Acorn squash has the shortest storage life of all winter squash, but you can extend its shelf life by preserving it. Learn how to preserve acorn squash with easy methods for canning and freezing. Here’s how to store it for months and enjoy it all year long.
How to preserve acorn squash
As we were preparing to head out of town to visit family for a week, I noticed that the last acorn squash was a bit soft and realized that I'd better do something with it fast or it would be a mushy pile of fruit flies by the time we got back home.
Acorn squash, a variety of winter squash, can be blanched and then pressure-canned in cubes.
Squash can also be dehydrated in cubes or strips: steam them first for about 7 minutes, then dehydrate at 125° - 135°F for 7-10 hours.
Both of these methods were too time-consuming for my situation. With little time to spare I decided I'd freeze this acorn squash.
How long does acorn squash last?
Most winter squash varieties will keep for several months when stored properly. Acorn squash, however, has the shortest storage life of all the winter squashes. (Butternut, by the way, generally has the longest storage life.)
Acorn squash is best stored in a cool, dark place such as a root cellar, basement, or pantry. Store the unwashed squash in a single layer.
They should keep for a month or two, but get in the habit of checking them often for signs of spoilage such as soft spots, discoloration, leaking or a foul odor.
After cutting an acorn squash, wrap it tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to four days.
How to freeze acorn squash
Freezing acorn squash is very easy. In fact, the hardest part about working with them is the ribs.
Acorn squash don't have a smooth skin or rind like other squash. The ribs make them harder to peel, but there is a way to work around the ribs, and it's not difficult.
Cutting and peeling acorn squash
Begin by cutting the squash in half. Remove the seeds and set them aside in a bowl. I find it easiest to use a serrated grapefruit spoon to remove seeds and pulp from inside squashes and pumpkins.
The seeds can be roasted like pumpkin seeds as a snack, or you can save them to plant in your garden next year. If nothing else, your chickens will adore them.
Then cut the peel off both ends of the squash, the blossom end and the end with the stem, using a sharp knife.
An acorn squash has a softer skin than other winter squashes so it isn't hard to cut off the ends. Doing this to a thick-skinned squash like a pumpkin or butternut squash is a battle - and even dangerous - but acorn squash are pleasant in comparison.
Cut the squash in half around the middle. Now that you have two manageable halves, cut the squash along the "valleys" so that you have wedges of squash.
The wedges remind me of cutting a cantaloupe, and the flesh is even the same color.
At this point you can use a paring knife or a vegetable peeler to remove the skin. I used my mother's vegetable peeler, but any vegetable peeler will work.
I hope someday I can find a new peeler that is this same shape and style because I really like it better than any other I've used. It's the vegetable peeler I used to peel carrots for dinner when Mom let me help in the kitchen.
It's also the one that my daughters used to peel carrots when they helped in Grandma's kitchen.
When my oldest was four years old and I reminded her to be careful not to cut her fingers with the sharp peeler, she said "if you peel your skin off, all your insides can fall out."
Yes, lots of memories in this old gadget. But they don't make them like that any more.
Chop the squash into cubes
Now that you have orange wedges of squash - which coincidentally do have their skin peeled off - chop them into cubes that are relatively the same size.
Now they really resemble cantaloupe. Resist tasting them though, because they do not taste like cantaloupe. Trust me.
Freeze the squash cubes
Line a cookie sheet or baking dish with waxed paper and lay out the squash cubes in a single layer, and place the cookie sheet in the freezer for several hours until the squash cubes are frozen.
If you have more than will fit in a single layer, use a baking dish instead of a cookie sheet, cover the bottom layer with another piece of waxed paper and add a second layer.
When frozen, remove the cookie sheet from the freezer, then remove the waxed paper and squash cubes from the cookie sheet, and peel off the waxed paper.
If you run into any resistance when you remove the cubes from the waxed paper, let them sit on the counter for just a few minutes. Just a few minutes, so that they will thaw a tiny bit and be easy to remove, but not long enough for them to thaw completely.
Place the frozen cubes into a freezer bag, label and date it, and return it to the freezer quickly.
Freezing the cubes separately on the cookie sheet will make it easier to open the bag, remove as much squash as you need, and leave the rest in the bag. Freezing a bag of cubed squash without freezing the cubes separately will just give you a lump of frozen-together squash cubes that are much harder to work with.
Acorn squash should last 10-12 months in your freezer.
How to Cook Frozen Acorn Squash
When squash is on the menu, you can choose between boiling, steaming or roasting your frozen squash. Do not thaw it before cooking.
To boil, cover your frozen squash cubes with about an inch of boiling water. Cover the pan and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the cubes are tender.
Drain well and season with salt and pepper before serving.
To steam squash, add the frozen cubes to a steamer basket with a half-inch of water in a saucepan. Cover the pan and heat the water to boiling, then reduce the heat to low and steam until the cubes are tender.
To roast frozen acorn squash, toss the cubes in a bowl with enough olive oil to coat them lightly. Add herbs and seasonings (try parsley, rosemary or sage, or a combination of nutmeg and cinnamon) and toss until the seasonings are well-distributed.
Preheat the oven to 375°F and place the squash in a single layer in a large glass baking dish. Roast the squash until the cubes are brown on the outside and hot in the middle.
This will take about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the cubes. Larger cubes will, of course, take longer to cook.
Do you want more recipes for squash? Check out How to Use All That Winter Squash.
