Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Canning - Zucchini "Pineapple"



Gardening season is fast approaching!  Hurray! 

There was a terrible drought in Missouri last summer so my garden was... should we say "pitiful" to say the least.  Of course, I'm always overly eager so I have added a few ideas to help my garden along.  I'm going to try burying 5-gallon buckets or 2/3 liter soda bottles with  my veges for deep root watering.  I'm also going to try adding a few vegetables and fruits in with my landscaping.  I have a few natural weed and bug killers to try since pinning on Pinterest has been my favorite weeknight lounging activity.

Along with making a garden plan this spring, I also like to make at least a mental list of the things I want to can from my garden.  I normally can pickles (like this delicious sweet pickle relish:


a special salsa recipe (which I will post soon); a favorite raspberry-beet jelly that is completely delicious filled in homemade donuts or topping Homemade Biscuits; green beans; tomato sauce for Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and Homemade Pizza; the now infamous "Just Like Clausen No-Can Pickles" (lots of pins on Pinterest):



and the recipe I am posting today for Zucchini "Pineapple". 

Most people have hoards of zucchini in their gardens.  I'm not one of those people.  I normally have to beg, plead, and barter zucchini and yellow squash since my garden suffers from an army of squash bugs and worse, the squash vine borer.  Not to be discouraged, I will be planting them again.  We love squash at our house in just about every form, summer squash or winter squash.  I'm not ready to give up... YET!

I made this batch of zucchini "pineapple" last summer.  It tastes amazingly like crushed pineapple and I use it in baked recipes like pineapple upsidedown cake, adding it to yellow cake mix for a crushed pineapple cake, quick breads, muffins, and of course, baked oatmeal.  Zucchini "pineapple" is just peeled and grated zucchini canned with sugar, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and a little yellow food coloring (if needed).  It's a fun way to preserve any overabundance of this typical Missouri garden vegetable.

Here's how I made Zucchini "Pineapple" AT HOME MY WAY:


Zucchini "Pineapple"
 
  • 4 quarts peeled and shredded zucchini
  • 46 oz canned unsweetened pineapple juice
  • 1 1/2 cups bottled lemon juice
  • 3 cups sugar
  • Yellow food color, if desired.
 
Instructions:
 
Sterilize jars/lids/rings (I use my dishwasher for this). (If you aren't familiar with canning instructions, HERE is a good link.)
 
Wash and peel zuchini,shred or grate.  Mix shredded/grated zucchini with the other ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Simmer 20 minutes, add a few drops of yellow food color if desired.  Fill hot jars with hot mixture and the cooking liquid, leaving 1/2 inch headspace in the jars.  Adjust lids and process in hot water bath 15 minutes.
 
Remove jars carefully and let cool, listening for the pop - seal.