dehydating squash or pumpkin

[peppero]

has anyone preserved pumpkin or squash by drying? if so, how did it turn out? peppero

[Catherine+two]

Last year I dehydrated pumpkin and then ground it to a powder. I have been using it by the quarter cup in muffins (regular muffin recipe, add a quarter cup pumpkin powder) just for a bit of added goodness. At that amount the muffins aren't particularly pumpkin-flavored, just sweet.

Catherine

[peppero]

sounds like a good suggestion. what method did you use to dehydrate?

[Catherine+two]

I live in a dry climate, so my method is on the simple side. I cut the pumpkin into thin wedges, then cut the wedges into smaller pieces so they would fit in my grain grinder. (The grain grinder ultimately didn't work, I used the blender to break the dry pumpkin up, but the smaller pieces worked better than large, so I do still suggest this step.) Then I put the pumpkin chunks on drying racks set on cookie sheets and put them all in a warm oven. My oven is pilot-less, but does have a warm setting, so I used that and blocked the door open just a bit with a wooden spoon. As I recall, it took about 2 days for everything to reach crispy dry. That's were my dry climate helps. I suspect it will take about double that for a more humid climate.

I would have used my mom's dehydrator, but she put it away before she died and my stepdad and I haven't been able to find it. I know as soon as I buy a new one we will find it, too!

Catherine

[Zana]

Thanks for the tip on the pumpkin powder. I think I'll try that. That might be nice as a thickener for sauces in stir fries too...might be a tad sweet...but can see it in a thai style dish - going for the hot-sweet-sour-salty mix. Hmmmmmmm....now you have my mind racing to other ideas. Thanks again. And lucky for me, I got my Mom's dehydrater and all the attachments after she passed....had to go looking for it...but eventually found it. And I even know where it is since my move last year. LOL

[peppero]

Originally Posted by Catherine+two

I live in a dry climate, so my method is on the simple side. I cut the pumpkin into thin wedges, then cut the wedges into smaller pieces so they would fit in my grain grinder. (The grain grinder ultimately didn't work, I used the blender to break the dry pumpkin up, but the smaller pieces worked better than large, so I do still suggest this step.) Then I put the pumpkin chunks on drying racks set on cookie sheets and put them all in a warm oven. My oven is pilot-less, but does have a warm setting, so I used that and blocked the door open just a bit with a wooden spoon. As I recall, it took about 2 days for everything to reach crispy dry. That's were my dry climate helps. I suspect it will take about double that for a more humid climate.

I would have used my mom's dehydrator, but she put it away before she died and my stepdad and I haven't been able to find it. I know as soon as I buy a new one we will find it, too!

Catherine

thanks for the information. i just may try that. this site is a wonderful resource with a lot of helpful and knowledgeable people. jon

[O.P. Mater]

Peppero, Just dried some pumpkin. I halved and baked a Long Island Cheese pumpkin, used a spoon to get the soft pulp out of the shell after it cooled, drained it, pureed it, mixed it with some honey and spice, and then dried it in the dehydrator to make pumpkin leather. I put about a quart spread thinly on a tray. If you score it before you dry it, it will be easier to divide.

[peppero]

that sounds great too! keep them coming folks. jon