We find it way easier to grow and preserve butternut squash than it is to grow and preserve pumpkins. So we substitute all of our pumpkin in any recipe for for butternut squash and guess what ... no one ever notices, not even me!
After washing the squash we cut it, gut it, peel it, and cube it
It takes some arm strength to cut through this raw squash, as our little man discovered. At the end it looks like the juice has died your hand orange, but it doesn't really soak into the skin it just layers on top and makes your hand all stiff. The worst part is scraping it all off at the end.
You're probably thinking, "What! Cubes? Why not cut it, gut it, steam it, and mash it with a Victoria Strainer?"
We used to do it that way, but our squash wouldn't cook all the way through while it was in the caner. As a mash it was hard to make sure the whole thing got hot enough. The way we cook it now is better because there's water between all the cubes and we 're certain that they're being cooked all the way.
Heart shaped holes? I LOVE SQUASH!
Then the cubes are boiled on the stove in our largest pot. That pot is so huge that theee basketballs can fit inside ... but sorry, I don't have a picture of it.
Then we ladle the cubes and hot liquid into the jars. The rims are wiped, the sanitized lids are placed on top and the rings are screwed on finger tight.
All vegetables have to be canned in a pressure cane. We have the caner outside in the greenhouse so we aren't driven crazy by the incessant sizzling.
It's easy to let the caner get too pressurized when it is out of hearing though, so you have to keep it in the back of your mind.
When they are finished the squash inside is very soft and when we feel like pumpkin pie or pumpkin muffins it's easy to open a jar, strain the juice, and smash the cubes into the 1-cup measure. I should blog our family's favorite pumpkin cake recipe ... so I can eat it :)
