Freezing Squash


Our garden has been producing enough squash to feed an entire city block each day. This is pretty common. I heard a joke the other day that here in the South that you should never leave your car unlocked in the summer, not because it will be stolen, but because it will be filled with squash when you get back. Well, I love my squash so I won’t be filling anyone’s car but I want to preserve it to eat after the season is over. After some Internet research I found blanching and freezing is the best method to keep squash. This can be done with pretty much any variety of summer squash. I prepared some Yellow squash and Zucchini.

Step 1:
Wash and trim the squash, then cut into ½ inch disks. Make sure not to cut the squash up too far in advance as it does oxidize if exposed to air for over 30 minutes.

Step 2:
Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. You want them to still be crisp and green but blanched long enough to destroy the enzymes that break the squash done.

Step 3:
Drain from the boiling water and immediately put it in an ice bath. Let it stay in the ice bath for about 5 minutes.

Step 4:
Drain the squash on towels. I put one kitchen towel under the squash and one over to help pull the water out.

Step 5:
Put into freezer bags and press out as much air as possible before sealing.

No comments:

Post a Comment