This weekend we had our first snow of the season. During the night Saturday, it started snowing and although it melted during the day Sunday, it was a "wake up call" Sunday morning, with all the snow covered trees, that winter isn't that far off here in the North Maine Woods. Thank goodness I finished cleaning out the garden beds and essentially putting the garden to “bed” for the year on Friday. I also finished up my produce canning for the year Saturday afternoon. There were 2 large zucchini left and I decided to make them into bread & butter pickles. In preparation, I cut them in half lengthwise and scooped out all the seeds and membrane from the center. I took the halves and cut them in half lengthwise again (each was now a ¼ lengthwise piece of zucchini). These I cut into ¼ inch thick slices. I was ready to make Bread & Butter Zucchini Pickles.
BREAD AND BUTTER ZUCCHINI PICKLES
16 c. sliced fresh zucchini
4 c. thinly sliced onions
½ c. pickling salt (not iodized)
4 c. white vinegar (5% acidity)
2 c. sugar
4 tbsp. mustard seed
2 tbsp. celery seed
2 tsp. ground turmeric
Cover zucchini and onion slices with 1 inch of water and salt. Let stand 2 hours and drain thoroughly. Combine vinegar, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil. Add zucchini and onions. Simmer 5 minutes and fill sterilized canning jars with mixture and pickling solution leaving ½ inch space at the top. Wipe jar rims clean and cover with sterilized lids. Screw on bands and hand tighten. Process in a boiling water bath 15 minutes. Remove from canner and let cool. Check lids for proper sealing. Let pickles set for at least 6 weeks before eating for maximum flavor.
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Katy SkipTheBag says
Zucchini pickles! I feel like my mind is blown. We haven't planted any zucchini yet, but our cukes are starting to grow. I can't wait to try this recipe.
Jess says
Wow! What a neat idea!!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for crafts, recipes, and tips: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Lisa @ Fun Money Mom says
It never entered my mind to make pickles with zucchini but now it sounds like delicious! I've never even made pickles before buy may have to give it a try! Thanks so much for sharing at Share The Wealth Sunday!
xoxo
Lisa
Margy says
Just wish my zucchini plant had enough left to do this. Maybe next year earlier in the season. - Margy
Sherry says
Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday. I love bread and butter pickles but I've never tried making them with zucchini. Great idea!
Jimbo says
I always wanted to try and make zuke pickles but didn,t no how. I will try your info to see how they come out THANKS Jimbo
MizzEm says
Cukes and I don't get along well so I've been making zuke pickles and they're great! I wanted to pass along a suggestion for making neat, pretty slices/chunks - quarter the zukes lengthwise and lay a quarter on your cutting board pointing away from you. Laying your knife (pointing away from you) at about a 45 degree angle, slice off the spongy middle part, creating a long skinny piece that is triangular in cross-section. Chuck that in the compost, it's not really even good for zucchini bread. Repeat with the other quarter-zukes. Then gather the sticks together and chop crosswise into slices or chunks. It goes a LOT faster than the scoopy business, and you can adapt it for making pickle spears too.
Also, I don't work for Ball and I get no compensation, but I wanted to rave about a product called "Pickle Crisp" for zuke pickles, since they are terribly prone to getting soft in the processing. They really do end up crunchy, like cucumber pickles that have been through all that lime-soaking business (what a pain) or fridge pickles. I just went out and BOUGHT more zucchini - not kidding - to make more bread & butter pickles because they're getting eaten up so quickly!
Sheryl T says
Great information! Thanks for posting it. I'll be trying your tips. Sounds like you like "getting pickled" as much as I do. Canning is such a satisfying endeavor. I love looking at my shelves all filled with canned produce, truly a thing of beauty.
Tiffany @ No Ordinary Homestead says
I LOVE bread and butter pickles but never thought about using zucchini for them. Love it!
Thanks for linking up at NOH. If you get a chance, I'd love a link back on your posts also.
Sheryl T says
We had such a crazy spring and dry summer that our cukes didn't do that well but as usual I had tons of zucchini. I had made relish out of them in the past but you only need so much relish LOL. So I started pickling them. They are the same texture as cukes so I thought it would work and it did! Any pickle recipe can work with zucchini!
Michelle says
Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday. Can’t wait to see what you share this week! Have a wonderful week.
Michelle
BeColorful says
My husband's grandma used to make these for us. I will have to give it a try.
Thanks for sharing on BeColorful.
p
Katherines Corner says
Oh how wonderful I would love to try these. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. Wishing you a beautiful weekend xo
Alicia says
oooh yum. a great way to use up so many zucchinis, my mum usually does this kind of stuff. I'm hoping for too many this year, and I may have to do this, my hubby loves the stuff.
Miz Helen says
Beautiful!! Thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you have a great weekend and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Courtney~Mommy LaDy Club says
How interesting with the zucchini!
Carrie @ My Favorite Finds says
My mom cans pickles, and they are always so good. This sounds great! Thanks for sharing at MTM!
Tanya says
something about a snowy evening/day makes me want to work in the kitchen. i've been wanting to try to make my own pickles!
we won't see snow for a while still here in virginia, but the temps are definitely getting chilly-er!
Sheryl T says
It seems like we always get a small storm in October here in northern Maine. The snow doesn't last long but it is a real wake up call letting you know what's ahead or as my husband says - "it's time to get your nuts in!"(he in touch with his "inner squirrel" LOL
Lisa @ Two Bears Farm says
They look delicious!
Rachael @ Determined Darling says
Yum these sound delicious! I'll have to make some.
Sheryl T says
It's a great way to use up the always prolific zucchini!