February 2013 Moms

Those who can/process their on foods

Have you ever done pumpkin? I was thinking about trying it this year, I know there are some safety factors, I think I would be more comfortable freezing it based on my research. Do you think variety matters? I have read mixed reviews.

Re: Those who can/process their on foods

  • Gftf7Gftf7 member
    No to pumpkin. But YES to squash!

    I'll check w my H about what variety is in the garden.

    We pick them before first frost. Then they end up in the shop (that is heated to 40-50 degrees). They keep well until Jan. Feb is pushing the limits.

    As far as preserving them, I usually bake two at a time in the oven. We have squash for a meal or two, then I freeze the rest. Just scoop out of shell and freeze. I just reuse plastic containers (yogurt, cottage cheese, etc).

    If you have cats, save the skins. Ours go crazy for them! And cobs of sweet corn. Go figure!

    Here's how I bake the squash: Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and save for roasting, place cut side down in glass casserole with 1/2 inch-or-so of water in bottom of casserole, cover casserole dish, bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until knife easily pierces the squash. Shorter or longer time depending on how big the squash is. Squash is also super forgiving as far as baking temp/time. A 200 degree oven works, just takes longer. If you have something else baking at 425, the squash does well at that temp too, just gets done quicker.

    As far as what to do with the squash, I have recipes for squash custard, squash soup, squash bread/muffins, etc. We substitute squash in the 'pumpkin' pie at Thanksgiving. In my opinion, any pumpkin recipe can be made with squash instead. Happy to share recipes.

    I like 1-inch cubes of squash roasted in the oven (bought at Costco once). Haven't researched doing this at home. The squash is rather tough to cut when raw, so I don't know how well it would work to cut all the skin off and make the cubes. Maybe if I had better / sharper knives?

    Not sure if this is what you would find on a state extension food preservation website, but this has worked well for us in the past.

    After all my raving about squash, we are trying one pumpkin plant this year. Thought it would be fun for LO to have some pumpkins this fall. My H found it really cheap in the clearance section a few weeks ago. We'll see how it does.
  • I know you CAN can pumpkin safely, or else they wouldn't sell it in the store, but I'm too chicken to do it.  Plus, it freezes really well.

    I freeze tons of pureed pumpkin and squash every year.  I bake or steam, throw it in the food processor and then freeze.  Pumpkin I freeze in canning jars, the amount that I would need for my pie recipes.  Squash I freeze in ice cube trays because I tend to add a few cubes to sauces and soups or thaw a few to make squash cakes for DS1.
        
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