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.
