Pureeing foods question

[KrisM]

I bought some acorn squash and cooked them. I have a blender and tried to puree the squash, but am not having luck. At best, I get kind of granular pieces. At worst, I have large chunks of squash. I have the book Mommy Made and it says that I shouldn't have to add any liquid, so I haven't.

So, do I need to buy a food processor? Or should I add liquid? Or am I doing something else wrong. I'm not a big cook, so I may just be missing the boat on something.

Thanks for your help.

[pritchettzoo]

Maybe you need to cook the squash longer? Squash and potatoes usually get mushy enough to push through a sieve or mash with a fork if you're really desperate. If you want to buy something though, I'd recommend a little mini-Cuisinart processor. You can find them for around $30--best price I found was at Bed, Bath, & Beyond with a 20% off coupon.

If it's too dry, you could add a little of the cooking liquid to see if that would help.

HTH!
Anna

[jillc]

Hi Kris,

I was going to suggest the same thing that Anna did - the mini food processer. That's what I've been using. A friend of mine tipped me off that doing it in the blender didn't work for her, so I just borrowed my mom's mini food processer, which has been working well.

I have had to add some water to my squash purees in order to get them to puree nicely. Try adding a few spoonfulls at a time. I an always surprised by how much water I need, since Mommy Made says none.

Random squash vent: One of Abby's first foods was butternut squash, which she loves. I tasted it too, & it was yummy. Recently I made acorn squash, & tasted it as I was getting ready to freeze it. GROSS. I don't know if I just got a bad squash, or what (I'm certainly no squash expert ;)), but it's kind of bitter. I haven't even tried giving it to Abby. I think I'll try mixing it w/something yummy like banana, so it tastes better & doesn't waste.

Good luck w/your puree. Hope it works out & your DS likes it.
- J

[DebbieJ]

I used my blender for pureeing. My food processor didn't do the job. I always added water to everything, except maybe zucchini. It helped get it really smooth.

~ deb
Mommy to my sweet boy
B born 12/03
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/10023.jpg http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/10029.gif

[KrisM]

Hmm. It wasn't that mushy. I cooked it at 350 deg. F for an hour, which is on the long side, according to the book. Can I cook it more now that it's peeled and cut up? Maybe on the stove top? Can you tell I've never cooked a squash before?

[californiagirl]

I think the book is wrong about cooking time. I had the same experience, and just kept cooking the squash until I felt it was done enough, which took nearer 2 hours! In your situation, I think I'd steam it until it was really mushy.

[KrisM]

I ended up putting it in a dish and in the microwave. It took 8 min. in the microwave to finish. The book said it only needed 10 total in the m/w. I think I agree about the time being way too short.

The sweet potatoes were done in an hour though.

[beramer]

I haven't made any squash, but I have done apples and peaches. I bought a hand blender to puree baby food. I cooked the fruit over low heat on the stove until very soft, then used the hand blender in the pot--it took less than 2 minutes to puree!!