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 wintersquash, they keep over the winter.
Cushaw Squash
Some winter squash varieties include:
Acorn
Butternut
Kushaw – or Cushaw
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.
Butternut Squash
Once they are baked, you can scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Holding the squash with a napkin while it is hot is a good idea. You can add a pinch of salt to the pureed squash if you like, it will help it keep a little better.
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 in the squash.
Hello and welcome! I'm Sylvia Britton, and I've been online since 1996 offering encouragement and help in the spirit of Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 at Christian Homekeeper. CHK is the original Homekeeping site on the internet
That was meant to say delicata of course…. thank you autocorrect.
Mary @ Fit and Fed recently posted..Tempeh Sloppy Joes
haha, Mary, I hate that thing. Love delicata though! Isn’t it good??
Baking is definitely the way to go with squash. I love that they keep so well, I stocked up a couple of weeks ago at a farm stand with acorn, butternut, red kuri, and my favorite, delicate.
Mary @ Fit and Fed recently posted..Cutting Butternut Squash Safely
I like how you do this. I have nerve damage in my hands and I can’t cut the squash, so I just pop the whole thing into the oven. I put it on a cookie sheet and poke a few whole into it. When it is done and has cooled a bit it is very easy to cut. I saw this on Martha Stewart for Spaghetti Squash and it works for all squash. Even my kids can now cook the squash and we eat it more often now.
Yes, that’s a very good idea! Thanks for sharing. I used to peel and chop sweet potatoes to make casseroles, but now I just bake them whole as well.