Canning Butternut Squash

[TanksHill]

Help!!!

I have about 20 butternut and I would like to can them. I read the directions. Clean, cut, peel cube then can.

It's the peeling part that I am having issues with. This will take me forever!!!!!

Does anyone have any recommendations? Can I cube and simmer the 2 min with the peels on. Then peel. Will simmering make them easier to peel?


Or do I just need to tough this one out?

Thanks, gina

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Sorry, I don't know any short-cuts. That sounds like a lot of work!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I found this article . If you scroll down, they say to microwave and then peel, and they show how to do it. I hope that helps.

 

[ducks4you]

I'll bet you can! I grew massive Hubbard Squash a few years back. I cubed them and canned them in water. They lasted only as long as I didn't eat 'em! (You KNOW, they look ugly, but they taste great!!)

 

[TanksHill]

Well I dropped a few in the boiling pot of water. It did make them much easier to peel. But they were hard to handle. Duh,,,, kinda hot.

Either way I think. When cutting raw I may lose a bit more meat but much easier to handle.

Thanks Drake!!! That's a great link!!


gina

 

[DrakeMaiden]

You're welcome! I thought the pictures there were helpful.

 

[patandchickens]

I just slice the top and bottom off (thinly, so I am only getting peel) then cut into several sections, each like a short fat cylinder, and peel each one by making a bunch of vertical cuts removing only peel (like making the cylinder into an octagon or dodecahedron or one of those many-sided figures). It's pretty fast. Then you just turn the cylinder you've peeled onto its side, cut into thin slices, turn flat side up again and make crosswise cuts and there ya go, cubes.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[me&thegals]

Give them a couple stabs like you would a baking potato to release steam. Bake on cookie sheets at low heat for several hours. Cut open, scoop out seeds, then scoop out soft flesh.

If you want them chunked instead, I just use my potato peeler on butternuts and it's easy and quick.

Yum!

 

[TanksHill]

I found that cutting the peel off raw was my best bet. Kinda what Pat said but I sliced a bit differently. I now have a large bowl full on the counter. I may need to postpone canning until the morning.

I did bake some. Those are all ready to go on the counter for diner. Paired with my home made turkey pot pie. I used some of the chicken fat for the crust. Smells like heaven.


Thank you all for your advice!!!

 

[ScottSD]

This is a good question.

We usually freeze our butternut's but I was wondering about canning them since we bought a new pressure canner a while back.

When we freeze them, I slice them (with the skins on), then cut each slice like you would a pie, in about 8 pieces. Then, cutting the skin off of the end.

It works much better than trying to peel them.

After that, The Wife would cook up the pieces like you would potatoes. This works much better (and faster) then trying to bake them...which takes forever!

For canning instead, I'd put them in the jars and pressure can them.

If you do it this way, you can use the squash for any number of recipes....sometimes we make a chowder that I really like...but the kids and The Wife™ like it with brown sugar and marshmallows on it.