Various Ways to Process Squash

We loved eating desert during fiestas, birthdays and other special occasions. Even during ordinary days we loved eating between meals, it has become a common habit among us. Squash is a good snack rich in Vitamin A and contains calcium, phosphorus and iron. This becomes attractive snacks for the young when served in different ways. Below are various ways to process squash.

SQUASH CUCHINTA

Materials:

1 cup mashed boiled squash
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour, shifted
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lye (dissolved)

Procedure:

1.Dissolve the sugar in water and boil, allow to cool.
2.Add the flour little by little.
3.Add the squash, keep on stirring until it becomes fine in texture.
4.Shift.
5.Add the lye, stir.
6.Put the mixture in molds, with allowance of a little space from the rim.
7.Cook in double boiler for 20 minutes.


SQUASH MAJA

Materials:

1 cup cornstarch
3 cups coconut milk (second extraction)
1 cup coconut milk (first extraction)
1½ cups squash, boiled and mashed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Procedure:

1. Mix cornstarch and 1 cup coconut milk (second extraction).
2. Mix the 2 cups more.
3. Add coconut milk (first extraction), squash, sugar, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pass through a sieve.
4. Cook over low fire, continually mixing until it becomes thick.
5. Put in molds, let cool.
6. Put "budbud" on top when served.

To prepare budbud: 1/3 cup sugar for every 1 cup coconut meal. Roast in carajay until golden brown.


SQUASH JELLY

Materials:

1 cup mashed boiled squash
1 cup mashed boiled gabi
½ cup white sugar
1/3 cup condensed milk
1/4 tsp.vanilla
2 tbsp.butter
1 tbsp.butter for lining molds

Procedure:

1. Sieve the squash and gabi until a fine paste is attained.
2. Mix them together with sugar.
3. Cook in low fire, continually stirring to prevent scorching.
4. When thick, add condensed milk and vanilla, keep on stirring until the desired consistency is attained.
5. Add the butter, keep on stirring until the surface is smooth and glossy.
6. Line the inside walls of the molds with butter, then...
7. Put the mixture in the molds.


SQUASH MACAROONS

Materials:

½ cup butter
4 eggs
1/3 cup white sugar
½ pack dessicated coconut
2 tsp.vanilla
3/4 cup grated squash

Procedure:

1. Cream the butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add the sugar gradually while stirring.
3. Add eggs one by one constantly stirring after adding each eggs.
4. Add the condensed milk.
5. Add the dessicated coconut, squash, vanilla, and mix well.
6. Put in muffin molds lined with paper or aluminum foil.
7. Cook in oven at 350°C for half an hour.


KALCOSUMAN (Squash Suman)

Materials:

½ cup malagkit rice
2 cups grated squash
1½ cups ordinary rice
1/3 cup latik
3/4 cup coconut milk (second extraction)
1½ cups sugar
banana leaves
string

Procedure:

1. Soak overnight: rice and malagkit and grind on the following day.
2. Soak the ground rice and malagkit in coconut milk until soft.
3. Add the sugar and squash.
4. Cook over low fire, constantly stirring until thick. Cool.
5. Prepare the leaves for wrapping by heating over low fire. Brush the leaves with butter.
6. Put two tablespoonful of the mixture in every wrap, put latik on top of each before closing.
7. Tie with string and cook for half an hour in a double boiler container.

Source: FNRI-DOST

KALABASA PAN DE SAL

Materials:

12% flour from squash
88% ordinary flour
yeast, salt (pinch), oil and sugar as in ordinary bread

Procedure:

1. Melt the yeast in warm water and leave it for 8-10 minutes.
2. Mix together: squash flour, ordinary flour and oil. Beat with a Hobart mixer (Speed 2) for 6 minutes while adding sugar and salt. Leave it for one-half hour.
3. Knead the dough and roll to form pieces of pandesal.
4. Put in oven and cook like ordinary bread.

