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For some folk , harvest home time of year brings hours and hours of canning , freezing , and drying to preserve crops for the colder months ahead . But if you ’re look for a crop that store well all on its own , await no further than winter squash ! Winter squash racquets are versatile , nutritious , and can store for month .
Another bonus — you could stillsave seedfrom wintertime squash that has been in storage ! In fact , for the best seed , you should leave fruit of any squash racquets to sit for at least three week before processing .
At maturity, the ‘Wilbur Field Pumpkin’ squash shell has a dull sheen.
If you have winter squash growing in your garden or from a local market , these bare steps can serve you prolong their ledge living .
If you ’re interested in canning , freezing , or drying squeeze , keep learn ! We ’ll cover those methods as well .
When to Harvest Winter Squash
As wintertime squash reach maturity , their shell color will often deepen and either clear up up or take on a dull lustre . Harvest wintertime squash when the fruit has changed color and the stems are dry .
Harvest by cutting the squash from the vine , leaving at least three inches of the prow intact . Breaking squeeze off the stem at the base can cause decomposition in this area .
reap squash before your tough frost . If your squash rackets has been exposed to a Robert Frost , use them as shortly as possible . Squash will begin decaying as before long as it dethaw and might not last long after a freeze .
At maturity, the ‘Wilbur Field Pumpkin’ squash shell has a dull sheen.
If you await skinny - immobilize temperature ( in the mid-30s ) you might be capable to keep winter squash dependable with mantle . However , even when covering the squash racquets , the rime could still cause damage that would impact the squash ’s power to stack away prospicient - terminus . Squash exposed to freeze temperature ( 32 degrees Fahrenheit and lower ) may not exist , even with aegis from blanket .
How to Cure Winter Squash
Right after harvest , winter squash are near to eat but their shield is still too soft for long - terminus storage . Curing wintertime mash toughens up the plate so that the squash rackets can last in farsighted - term entrepot .
To bring around wintertime squash racquets , make for the squash racquets into a lovesome and gay spot with good air circulation and leave for one to two week . turn out the squash vine to endanger all sides to the sun .
Note : Acorn squashes should not be cured in a ardent spot and should be cool down right off after harvest .
Winter squashes curing at Heritage Farm
Fingernail Test
Use a fingernail to screen if the wintertime mash has been cured . Press a fingernail gently into the side of a squash racquets . Squash that is ripe but not cure will bruise slightly and the peel may even break . If you cure the squash rackets properly , the fingernail test should barely make a dent .
If you got the squash from the supermarket or another grower , employ the fingernail test to fix if the squash has already cured .
Baked Winter Squash with Maple Nut/Seed Butter
How to Store Winter Squash
Move the squash to a cool and teetotal location ( about 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 65 % humidity ) . basement , service department , and outbuilding all make for well . Make certain the location gets skillful air flow .
lay in the squash off the floor in a box seat or crateful . apply stalk and newspaper or newspaper towels to gently wrap up the squash rackets . This will keep the squash from touching one another and help absorb moisture .
While 50 degrees Fahrenheit is optimum , winter squash racquets can still hive away well at warmer temperature , even at room temperature . However , the warm the temperature of storage is , the shorter the shelf life of the squash rackets will be .
Processing squash seeds
Do n’t store wintertime crush at temperature crushed than 50 degrees , especially in a room that is not temperature controlled . When squash halt , it will start decaying once it thaws . If your squash happens to freeze in storage , keep it frozen until you plan to use it .
When To Use Winter Squash
scrutinise winter squash every week for damage such as spots on the fruit or sign of shriveling . If you find damaged squash , use these first ( and sooner rather than later ) . Turn squeeze gently to protect their tegument and set aside the air to diffuse around the squash .
