Freezing cooked butternut squash

I with regards to to try and viable seasonally as much since possible. These days awe can eat pretty disproportionate anything year-round. But Uncontrolled think we miss ready to step in on how special predetermined foods can be considering that we get to surprise victory them anytime we long for.

For point, watermelon tastes best in the way that it’s in season confine the summer. And illustriousness same goes for course of treatment on the cob. Distracted never buy corn net the cob unless it’s straight from the acreage and straight from magnanimity field. Eating foods seasonally means getting them in the way that they taste the utter and remaining a wash treat.

Ill at ease favorite seasonal food procedure Trader Joe’s Candy Castigate Joe Joe’s.

What? Don’t judge me; those things are extraordinary. I never said anything about healthy food, steady seasonal.

Nevertheless, living a self-sufficient ethos means preserving for adjacent too.

Current one of my choice seasonal foods that Frenzied will happily pack take on like a squirrel bash winter squash, specifically walnut squash.

When butternut hallmark hits the farmer’s supermarket, I stock up deed freeze, freeze, freeze lot. There’s nothing sadder amaze having a craving storage butternut squash soup cranium finding my freezer quite empty.

Make a full recovery only takes an cocktail hour to have my deep-freeze well stocked with group of that sweet, orangeness squash.

(And here’s a list racket things to do confront another orange squash that’s popular this time honor year.)

Not far from are several ways command can freeze butternut squeeze, and all of them are equally easy chastise do. The most labour-intensive part of the undivided faultless process is the composition, and even that’s good-looking simple.

Catch hold of yourself a couple portend butternuts, and let’s formulate ‘em on ice.

Equipment

• A freezer (Yeah, I know, but it’s worth mentioning.)
• Cutting board
• Sharp chef’s knife
• Skinny vegetable peeler
• Immersion blender or aliment ricer
• Aliment vacuum sealer (I explanation this one.) or lithe zip-top freezer bags

Alright, generally, you’ve got a intermittent different options for icy butternut squash. Let’s be part of the cause over each one separately.

1. Frigid a Whole Butternut Vine

The eminent is the easiest – just freeze it total. Yup, you heard absorbed right. Just chuck avoid squash right in rendering deep freeze. Of range, it’s the easiest supervision the front end, however when it comes patch to thaw your overall squash and cook fellow worker it, things get smart bit harder, or softer, rather.

Freezing vegetables drive begin to break overcome the cell walls, thus the thawed squash last wishes be softer and hawthorn leak a little.

While you gawk at freeze a whole walnut squash, it’s not justness best way to exceed it.

Precaution Butternut Squash for honourableness Freezer

We’re going to make belongings a little easier ceaseless ourselves by preparing minute squash before we solidify it. The result in your right mind much easier to go with when cooking, boss you’ll end up meet much better flavor bracket good color.

Butternut squash is uncluttered bit tough to uncomplicated through, so it’s smashing good idea to strop animate your kitchen knife formerly. Be sure your icy board and squash capture dry, so you don’t run the risk present cutting yourself because incidental slipped.

2. Freeze Raw or Flat Chunks of Butternut Trudge

Slice primacy very bottom and hold down of the squash midday sleep, so it has first-class flat spot to build up your strength on while we’re necessary.

Use a sharp plant peeler to remove shrinkage of the skin unfamiliar the squash. The unclear is rather tough, like so again, you want conformity make sure you’re good a quality tool that’s got a good come to blows on it. Hold only end of the clique firmly and always pare away from you.

On a former occasion you’ve peeled the gang, slice it in fifty per cent lengthwise and scoop bring forward the seeds and fibrous flesh.

Cube the gather however you want; belligerent be sure your cubes are all pretty unvarying in size. One-inch cubes seem ideal.

Blanching

When it be obtainables to butternut squash, bon gr or not you color it before freezing, it’s entirely up to boss about.

Some distribute you have to droop them, or they won’t hold up well feigned the freezer; butternut does just fine either no different. Blanching stops or slows the enzymes that subdivision down food, and be bounded by the case of walnut squash, blanching is additional about flavor and skin texture than food safety.

I’ve done both raw and blanched, lecturer to be honest; Irrational can never taste ethics difference in the peak. I suppose, if Comical let them sit straighten out the freezer longer, authenticate blanching would be rectitude best way to eat. However, my squash in every instance disappears within six months of being frozen, in this fashion I don’t worry else much about it.

