Winter Squash storage tips

[bills]

A few links for those harvesting winter squash.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-24-c.html

http://www.foodreference.com/html/artwintersquash.html

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=699&storyType=garde

http://www.gov.pe.ca/af/agweb/index.php3?number=70480

I have had pretty good luck with long term storage by first curing the squash in the sun for a few days. I watch for the stem to dry up well before putting them away.

A neat hint that I learned on this forum helps as well, and that is to wipe the stem with a bleach/water mix. I believe this helps prevent the bacterial breakdown in them. In the past, squash that I stored used to always begin to rot starting at the stems. This seems to have prevented that from happening.

I got some monster Buttercup squash this year. Should be fun cutting them up..anyone have a chainsaw I can use..lol

Funny thing was my Hubbard's are not as big as in past years. I have had some 25 pound monsters in the past. My Butternut were a variety of sizes, and my Spaghetti were about the average size I'm used to.

All in all I have about 40 fruit in total..I better find some "new" recipes..
My usual method is to microwave pieces of them for 10-14 minutes in a 1/2" of water, in a corning wear dish with lid. I usually skin them, and add some butter, honey, salt and pepper, before serving.
Spaghetti squash I usually serve in the skin, so the strings can be stripped out as eaten..I still top with butter and honey though.

I wish my parents had the foresight to add honey to the squash they served me as a kid, (or brown sugar, as I hear that is great). I used to detest the plain boiled squash they served. Yuck

I'm going to try making some roasted squash soup this fall. I had some a neighbor made me from some of the squash I gave her, and man, that was awesome!

 

[digitS']

Squash soup is good, Bills!

Something I was a long time learning is that frost is definitely NOT a good thing for squash storage. You can see in your 1st link that NCSU is saying that even temps below 50F can be a bad thing.

I don't know if I'd go that far - maybe for North Carolina. But here, morning temperatures have been fairly consistently at or below 50 since about the 5th of this month. In fact, I would have had to harvest the fruit 4 weeks ago to avoid all 40 temps! I think that my buttercups have required those last 4 weeks to mature.

But anyway, even a light frost is a bad thing for squash.

Steve

Edited to add the "s" in Bills (that's needed, right?) and the "even a light" to frost.

 

[lesa]

Those are some great tips! Thanks! I didn't know about curing the squash- so that was very good info. I had a bumper crop of butternut this year. Really hoping it will last well into the winter...

 

[wifezilla]

I use baked pumpkin and other squash to thicken stews. It doesn't overpower the meaty goodness of the soup and is much better for you than corn starch or flour thickeners.

My favorite is beef and mushroom stew with pumpkin

 

[bills]

Edited to add the "s" in Bills (that's needed, right?) and the "even a light" to frost.

actually Steve, the S in bills, is just the first letter of my last name, so just Bill is fine.
I should have been more imaginative I suppose, in choosing a screen name..

A few of the squash I harvested were immature. As powdery mildew had hit the plants from our cooler nights and heavy dews, I felt it best to remove them from the garden. I cooked up an immature butternut for dinner, and it was still delicious! The flesh color still had a tinge of green to it, so it looked odd, but taste was not hampered by it.
I plan to eat any immature ones first, as they may not cure/keep as well.