Sort winter mash by type to create a schedule of when to treat and exhaust each one . Be sure to order your squash rackets so you could get to your early sort easily :
Winter Squash Recipes
Winter squash vine can be pureed and sweetened as an add-on to staff of life , muffin , bar and pies . Diced and roasted squash can be sky in warm salads of grains and nut or with sautéed kale . Need some recipe ideas ? Try these formula from friends of Seed Savers Exchange !
Other Ways to Store Winter Squash
If you do n’t have a dear place to hive away wintertime squash , there are other options to keep your squash vine through the winter .
How to Freeze Winter Squash
Besides ironic storage , freezing is the easiest manner to store wintertime squash farsighted - term . Frozen squash can keep for up to one twelvemonth .
One option is to freeze your wintertime squash in regular hexahedron .
To avail keep the flavour , texture , and vividness , you could parboil your winter crush first before freezing it , but this is optional .
The other option is to strain your winter squash . This alternative is capital if you intend to apply your squash in baking .
Canning Winter Squash
The only safe way to can winter squelch is by canning cubed flesh in a pressure sensation canner .
Do not coquet or puree the squash rackets . flirt / pureed squash is too dense and wo n’t allow proper heat penetration to the center of attention of the jar . This can create conditions where harmful bacterium can flourish .
Winter Squash Pickles and Preserves
you’re able to pickle winter squash to make into a variety of savor , chutneys , and more . you could not safely can pickle squash , as these products are not ledge - stable . Therefore , treat pickled squash as a fresh food and store in the refrigerator .
you may also use wintertime squash to make butters and spreads . Like pickled squash racquets , you may not safely can these product and must lay in them in the refrigerator .
Drying Winter Squash
dry out winter squash vine can last 6 to 12 months in storage and can be used in broil recipe , run through as a collation , or sum in soup .
Saving Winter Squash Seeds
wintertime squash reaches germ maturity when the yield is ripe for eating . This is great news for nurseryman not want to miss out on eating the squash they economize seed from ! Let wintertime squash sit for at least three weeks before harvest the seed . you may harvest winter squelch come at any percentage point after this , even after month in storage , provided the squash racquets is still in good precondition !
To teach how to save squash semen , check off out ourstep - by - step grow and seed saving guidefor squash . you’re able to also implement these tone to other squash types , such as summertime squash and gourd .
Recommended Winter Squash Varieties
Acorn Squash
These small squash are ordinarily dark green / orange in people of color and have a more or less gratifying , whacky flavor . Acorn squash will last 1 to 2 months in dry storage .
This flavorful acorn squash may be among the first to show up on your table each fall . Gill Brothers preface the diversity in 1952 .
The fruits of this historic variety produce flesh that is pale orange , moderately sweet in nip , and a scrap varying in form . Its vining plants are quite productive and buckle under relatively betimes - maturing fruits that measure out 4 - 5 in long and 3 ½ – 4 inches blanket , and count 1 - 1 ½ pounds .
( aka Des Moines , Danish ) This variety set the touchstone for Acorn squash and started the rage for modest individual spill squashes . It was introduce by the Iowa Seed Company of Des Moines , Iowa in 1913 .
Its petite ( 1 dog pound ) , rut , cushy shelled , high timber fruits have sweet orange flesh and are excellent for baking .
Delicata Squash
Delicata squelch ( also know as odoriferous Irish potato squash ) have gently sweet and creamy pelt , standardized to a odoriferous spud . Delicata squelch also do not need to be cured after harvest home .
This atomic number 79 - orange , immature - striped delicata squash assortment has an irresistibly seraphic , nutty flavor , and stores well . Its vines reach up to 6 foot , while the fruits measure 6 to 8 inches in length and 3 column inch in diameter and weigh up to a lbf. .
breed by Dr. James Baggett at Oregon State University , ‘ Honey Boat ’ was bring out in 1990 and has essay popular among squeeze lover in the years since .
Buttercup Squash
Buttercup squash are odorous than most other wintertime squelch with a very hard and inedible rind . They are medium keepers and can last one to two month in dry store .
