Anyone out there ever dry pumpkin...

[pepperhead212]

or any other winter squash? I ask because I have a fairly large Musquee de Provence, which I picked for halloween, but it was just starting to ripen, at about 30 lbs! I am wondering if it is really that variety, but whatever, I am also wondering what I am going to do with it all! I really don't want to waste my freezer space on pureed squash, and I have heard that canning is not a good thing to do at home with pumpkin, or other almost solid items. Dehydrating is the only other option I could think of. Any ideas?

[Denninmi]

Yes, you can dehydrate winter squash, then rehydrate and cook, or powder and use in soups, even to make pasta (usually 1 part squash to 3 parts semolina or other grain flour).

I would suggest dehydrating it by first cooking in an oven or microwave, scooping it out, putting it into a colander or sieve, and squeezing out as much of the water as possible, then drying the pulp like you would fruit leather. This is faster, since a TON of moisture comes out in the cooking process. But, you can also dry the raw, sliced or chunked squash if you prefer. Either way works.

[silverseeds]

Alot of tribes used to dry it, Im not sure their methods. One of these days I want to learn the old styles of preservation.....

[Emerald]

I watched a show on Colonial Williamsburg and they were cooking it like you would for pumpkin pie, pureed with the spices added and then dried it into "leather" which they would later rehydrate and make into pie-- just no dairy or eggs, those are added later and some would dry with sugar some without.

[Emerald]

Originally Posted by silverseeds

Alot of tribes used to dry it, Im not sure their methods. One of these days I want to learn the old styles of preservation.....

Go to the library and take a book called "Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden" talks about how they dried squash beans and corn for winter.

[Susie]

I have the same pumpkins as you, Pepperhead, and I dry them in different ways in the dehydrator.

Raw sliced
Blanched sliced
Cooked and mashed
Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar

I powder some of the dried stuff...it's amazing how concentrated a pumpkin gets, from one big monster to a small jar of powder.

[lorna-organic]

Buffalo Bird Woman's life story is on the Net, including how her tribe sowed, harvested, preserved and cooked food.

[bunkie]

i cut the raw squash into thin rings and string them up to dry. or if too big, i cut them in thin strips and put a needle with string through them and hang them to dry. works very well reconstituting into pies and such.

[lorna-organic]

What is the texture of your dried squash, Bunkie? Is it brittle dry, or slightly moist?

[silverseeds]

Originally Posted by bunkie

i cut the raw squash into thin rings and string them up to dry. or if too big, i cut them in thin strips and put a needle with string through them and hang them to dry. works very well reconstituting into pies and such.

I take it you do this RAW????