Preserving

Freezing shredded Zucchini

Looking to add extra veggies to meals like chili, meatloaf, pasta sauce, oatmeal, or blended soups or maybe you want to make classic baked goods such as zucchini bread or muffins, well look no further. Shredding is a super handy way to use up an abundance of summer squash or overgrown zucchini. It is super versatile and can be added to just about anything. You can use this technique for all kinds of summer squash.

Prep: Use a box grater or a food processor with a shredding disc attachment. If your summer squash is more than 2 1/2 inches in diameter cut it in half and scoop out the soft spongey center before shredding.
Freeze: Place half-cup portions in a muffin tin. After frozen the pucks should pop right out. Store in a freezer ziploc container.

Freezing summer squash cubes/chunks

Prep: use smaller, tender summer squash if you are planning to cook with it. Cut in half lengthwise and then into 1-inch pieces.
Blanch: Steam blanch for 4 minutes tossing at the 2-minute mark. Drain as much water as possible before placing it on a towel-lined pan to cool and dry.
Freeze: Squash chunks do well in freezer bags. They will stick together so consider freezing in smaller quantities, or flash freezing on a pan then place them in a freezer-safe bag for storage.

Freezing Zoodles

Prep: You will need a specialized gadget in order to make zoodles. I use a Spiralizer It comes with several different blades so you can make different-sized noodles with lots of different vegetables.
Blanch: Steam blanch for 3 minutes tossing around the 90-second mark. Drain as much water as possible then transfer to a towel-lined pan to cool and dry.
Freeze: Store in freezer bags. I use quart-size freezer Ziploc bags as that is a meal serving size for us.
Cook: To Heat thaw zoodles in the refrigerator overnight. Drain any excess water. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the zoodles and stir frequently until heated, about 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to overcook.