This multifariousness was introduced in 1952 by Burgess Seed & Plant Co. and is a bush version of the original Buttercup assortment introduced in 1931 .
Its fruit are flatten dark green turban with a classifiable clit on the flush end , and typically count 3 - 5 pounds . It has super sweet-smelling , glorious orange flesh with very fine eating qualities . The rind is thin but very hard .
Hubbard Squash
Hubbard squash are expectant with knotty cutis , and therefore store very well , lasting up to four months . They can work in any squash recipe .
This variety was given to Seed Savers Exchange by Anna Swartz of Pennsylvania who originally received it 40 year earlier in the 1950s . Anna loved this miscellany because of its extremely hard shell and excellent storage ability .
Its in high spirits character anatomy is the colour of a sweet potato with alike look . fruit consider 5 - 8 Ezra Loomis Pound .
This squash was introduced by D. M. Ferry in 1898 but assign to J.J. Harrison of Storrs & Harrison Co. of Painesville , Ohio .
It has a starchy , barmy , fine - grained flesh — good for baking and roasting . Fruits are 8 - 12 pound and store well . An all - time American favorite .
Pie Squash
Proto-Indo European pumpkin mash are small and perfumed than their larger and stringier pumpkin squash counterparts that are usually used for carving Jack - o - lantern . Of of course , they are excellent in pies but can also be used in other baked goodness such as gelt and in soups . They are intermediate keepers and , depending on the salmagundi , can last up to four months .
Also known as Livingston ’s Pie Squash , this salmagundi was introduce in 1893 by Johnson & Stokes of Philadelphia . Amy Goldman , source ofThe Compleat Squash , says it is “ the okay pie store in the nation . ”
Its fruit average 6 pound , making them the perfect sizing for two PIE . The orange rind is cover in fragile netting ; flesh is politic , sweet , and character - free . It ’s not the adept custodian , so savor it for Thanksgiving or early wintertime .
This variety ’s turgid , pear - shape fruit have variably - sized necks and cream - color skin with light green stripes . Its sick - Orange River flesh has a memorable , mild , and slightly sweet-smelling flavor paragon for progress to pumpkin PIE and many other sweet and savory cup of tea . The highly vining , productive plant life gestate pumpkins that weigh from 5 - 8 pounds .
Seed Savers Exchange received this variety from the Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum in Lancaster , Pennsylvania . It was grown by Wayne Fortna of Gettysburg , Pennsylvania , from the 1940s until his passing in 1990 . Wayne tend this form with exceptional care , ensuring there would always be a ashen pumpkin vine pie for Thanksgiving .
Pumpkins
These huge , easy - to - grow pumpkin vine can tip the plate at well over 100 pounds while retaining a uniform , circular shape ideal for carving outstanding jack - o’-lanterns .
Very thick , yellow - orangeness flesh spend a penny delicious pumpkin pie and soup purée , unlike most other varieties of gravid pumpkin that are less suited for culinary use ; and , yes , there ’s lot of it for canning or freeze , too !
Also known as Potiron Bronze de Montlhéry , this historic Malva sylvestris pumpkin from the South of France was available in the U.S. as early as 1895 from Vaughan ’s Seed Store in Chicago .
This gorgeous squash rackets weighs up to 20 pound and look like rack of tall mallow . Its deep orangish flesh is dense and of superb mesa quality , mature from green to burnt sienna . This assortment is illiberal of cold-blooded , but has a very tenacious shelf life .
Butternut Squash
Butternut squash is the sweetest type of winter squash rackets , and last the longest in storage ( up to six calendar month ) . This is one of the most democratic form of squash for broil .
This butternut tree , an All - American Selections winner in 1970 , was the result of years of patient refinement and selection by Professor Robert Young of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station in Waltham .
This squash vine is prize for its straight necks , rich ironical yellow - orange figure , nutty flavor , and high - give vines . Its fruit are 3 - 6 pounds and are exceptional keepers .
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