The Urban Homekeeper Challenge - Winter Squash
Aug 19th, 2008 by Sylvia
Winter squash are abundant this time of year and the great thing about them, they will keep til next spring! That’s why they are called winter squash, they keep over the winter. Some winter squash varieties include:
Acorn
Butternut
Kushaw
Ambercup
Banana
Carnival
Delicata
Hubbard
Spaghett
Turban
You can keep these squash in a cool place for 4-6 months. A basement or even under the bed in a box are good places to keep winter squash. As long as they are in a cool, dark well-ventilated place they will keep very well.
I use a lot of butternut squash throughout the year, but especially in the fall and winter, I prepare soups and casseroles with winter squash. Since soups and casseroles often require the squash to be cooked and pureed, I am offering you some instructions for doing just that.
Pureed winter squash can be frozen and kept for up to a year. Its handy to be able to pull out a package of pureed winter squash and make a delicious soup for family or company.
Don’t boil winter squash, bake it. And while I’m thinking of it, don’t boil sweet potatoes either. Just pop them into a 350* oven and bake til they are tender. Then you can scoop out the flesh and continue with your recipe. For the butternut squash, split the squash length wise. You can scoop out the little pocket of seeds before you bake it or after. Most fresh butternut squash will take about 45 minutes to get tender, but just keep checking with a fork. The fork should pierce the skin and go through the flesh with no trouble at all.
Baked butternut squash
Next you will want to put the squash into either rigid containers or zip top bags to freeze. You could freeze the squash in glass jars too, just don’t fill them full.
Be sure to label your packages and place them in the freezer. When you are ready to use it, just pull it out and defrost in the frig, then use in your recipes. Because you baked it and didn’t boil it, you won’t have to deal with drippy, excess water inthe squash.
Oooo, I love winter squash. I have never frozen it. If you put it into soup, will he just become mush? I have always baked it just before eating. What else do you do with the frozen squash? I am going to stock up, if they go on sale. I like the idea of freezing them.
Well, they are sort of mush when you scoop the flesh or pulp out of the baked shell, kwim?
I sometimes mash it up with some butter and a little brown sugar and serve it like that.
You can also use the mashed pulp in muffins or pies. Actually, any recipe you have ever seen that uses mashed sweet potato in it, can be made using the winter squash pulp.
Love
Sylvia