by Thriving Mama

Created on: August 23, 2009

When in season, the fruits of the summer squash family have a multitude of uses from baking to main dishes. Yellow squash and zucchini are the main members of the summer squash family while each have a number of offspring varieties. Summer squashes are usually very abundant in back-yard gardens and can be easily stored in the freezer for recipes throughout the year.

First determine what form you would like your summer squash frozen in. Squashes are easily stored cubed, shredded, and pureed. Simply wash and process as if preparing the recipe at this time. In the cubed form, frozen squash can be added to soups and casseroles. Shredded squash or zucchini is often used in baking quick breads. Possibilities for pureed squash are numerous and smoothies, soups, baking, casseroles, baby food and sauces are a good place to start. It is also important that the vegetable's skin not be removed from summer squashes as the majority of the nutritional content is found in the peels.

Next decide what quantity the different squash forms should be froze in. If using a zucchini bread recipe that calls for 1 cup of shredded zucchini, freeze zucchini in one cup packages: sandwich size zip top bags work nicely. Once frozen they can all be stored in a gallon freezer bag for extra protection. If a soup calls for three cups of cubed squash, package in that quantity. Since purees are so versatile, consider freezing them in multiple quantities, 1 cup and less. It is very important to label the freezer containers so that recipe ingredients can be easily pulled. Make sure to remove as much air as possible from the plastic freezer bags to best preserve your produce.

When the time comes to use your frozen squashes, simply remove from the freezer and allow them to defrost. Once thawed, drain excess water from the squash, unless you are baking with it. Often baking recipes rely on the moisture from shredded zucchini or squash. Then add to a recipe as directed.

While there are many uses for frozen summer squashes, it is important to note that after a long period of time in the freezer, the flavor may become stronger and the texture is not the same as fresh squash. For these reasons, you may not want to plan on cooking the squash alone as you may be disappointed with the results.

As the summer squash crops come into the kitchen like tsunami, don't fret over the abundance of produce. Plan ahead and get the most from your crops!

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