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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Preserving Grey Squash


Always browse the reduced produce area at the grocery.  Grey squash  for $3.15~   Great way to stockpile your freezer.



The best way to preserve squash for the winter is to freeze it.  It is one of the cheapest ways to have a ready supply of vegetables for the supper table as long as you have room in the freezer.  Wash in cool water, and trim the ends, then slice them in evenly sized pieces.  To properly freeze vegetables, they need to be blanched in boiling water. This stops the enzyme action that takes place to ripen the produce. If you simply freeze your squash, the enzyme action continues, causing degrading in color, flavor, and texture.  I like to use my pasta pot to blanch produce.  


Prepare a large pot of water and bring it to a rolling boil. Lower a basket of squash pieces into the water.  Squash  take 3 minutes to properly blanch.  Your squash pieces will change from pale to a much brighter shade. When your squash have blanched, take the basket and plunge it into a waiting ice water bath.  For cold water bath fill your clean kitchen sink with very cold water and ice. The ice water will stop the vegetable from cooking further, and you can then freeze it in a semi-raw state. Make sure your squash are drained well and cooled  completely before bagging up for the freezer. Bag them in serving portions that will best suit your recipes. Press out as much air as possible, label your containers with contents, date and amount in the bag.  Place flat in the freezer in a single layer until they are frozen.  Thaw overnight in fridge before using.


8 bags of  grey squash blanched and ready for the freezer.  

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