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Is shark fin squash and spaghetti squash one and the same ???.

Yes. I think so.  Shark fin is the oriental name.

I'm sure they are

Neil

Sharks Fin Squash is a particular type of spaghetti squash. It is also known as the Sharks Fin Melon because when ripe it really looks more like a melon, green skin with white stripes. Most other types of spaghetti squash have pale yellow/whitish shins, and the middle of them comes out like noodles, whereas the SFS has a dense white flesh that breaks up when cooked into shorter stands, and also has distinctive black seeds.

They like rich soil and are very vigorous; some of mine last year grew up a beech tree and still fruited well!

Sharks fin squash looks like this

Most other spahetti squash looks like this.

Oh a fabulous idea to store them on egg boxes  :D

I bet they are at least doubled up egg boxes, those lil' suckers are heavy!

thanks everyone i thought so but wasn't sure.

Quote from: Deb P on January 23, 2009, 11:27:47
They like rich soil and are very vigorous; some of mine last year grew up a beech tree and still fruited well!

up a beech tree you say, blimey i better warn the neighbours behind me that they may get invaded :D.

great photos Baccyman

hi i am just revisiting this posting to share some info re this squash. that i found while trying to research its storing abilities.

i came across a forum discussion http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/asianveg/msg0722541710549.html?56

it had some interesting info on the edibility of its young shoots and fruits (to late for me to try as i pulled and dumped the plants Sunday gone) and i had young that i could have tried as well because about two weeks ago the plant started to grow away again and also started to produce new female and male flowers and as such there was a lot of immature fruits attached to pollinated female flowers when i pulled it up. i'm a little worried that if we have a mild winter the plant may choose to re grow :-\ but since none of you ever mentioned that they regrow i don't think it will be a concern.

Quote from: Baccy Man on January 23, 2009, 11:36:17
Sharks fin squash looks like this

Most other spahetti squash looks like this.

where do you store yours and how long do you get them to store for. in the discussion i pasted a link to above, some one said they have stored theirs for 2+ yrs :o but they didn't explain how or where they stored them.

did you click on the link to see his or her squash patch on the gardenweb forum?  ;D. They were in a hardiness zone we only have in a few places.......

never really worked out what to do with sharks fin squash. and not much flesh inside, on ours anyway. Ended up in soup, and not shark's fin soup either. Spaghetti squash proper was much more versatile

I think that spaghetti squash was developed from sharks fin. Spaghetti squash was developed in Japan (according to "The Compleat Squash" and using fibrous squash as a noodle-like dish had a long history there before its development...

BTW, I thougroughly recommend "Compleat Squash" if you're at all interested in them.... it can be sesibly divided into two sections.... at the back there's a load of interesting squash based recipes, the front 2/3 is given over to photos that can only really be described as "Squash porn" and what would be regarded as the well informed jottings of an expert squash grower (or possibly the monomaniacal ramblings of someone who needs a Squash intervention from their friends)

chrisc

Sounds like my sort of book Chris...
I have the "potato" book
and a tomatoes book (in French)... no I'm not bi-lingual but the pics. are great and the text sufficiently repetative... although "potato-leaf" had me going for a while...  ;D

Chris I love your description of the book - I just sit and drool at the photos!  I am pretty sure Jeannine recommended it which is why I have a copy, it makes a lovely christmas present for any squash grower - well worth suggesting to someone who is stuck for something to buy you! ;)

Saddad, what is the potato book?

T.

yes I got remember Jeannine recommending it - but Chris' description of squash porn is just tooooooo funny  ;D

Sorry but can't help on the storage question

There are several Tulipa... mine is
"The Story of the Potato, Through illustrated varieties" Alan Wilson 1993
Which lists over 300 varieties, their parentage and periods of introduction/popularity and has 74 colour painted illustrations... "potato porn"!
;D