Source: NSDB Completed Researches


SQUASH CORN CHIPS

Materials:

Squash Oil
Corn flour Sugar or salt
Flavoring

Procedure:

1. Peel the squash, cut into fine pieces.
2. Steam and grind.
3. Mix squash and corn flour in the following proportions:

7 parts squash (70%)
3 parts corn (30%)

4. Add flavoring and sugar (or salt).
5. Steam for 15 minutes.
6. Pass through a noodle machine at 1.2 cm.chips.
7. Dry the resulting chips on a forced draft at 65°C-70°C for 2½ hours. This will last for six weeks if packed in plastic bags and ten weeks if packed in laminated packs.

Source: R&D Completed Projects DOST
------------
Source:elgu2.ncc.gov.ph, photo courtesy of www.landcareresearch.co.nz

Various Ways to Process Jackfruit

There are various ways to process mature, ripe jackfruit generally used for sweet products such as jam, marmalade, jelly, and candy. Dehydrated jackfruit could be powdered and incorporated in different recipes. Below are some processes to jackfruit preservation:

Dehydrated Candied (Jackfruit) Langka

1. Wash ripe langka remove adhering dirt.
2. Slice lengthwise and pick out firm, ripe langka bulbs. Cut ends to remove seeds.
3. Steam-blanch for five minutes.
4. Prepare a 35 B syrup. Allow 1.43 kg of syrup for every kilogram of langka bulbs. Add sodium metabisulfite (0.1% by weight syrup).
5. Add fruit and heat to 77 to 82 degree Celcius. Soak for five hours.
6. Drain the syrup from the fruit and increase syrup concentration to 65oB. Add sodium benzoate (0.1% by weight of syrup).
7. Add fruits and heat to 77-82 C. Soak overnight.
8. Drain for 10 minutes and rinse the bulbs with tap water. Drain again for 30 minutes.
9. Dry in cabinet drier at 54 -60 C for six hours.
10. Allow to sweat in a cheesecloth overnight.
11. Pack in polypropylene bags store in a cool, dry place.
12. A high acceptable product is sugar-free, bright yellow, firm or chewy in texture, and with a distinct jackfruit flavor.

Jackfruit Jam

1. Use fully ripe fruits.
2. Cut the fruit into halves and separate segments. Remove the seed from each segment and grind the pulp.
3. To one cup of ground pulp, add 170 g (3/4 cup) of sugar and boil with constant stirring until the mixture is thick and clear.
4. Pack while hot in sterilized jars and seal tightly.

Jackfruit Jelly

Follow general procedures. Include the none edible portion around each bulb when making jelly.

Jackfruit-Pineapple Marmalade

Ingredients:

Jackfruit, finely sliced 226 g (1 cup )
Pineapple chopped 678 g (3 cups)
Sugar 452 (2 cups)
Glucose 113 g (1/2 cup)

1. Mix above ingredients and cook until thick.
2. Pour into jar while hot.
3. Remove air bubbles and half-seal.
4. Sterilize jar in boiling water. A 355-ml (12-oz) jar will require 25 minutes to sterilize. Seal completely.

Jackfruit Powder

1. Wash firm, ripe fruit.
2. Peel the fruit.
3. Separate the fruit pulp from the seeds and inedible portion.
4. Steam-blanch for five minutes per 350 +- 20 g pulp sample.
5. Line the steamer with several folds of wax paper to avoid any metallic contact with pulp.
6. Cool the blanched pulp for 30 minutes.
7. Puree the pulp together with 0.05% sodium metabisulfite and sugar (amount may vary from 50-75%) in a blender. Allow 1 1/2 minute pureeing for every 250 +- 20 g pulp.
8. Pour the puree evenly over the surface of a shallow and waxed drying tray.
9. Dry at 55 - 60 C until brittle.
10. Cool the product in the drier.
11. Remove the dried materials from the trays before a ventilating fan, since the product readily absorbs moisture.
12. Grind the dried material with a mortar and pestle, or a meat grinder when the sample is considerably large.
13. Sieve the powdered product.
14. Pack in appropriate containers with a desiccant.

Source: DOST