Preserve It! Oh Dear, the Zucchini!
Pickling is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. Queen Cleopatra attributed her legendary beauty as well as her health to the pickles in her diet. Roman troops were given pickles in their diet believing it would make them strong.
What if you don’t have many pickling cucumbers? No problem. Make some sweet, tangy pickles with all those zucchinis you can’t give away this time of year. These pickles make a wonderful addition to your charcuterie board for the holidays.
This recipe hails from National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), University of Georgia.
Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles
Yield: About 8-to-9-pint jars
16 cups sliced zucchini squash (or other summer squash or cucumbers)
4 cups thinly sliced onions (about 1 ½ pounds medium onions)
½ cup pickling or canning salt
4 cups white vinegar, 5% acidity
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 Tablespoons celery seed
4 Tablespoons mustard seed
Slice zucchini into rounds, one-quarter-inch thick. Slice onions into one-quarter-inch thick slices. Place sliced vegetables in a large flat glass or plastic container. Cover sliced vegetables with one inch of water and the salt. Let stand for two hours. Add ice cubes over the top, if desired.
Meanwhile, prepare boiling-water canner or atmospheric steam canner. Heat cleaned jars in canner until ready to use, do not boil (simmering water at 180 degrees F). Wash lids in warm soapy water and set aside with bands.
Drain vegetables thoroughly after the two hours. Rinse vegetables in cool water if you desire a less salty product.
Bring spices, sugar, and vinegar to a boil in a large stainless-steel saucepan. Add the sliced vegetables to the spice/vinegar mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for five minutes.
Pack zucchini and onions into a hot jar, leaving half-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary. Clean jar rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Place jar in canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.
Water must cover jars by at least one inch in boiling water canner or come to the base of the rack in a steam canner. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner, and bring water to a rolling boil in a boiling-water canner or until there’s a steady stream of steam coming from the steam canner for 1 minute. Start timing and process half-pint jars: 10 minutes at 0 – 1,000 feet elevation, 15 minutes at 1,001 – 6,000 feet, 20 minutes at 6,001feet and above.
Turn off heat. For boiling water canner, remove lid and let jars stand five minutes. For atmospheric steam canner, let canner sit undisturbed for 5 minutes, then remove lid. Remove jars and cool on a toweled surface 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal (they should not flex when center is pressed). Label, date, and store in a cool dark place.
The UC Master Food Preservers of El Dorado County are a great resource for answers to your food safety and preserving questions. Use our "Ask a Master Food Preserver" tool to submit your question and a volunteer will get in touch with you ASAP.
This article by UC Master Food Preserver Laurie Lewis originally appeared in the Mountain Democrat.