Canning squash purée

Has anyone waterbath canned puréed squash? I do cubed squash with no problem but would like to do puréed. I have about 6 squash that need to be used very soon and i know we’re not going to eat that many in a short time. They are a winter squash.

According to the government (USDA?) you aren't even supposed to pressure can puree, because the center doesn't heat up enough. I definitely wouldn't water bath it.

Squash is a low acid vegetable, and they need to be pressure canned to account for the lack of acidity.

Something I do is pressure can chunks with the spices etc I like to have in puree, then toss it through the blender when I open it.

Has anyone ever canned cubed squash without the water? Because I think my home-canned squash gets too watery for my pie recipe.

The water is necessary to remove excess air in the jar and create the correct headspace. Freezing some for pies would be a better option.

Angi Schneider wrote:The water is necessary to remove excess air in the jar and create the correct headspace. Freezing some for pies would be a better option.

I wonder how dehydrated puree would rehydrate...

That's definitely worth a try. I would just do enough for one pie and then make the pie before doing a bunch. Some people love having dehydrated "powders" available and this would be a good use for pumpkin.

Nick Williams wrote:I wonder how dehydrated puree would rehydrate...

Pumpkin is low sugar and low acid and as a puree, it's fully processed. If you dry it to a powder, I'd suggest you still make sure it's stored cool, dark and in glass containers to preserve as much as nutrition as possible.
If you dry it to "leather" I'd suggest you store it in the fridge. If you normally add sugar to your pie, I might consider adding it to the puree - sugar is a preservative.

You could maybe do a test with a small quantity, but it's a lot of work to have it go bad!

I dry most of my puree every year and haven't had any issues so far.  I use an Excalibur dryer and do 2 cups puree per (lined) tray.  To store I break or tear into pieces that will fit in a gallon freezer bag.  I've found it's better to store this way and use a coffee grinder to powder it as needed, since the powder tends to absorb humidity and form a solid mass in a jar.  The dried puree stores for about 18 months, though it tends to get darker in color and loses some flavor after a year.

Also, to speed drying in the dehydrator, I put the puree in a fine mesh strainer (not lined with cloth or anything, but you could) and drain over a bowl for like 30 min to half an hour.  I use the water to cook rice or in soups etc.  The puree isn't quite as sweet and has more fiber, but it dries down a lot faster.  

Even though the pumpkin is low-acid, the lack of moisture prevents growth of unwanted organisms.

I routinely freeze squash puree. Is that an option for you? I can't buy canned pumpkin where I live so when I want to make something this pumpkin I freeze what I don't use in that first recipe. The great thing is that the water freezes out around the edge, so when I thaw it in a strainer, the thawed pumpkin has less water than the original I froze.