Food Drying with an Attitude by Mary T. Bell

Author:Mary T. Bell
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (Perseus)
Published: 2011-02-25T05:00:00+00:00

PUMPKIN AND WINTER SQUASH

Peel the pumpkins or winter squash, remove the seeds, cut in 1/2-inch cubes, sprinkle with lemon juice, and dry. This is how I dried butternut squash for a five-day horseback pack trip we took into the Grand Canyon. When we reached the upper canyon, we made camp under a rock overhang that looked like an Anasazi cave. Dinner that night was rehydrated dried squash. Eating this meal in this very spiritual place gave us an incredible sense of history.

Buffalo Bird Woman dried squash in the traditional manner. She picked squash just before sunrise so the slices would stay firm and retain their shape during the drying process. Bone squash knives, which were made from green (freshly butchered) bones, were used only for slicing squash because they kept an edge. Squash slices were cut 1/2-inch thick. The seed cavity became the hollow center that was threaded onto willow rod poles that were hung on the drying stage. Slices were kept about a half-inch apart to give each slice air to dry.

Buffalo Bird Woman dried food when the wind was strong and the sun was hot. Once dry, the squash slices were threaded on grass strings, taken into the lodge, and hung in the driest air. This harvesting and drying process took about one month to complete.

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