Selecting, Preparing and Canning Vegetables
Pumpkins and Winter Squash - Cubed

Quantity: An average of 16 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 10 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints  an average of 2¼ pounds per quart.

Quality: Pumpkins and squash should have a hard rind and stringless, mature pulp of ideal quality for cooking fresh. Small size pumpkins (sugar or pie varieties) make better products.

Please read Using Pressure Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning.

For why we say not to mash or puree the squash, read more about the caution.

Procedure: Wash, remove seeds, cut into 1-inch- wide slices, and peel. Cut flesh into 1-inch cubes. Boil 2 minutes in water. Caution: Do not mash or puree. Fill jars with cubes and cooking liquid, leaving 1-inch headspace.

Adjust lids and process following the recommendations in Table 1 and Table 2.

For making pies, drain jars and strain or sieve cubes.
Table 1. Recommended process time for Pumpkin and Winter Squash in a dial-gauge pressure canner.
Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Jar Size Process Time 0 - 2,000 ft 2,001 - 4,000 ft 4,001 - 6,000 ft 6,001 - 8,000 ft
Hot Pints 55 min 11 lb 12 lb 13 lb 14 lb
Quarts 90 11 12 13 14

Table 2. Recommended process time for Pumpkin and Winter Squash in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Jar Size Process Time 0 - 1,000 ft Above 1,000 ft
Hot Pints 55 min 10 lb 15 lb
Quarts 90 10 15

This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 1994.

Reviewed June 2006.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_04/pumpkin_winter_squash.html

I know how to can or freeze it. I was just wonder if people had an opinion on which gave better results.

I found that I can keep winter squash for most of the winter in a sunny, dry area. Not everyone has that kind of storage, obviously.

How did you prep your squash for storage? It may be possible to keep at least some of the squash for several months, even under less than ideal conditions.

On the canning I can't provide any insight. I have cooked, pureed and frozen Hubbard squash pulp. It was a lot of work but I was really happy with the results (plus it took up minimal freezer space). The puree made the best quick breads, pies and soups I've ever tasted.

Carol

I try to pick them right before the first frost, but I don't think thats crucial - the vines by then are usually pretty beat up anyway. I cut off the stem at least 3" up, carefully wash off any dirt, and put them on newspapered shelves in the greenhouse, out of the direct sun. I've heard its a good idea to rinse them with bleach, but I think that air circulation is more important. In fact, as they move past Christmas, the natural waxy cover becomes apparent, and I would think it a good idea not to wash them too carefully and disturb that layer. Some of the acorn squash look as if they were dipped in wax.

They continue to get sweeter and some varieties seem to get a bit dryer, and eventually they all turn various shades of orange, even the acorn varieties. They're still great to eat.

They start to go off when the greenhouse starts getting hot (90's) in May.

Last year, we tried making 'fruit leather' with squash purée, adding lime juice when we food-processed it. Thats pretty good stuff.

My squash will last a couple of months in the pantry, but they really won't make it past christmas. I've tried to figure out a way to set up cold storage, but we don't have a basement and the weather gets too warm during the winter for this to really work.
I was going to leave some small squash in the pantry for the fall and early winter and process bigger ones for later (it's just the two of us). I suppose I'll just go ahead and freeze them. I have a recipe for a really yummy squash casserole that starts with parboiled squash and that's why I wanted some that wasn't fully cooked. I'll just cook it for the length of time that recipe recommends and then freeze it.
The squash leather with lime juice sounds interesting.

Sorry, I guess I didn't read you question closely enough. If you are pressure canning something else that takes the same amount of time, you could always try putting in a quart of the squash to see how it turns out.

I mixed a little bleach with some water and dipped the squash in the mixture for about a minute. Then I remove them and allow the water to dry out. This kills off surface fungus that could otherwise spoil the squash. I did this with buttercup a few years ago, and they stayed just fine for almost 4 months in my basement. Be careful, squash do bruise easily and you don't see these bruises, which usually is the first area to spoil.

Proper procedure is to NOT WASH winter squash before putting into storage.

I gently rub off any big clods of dirt. they fall right off.

I grew Seminole pumpkin squash this past year just because it has good long term shelf storage. I still have one sitting on my counter from this past year which we will eat in the next couple of days. It looks fine. I'm growing more this year because they have done well and my DH will probably eat more if served.

I prefer frozen to canned. It also takes a whole lot longer to can. You cube into 1 inch pieces and then boil for 2 minutes. Then you pack into jars with boiling water and leave 1" headspace. Then you process for 55 minutes a pint or 90 minutes a quart and for my altitude it is 12 # pressure. It is so much easier to bake or microwave and throw in the freezer.

whirr it up in a food processor, and freeze, great for holiday pies, nieces and newphews LOVE my "pumpkin" pie, their parent's love us for getting them to eat squash.

What Ken said.

I've still got Acorns under the bed in my spare room from last fall. They are all orange now, but still good. I had about 40 of them originally. Some spoiled (maybe 12) and had to be thrown out, but the rest we've been enjoying since last year.

I don't have good cold storage either, but we keep the spare room closed most of the time. Still, it gets warm in there in the summer (I probably need to check on those squash now that I think about it...) and stays around 60 all winter. They are in open cardboard boxes with thick layers of old magazines or newspapers between them so none touch

I think the dip (not wash) in bleach/water really helps.

Deanna

Washing might be out, but a dip in a weak chlorine bleach solution is even used in all supermarket squash, prior to it being put out for the public. What supermarket wouldn't want a way to help keep their produce from early spoilage, or wilting. My buttercup had that dip, and because I had a single one go bad in 4 months, compared to the ones that all went bad in less than a month, I much prefer the dip in the bleach solution.

I used the dip also, one part bleach to 10 parts water, I believe. I don't have cold storage, just kept the squash on open wire shelves in the garage. They lasted all winter and well into late spring.

For me the bleach wash and hardening off works best for long-term storage under less-than-ideal conditions.

Carol