Hubbard Squash

It has been a good number of years since the last Hubbard squash harvest because we just never planted anymore. But we also had a good number of canned squash still in our pantry. The last time I canned it, I made it into a cooked puree and canned it in a pressure canner at high pressure for a long length of time. Since that time though, the USDA has since withdrawn their guidelines for canning pureed squash due to inconsistencies in preservation. I can attest, we saw some of those inconsistencies. Some jars looked nice and had plenty of moisture but others over time looked dry and eventually discolored on the top. We ate the nice looking stuff and all that was left was the dry, discolored looking squash which we tossed into the compost bin. 

Per new recommendations, I decided to try again but this time cubing the squash up raw and hot packing it into the jars. I cut up the squash above and it made 12 pints of cubed squash. Per recommendation, I canned it at 15 pounds for 55 minutes for pints and ended up with mixed results. Below are the good results. The squash cubes look beautiful sitting in plenty of liquid. But half of the jars ended up losing about half or more of their liquid. After searching, it is called siphoning in the canning world and happens. There are a number of causes for it. One cause is that I didn't follow the headspace criteria to the letter. It called for 1 inch of head space and I was probably pushing a half inch in some of the jars. Another is that I should hot bath my empty jars before filling. I usually do especially in water bath canning, but since this was going to be under pressure for a lengthy amount of time, I thought it unnecessary for killing bacteria. It turns out that is true but it is necessary to help reduce the amount of siphoning that happens. Another thing I learned is that I am supposed to let the canner pressure dissipate naturally and then after removing the lid, leave the jars in the water for another 10 minutes before removing. I was in a hurry to meet a timeline and so I aided removing the pressure by holding up the release valve and then removing the jars immediately.

So, I have a number of things to try differently to try and reduce the siphoning from happening because a 50% loss is quite discouraging. From what I have read, the siphoned pints are still good to eat but like my previous canned puree jars, will slowly dry out and discolor on top so are best eaten sooner rather than later. Pumpkin pies are in my future I guess. All this also probably explains what happened to those canned purees that I did eight years ago. They probably siphoned but because it was a puree, I just didn't notice until they started discoloring. 

What I still don't understand is why I haven't seen this on anything else? Either is is something specific to squash or most likely, it is just a function of time and pressure since I don't can anything else at such a pressure or length of time. I'm still learning after all these years.

Post Addendum: The next day after heating up the jars in hot water, I opened up the six pints and topped them off with more boiling water being careful not to exceed the headspace allowance. I put new lids on them and recanned them the full 55 minutes and then let the pressure gradually dissipate on its own. When I finally removed the lid, one jar spit up about a half tsp of water and then stopped. All still had full amounts of water to cover the squash and sealed. A few days later I did another batch using a fresh squash and also did not have any issues with siphoning. So I think head space is definitely something I need to be more aware of and also to not get in a hurry in getting the jars out of the canner.



 

Comments

  1. And that is my task today. Cutting up and cooking down squash.

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    1. I took a break to process another bushel of apples that we couldn't resist picking, but tomorrow I should be back on the squash detail for another couple squashes anyway. We don't raise these very often so we try to preserve a bunch when we do.

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  2. I'm not familiar with Hubbard squash. I'm guessing it's along the same lines as Acorn or Butternut squash? I'm more a summer squash person. (which we use to pickle or blanch and freeze)

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    1. Hubbard is a very old squash, one of the first varieties brought to the U.S. from the Caribbean somewhere. It is a winter squash and I think probably more like pumpkin than acorn or butternut squash. Typically they get quite large, up to 20 lbs with a really tough skin but our biggest probably only topped out at 15 lbs. The one above was probably closer to 10 lbs.

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  3. I didn't realize that canning was such a complex process! These look great and you've learned through experience and research. My mother-in-law loved to can and my older daughter has done some of it too. Just reading this post made me NOT want to tangle with any of it although I'd be happy to eat your pumpkin pies or pumpkin bread or bars. :)

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    1. As far as canning goes, squash is one of the easier ones I think. Tomatoes are one of the harder ones just due to the shear number of steps and large vessels required. Another advantage is that I can wait on the winter squash for weeks or even months to come where as a lot of produce I can needs fairly immediate attention.

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  4. Squash. Yum! You learned and shared the knowledge for future researchers to find. My favorite preserving method is to cut slices, rounds or cube peeled Squash. Flash freeze, 100%! Bag and toss in freezer.

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    1. Our Achilles heel in preservation is freezer space which is why I try to do as much canning as I can.

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  5. I so admire your diligence and hard work at preserving your produce. The one and only time I do something close to that is making my yogurt in my instapot with A2 milk. It is quite a chore for me.

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    1. I never got into the whole instapot thing. We have enough countertop kitchen gadgets and didn't want to add to the collection.

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  6. I haven't tried squash and learned a few things here. This was a great year for the butternut and delicata squash and I assumed I'd be eating a lot of squash this fall as winter squash last longer than summer.

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    1. We raised a few massive butternut squash too. Not too many but all were the biggest I've ever raised.

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  7. I always lose liquid from my jars when canning. I didn't know it had a name, so that's something learned. I've followed all the tips you mention, but it still seems to happen. On only a couple of occasions has it not happened, but I don't recall doing anything different. The jars are supposed to vent, so it just seems logical that some of the liquid would boil out too. Maybe that's my excuse! I hope you figure it out!

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    1. I've been more diligent about following the headspace and letting the canner depressurize naturally and I've had a lot more success. In fact, I've only had one jar out of maybe 70 thus far siphon to the point the jar was half empty with liquid. Out of the same 70, I've seen another two or three jars siphon up maybe a tsp of liquid but not enough to really be concerned about. The one that did siphon half the liquid was another squash one. I'm guessing it is just a risk of long pressure times and high pressure. Like you, I'm always learning!

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  8. I am moving to your house when the zombie apocalypse happens, Ed. You are going to have all of the good stuff. Enjoy your squash.

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    1. I hope to never see that day. No offense to you!

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  9. Keep notes ! I am only good with jelly...I used to can pickles...we freeze some things...our peaches are awesome!

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    1. We grew two peaches this year and they weren't ripe one weekend and gone the next. But they were growing on a really old tree, at least old by this far north standards. Other than apples, all our other fruit was either not yet enough to preserve or got nipped by the late freeze we had in spring. Perhaps next year!

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  10. I've never even heard of Hubbard squash. I'm just always amazed at all the work you do and how you know how to do everything.

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