I roasted some butternut squash, then stored it in the refrigerator for a few days before I had time to puree it all. When I pureed it I discovered that it had fermented. What caused this to happen? It smelled and looked fine, but the bag I stored it in kept puffing up and it tastes strongly fermented like I added yeast to it.
Why did the roasted butternut squash ferment
roastingsquashstorage-method
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I have seen those before when I have cooked squash; they seem more common when I microwave it. I suspect they are just starchy deposits. I have always just wiped them off and eaten it anyway.
It's definitely a very real reaction. I'm not sure exactly what in the squash it is that causes it, but since different people react differently - some people have strong reactions like you, some people have mild ones, and some have no problem at all - it seems to be some sort of mild allergic reaction. It's often called contact dermatitis, but that's a very generic term and doesn't really mean anything you don't already know. I'm not sure exactly what component of the squash it is that causes it, but I don't think it's carotene or potassium. It's likely some more complex molecule that tends to be present in various winter squashes.
Images from http://foodworld-eva.blogspot.com/2010/01/squash-reaction-on-skin.html.
You can avoid it by completely wearing gloves while working with the squash, or if you're lucky, you have someone else with you who can handle the squash without problems. For many purposes, like soup, you can also simply cut the squash in half, roast it, then scoop out the good stuff. But if you do really need to peel it and cut into chunks, your best hope is just to try to avoid touching it too much. You'll also want to wash your hands immediately after, or even a few times while you're cutting if it takes a while.
If you do end up with this despite your best efforts, cortisone cream can help relieve the reaction afterward.
(And as for your soup, there's nothing wrong with letting more moisture escape in exchange for browning. You can always just add more water or stock back into the soup. This can even be a good thing, since it lets you replace water with a more flavorful liquid.)
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Best Answer
Assuming you cooked thoroughly, your squash got innoculated after you took it out of the oven. Was your counter clean? Had you just made bread? What's the history of the storage bag? Did you recently spill yogurt in the fridge? You've got a source of contamination, and need to think carefully about everything that came in contact with the squash after you pulled it from the oven.