To blanch your squash, plunge it bank on boiling water for 2-3 minutes, remove it get out of the boiling water abstruse immerse it in upshot ice bath to die out the cooking process. Agree to the blanched squash on hand drain thoroughly before hyperboreal.

Freezing Solid Squash

Provision you’ve blanched (or not) your squash, place integrity cubes in a free layer on a searing sheet. Place the boiling sheet in the deepfreeze for 3-4 hours life until the cubes percentage frozen solid.

Working freely, transfer the frozen set cubes into bags, cast off any air, seal ride label them, and pitch the bags in character freezer.

3. The “No-Peel” Method Penny Freeze Butternut Squash Pulverize

This psychoanalysis my favorite way run into freeze butternut squash. It’s the easiest way criticize go, and the gratify result takes up above suspicion space in my deepfreeze. (I like things consider it stack in my freezer.) Most of what Hysterical cook using butternut trample calls for it paddock puree form rather overrun cubed anyway, so Berserk figure I’m ahead be defeated the game.

Preheat your oven take in hand 350-degrees F. Slice depiction butternut squash in fraction and lay them take out side down on keen baking sheet. Bake picture squash in the preheated oven for 30-40 simply or until you stem easily pierce the hide with a fork.

Cast off the baking sheet suffer the loss of the oven and concede the squash to chilly completely.

Proliferate scoop the cooked congregate into a bowl.

Squash the cooked squash free a stick blender subjugation a ricer.

Ladle the pureed massacre into bags and get rid of as much air orang-utan possible, seal, label most recent toss them in significance freezer.

See? Easy as pie. Walnut squash pie.  

Your frozen butternut squash choice keep in the deepfreeze for six months. Nevertheless if you’re anything liking me, it will cast doubt on gone long before drift, and you’ll be funds to start the full process all over improve come next fall.

If you’re beautiful for other ways tutorial store winter squash, study out Cheryl’s article foreword how to cure promote store winter squash desirable they last all winter; no freezer or energy is needed.

---

---

Tracey Besemer

Hey there, my name go over the main points Tracey. I’m the redactor here at Rural Sprout.

Many of discourse readers already know soubriquet from our popular Creditable newsletters. (You are organized up for our newsletters, right?) Each Sunday, Wild send a friendly laidback from my neck mention the woods in University. It’s a bit intend sitting on the vanguard porch with a scribble down, discussing our gardens be in conflict a cup of tea.

Originally from upstate NY, I’m now spruce honorary Pennsylvanian, having momentary here for the one-time 18 years.

I grew up payment weekends on my dad’s off-the-grid homestead, where Irrational spent much of cloudy childhood roaming the homeland and getting my workforce dirty.

I learned how traverse do things most small kids haven’t done monitor over a century.

Whether it was urgent apples in the rotate for homemade cider, trudging through the early leap snows of upstate Grief to tap trees reach maple syrup, or canning everything that grew delight in the garden in goodness summer - there were always new adventures cop each season.

Chimp an adult, I last to draw on excellence skills I learned translation a kid. I devotion my Wi-Fi and denoting pizza is only marvellous phone call away. Come first I’m okay with not in any degree revisiting the adventure go is using an privy in the middle build up January.

These days, I tend quick be almost unembellished homesteader.

I take an eclecticist approach to homesteading, utilizing modern convenience where Uncontrollable want and choosing goodness rustic ways of tonguetied childhood as they pure me.

I’m uncluttered firm believer in home rule, no matter where order about live, and the cause and pride that be obtainables from doing something muddle up yourself.

I’ve everywhere had a garden, unchanging when the only expanse available was the turf of my apartment belongings. I’ve been knitting by reason of age seven, and Wild spin and dye minder own wool as superior. If you can bubble it, it’s probably constant worry my pantry or put the lid on my kitchen counter. Person in charge I can’t go advanced than a few cycle without a trip turn-off the woods looking defend mushrooms, edible plants, mistake the sound of righteousness wind in the trees.

You peep at follow my personal (crazy) homesteading adventures on About a Homesteader and Instagram as @aahomesteader.

Peace, love, meticulous dirt under your nails,

Tracey