

This next article names varieties (although we probably wouldn't find that info at the grocery) and tips on growing in containers.

https://morningchores.com/growing-chayotes/

I have no idea where to find one around here but then again I haven't ever looked for one so I need to keep my eyes open. Maybe I can ask one of my Mexican friends back where I work if any of his family or friends grow it.

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karstopography
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Re: Chayote

#13

Post: # 68843Unread post karstopography
Sun May 01, 2022 8:15 pm

Chayote squash are in the regular supermarkets here. Roughly 1/3 of the people here have roots in Latin America. I figure I’ll learn more about these chayote between now and the extra long days to maturity chayote had if we ever get that far.

My son says the taste of raw chayote reminds him of the taste of salmon sushi, how strange, huh? Texture is firm so he says. I put one of the sprouting ones he brought home in a raised bed where the onions were. I barely covered with loose soil and tilted the top up and the sprouting base down at a 45° angle.

Seems like it sat there for a few days, then suddenly came to life. Today, two shoots are well up and grew 4 or five inches just today. Very deep green foliage, especially for such new foliage.

The bed it is in is 5’x 10’. I’ll put up bamboo if it shows signs of thriving and let it crawl all over that. The bed is tucked away in the back of the garden. There’s yaupon behind the bed and it can crawl on that if it really gets big. I’ve got a Couple of asian type C. Moschata at the other end of the bed up and growing. Those too can thrive in tropical summer heat.

Last year, the same bed had okra and bitter melon. Bitter melon is another heat loving long distance climber. I never ate bitter melon before either, but I found I really liked it raw and thin sliced in salads with carrots and a little onion.

We have three seasons of gardening here. Cool season, warm season and hot season. I’m trying to find more hot season vegetables that I can enjoy and maybe look pretty. Perhaps this chayote will be one.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Re: Chayote

#14

Post: # 68848Unread post pepperhead212
Sun May 01, 2022 9:10 pm

@karstopography Something else you might find that will grow in the heat there is bottle gourds - if it grows in Southern India, it can take heat! SVBs do not attack it, either (the original reason I tried them), and does not seem to come down with any diseases (tinda gourds were prone to some fungal disease). Only drawback is that they flower at night, thus they need moths or other insects that fly at night to pollinate them. The vines are never-ending, and they have to be pinched back, eventually.

The gourds, in the beginning, and when small (around 12-14"), they are not at all seedy; later in the summer, I have to scrape the seeds out of even smaller ones, so I let them grow to 20", like an overgrown squash. Yet even after freezing, and cooking 15 min in a dish like a curry, there is still some crunch. They are rather flavorless, like summer squash, but it's all about what they are seasoned with, like most things.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: Chayote

#15

Post: # 68849Unread post karstopography
Sun May 01, 2022 9:19 pm

I grew ridged luffa, it thrived in the summer here and I liked it pretty well for flavor. It also was sort of a night bloomer. I should try the bottle gourds. I like big sprawling vines with flowers. I have plenty of bamboo to cut for trellises. I’m up for trying new things, @pepperhead212 thanks for the tip.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Re: Chayote

#16

Post: # 68850Unread post pepperhead212
Sun May 01, 2022 9:26 pm

I tried the ridged gourds at one time years ago, and they did have good flavor. Unfortunately, like many cucurbits, they attract SVBs.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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karstopography
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Re: Chayote

#17

Post: # 68851Unread post karstopography
Sun May 01, 2022 9:44 pm

SVB haven’t yet found my garden. My friend across town has them.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Re: Chayote

#18

Post: # 68857Unread post pepperhead212
Sun May 01, 2022 11:43 pm

You're lucky - if they are in your area, that's it, they are there for good. My problem is a local weed, that lives in a creek area a short distance from me, that is a native host for the pepper maggot fly; I think there is something similar for SVB. A friend of mine, that used to live about 3 miles away, never had a problem with either of those pests.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: Chayote

#19

Post: # 68865Unread post worth1
Mon May 02, 2022 5:46 am

First you need to identify the SVB wasp or what ever it is then kill the things.
They are as hard as a rock.
They lay the eggs right next to the vine in the soil.

As far as the taste is concerned I too noticed an off fishy taste in the background.
I think its in the latex the fruit puts out.
To me it isn't pleasant at all.
I have one more I'll see if it is better cooked somehow instead of raw.
It isn't bad raw it just doesn't bring anything to the table on its own.

Oddly I planted mine just opposite of what @karstopography did.
Stem end more in the soil than the root end.
But both were slightly underground with some of the fruit side exposed.

I also wouldn't consider it a squash since it only has one seed.
But who am I to judge.
Its more like something on its own.
What I'm curious about is what animal eats or used to eat it?
Or if that animal went extinct sometime in the past.
Or if no animal ever ate it
Last edited by worth1 on Mon May 02, 2022 8:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Chayote

#20

Post: # 68868Unread post GoDawgs
Mon May 02, 2022 6:17 am

I just found a piece on chayote on Wikipedia. Apparently all parts are edible!

The chayote fruit is mostly used cooked. When cooked, chayote is usually handled like summer squash; it is generally lightly cooked to retain the crispy consistency. Raw chayote may be added to salads or salsas, most often marinated with lemon or lime juice, but is often regarded as especially unpalatable and tough in texture. Whether raw or cooked, chayote is a good source of vitamin C.

Although most people are familiar only with the fruit as being edible, the root, stem, seeds and leaves are edible as well. The tubers of the plant are eaten like potatoes and other root vegetables, while the shoots and leaves are often consumed in salads and stir fries, especially in Asia.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chayote

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