Fall Breeze and pumpkin please but not pureed! Did you know there are no research-tested recipes for home-pressure canned pumpkin or winter squash puree? The National Center for Home Food Preservation advises against preserving pumpkin and winter squash in a pureed form such as pumpkin butter due to the uncertainty of heat penetration and its nature of thickness. Indeed, you can find commercially canned pumpkin butter in stores but remember that this product is manufactured with equipment on an industrial scale compared to home canners.

Pumpkin and winter squash can be pressure canned in a cubed form but have a processing time of upwards of 55 minutes for pints. Freezing is a great alternative method of preserving fall produce. Relying on extreme cold temperatures to halt microorganism growth and slow down chemical changes, freezing is the easiest and least time-consuming method of preserving foods. The key is to achieve rapid and uniform cooling with minimal ice crystals to successfully preserve the nutritional content and ensure a high ending quality. A freezer thermometer can be purchased and stored alongside your food to signal that the temperature is maintained at zero degrees.

Fall Freezing Guide

Rigid, shallow containers and flexible bags or wrapping are best suited for home freezing use. Try freezing portions into consumable sizes for you and your family so there is no food waste or the creation of crystals as you refreeze resulting in a loss of quality. Blanching, the process in which vegetables are scalded in boiling water for a short time, is a must for almost all vegetables to be frozen. For some of our fall produce like broccoli, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and winter squash steam and boiling blanching is satisfactory. Blanching helps ward off enzymatic reactions, brightens the color, and helps maintain the nutritional content of foods. Refer to the National Center for Home Food Preservation for more information on proper blanching processes for the selected produce. When foods are consistently held at zero degrees, they can be stored for up to 12 months for the best quality. Some foods such as fish and ground meats have a shorter storage life of less than 6 months. The foods should still be safe but lower in quality. It is important to keep foods at a safe temperature while in the thawing phase, limiting the time that the outer layer of the food is in the temperature danger zone between 40F-140F while the inside layer is still thawing. Foods can be thawed in a refrigerator that is held at ≤40F, thawing in cold temperatures, or in the microwave if the food is cooked or served immediately after. Thawing in cold running water or a water bath requires more attention as the water must be maintained at ≤70F, switched out every 30 minutes, and completely thawed in under 2 hours.

Safely preserve the taste of fall as we move into the colder months!

N.C. Cooperative Extension’s goal is to provide the residents of the community with research-based knowledge. For more information on nutrition, health, food preservation, and food safety in Lee County please contact the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Ashley Szilvay at 919-775-5624.