Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles
Zucchini.
Such a storied vegetable. Some love it, most can at least tolerate it. Eat it savoury, sweet, in just about anything. If you grow it, you probably have too much. On the farm, we are always amazed by its abundance. We’re always trying to find new ways to use it up, aren’t we?
If I had one piece of advice for really enjoying zucchini, it would be to harvest or select fruit that is not too big. Some even enjoy them as little as 4 or 5 inches long, but I prefer to pick them when they are around 8 inches long. A smaller fruit has denser, sweeter flesh, with fewer and less mature seeds.
That being said, there are always those that get away! I’m talking about the fruits that we miss, that seem to turn into baseball bats in a matter of days. Although these are lower quality, they are still perfectly edible. I just prepare them in different ways. My favourite way to use overripe zucchini is to prepare Bread and Butter Zucchini pickles. If I make one pickle, its this one. We enjoy it throughout the winter, especially with chicken, roasts, chops, and often straight out of the jar with a spoon.
The recipe is incredibly easy, but it does involved a few stages of preparation over 4 or 5 hours. I don’t process these any sort of water bath. If you are uncomfortable with this method of canning, you can place the jars in a hot-water bath canner for 10 minutes. Note that this will significantly soften the pickles. Using a mandolin or comparable attachment of a food processor will speed things up and provide you with evenly sliced ingredients. Do not alter the ratios or quantities of the the zucchini, vinegar, salt, or sugar. You can be more flexible with the spices.
Ingredients
2 lbs zucchini, thinly sliced
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp salt, pickling salt preferred
1.5 cups white sugar
2 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
Combine zucchini, onions, and 2 tbsp pickling salt thoroughly and let stand for 2 hours. Rinse well and drain.
Combine vinegar, sugar, spices, and remaining salt in a large pot or saucepan with a lid. Bring to a boil and let simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and onions. Mix well, cover, and let stand for 2 hours, mixing and turning occasionally.
With sterilized canning jars and lids on hand, bring the mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and fill sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Seal jars tightly and place them upside down for 30 minutes. Check to see if the jars have sealed. Any that have not sealed should be reprocessed.
