Cut Spaghetti Squash Like This For Longer Strands

By now, you have probably made up your mind about spaghetti squash, and I’m not here to convince you about it one way or the other. I never find myself purchasing it, but I did have a surprisingly delicious spaghetti squash dish when I was out the other night, so take that however you wish.

If, however, you are the type of person to purchase said squash and prepare it at home, I have some information you need: When you get the thing home, and are ready to hack it into two, cut it horizontally—not vertically like you see in most photos of the squash—for the longest squash strands.

If you peer closely at the photo above, you can see that the squash strands run around the squash hole in concentric circles. When you cut the squash vertically, you cut those circles in half. I guess short strands aren’t the end of the world, but if the idea is to approximate the pasta eating experience—and, let’s be honest, the squash needs all the help it can get in this regard—the longer the better.

Once the squash is hacked in two, cook it however you usually do. You can microwave or roast, but I usually use a pressure cooker (six minutes under high pressure followed by a manual release). I’ve found you don’t even need a fork when you prepare the squash this way; a quick squeeze is all it takes for the not noodles to slide right out onto the plate. (I would drain them, however. Wet squash strands are unappealing.)