Canned Pineapple Zucchini

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What do you do with an abundance of zucchini? Every year it seems that everyone has an abundance all at once. The key there is all at once. Everyone is eating zucchini daily and trying to find ways to use it up. The breads, cookies, zoodles, etc will only get you so far. This year I wanted to find a way to can our zucchini. Even if we could only can some of it, that would still be a big improvement. It’s such a hard vegetable to preserve any other way than freezing. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, RuthAnn Zimmerman on Instagram changed my life this year. In addition to reusing lids she shared a way to can zucchini and you know I had to give it a try. We already used some of this canned pineapple zucchini and it is delicious!

Pineapple Juice

I recommend, if at all possible, to use organic pineapple juice. They ran out at Azure Standard before my last order though so I’m thinking everyone got the same idea. We live out in the middle of nowhere so finding organic pineapple juice isn’t very easy. I even tried to order some from Kroger and their website wasn’t working. As you probably know, when the zucchini is coming it needs to be used pretty quickly. It’s not one of those squashes that will last a long time. If you leave it on the vine it will triple in size in about two hours. For that reason, I used some standard store bought pineapple juice for this project. It was 100% juice from concentrate. Not great but being that I also wasn’t sure I would even like this once it was done, it was still worth using to try it. 

Zucchini Size

The good thing about this recipe is that your zucchini doesn’t have to be perfect. We all know these things grow by leaps and bounds in a matter of hours it or sometimes minutes it would seem. I actually used very large zucchinis for this recipe. They were far beyond the tender stage of the zucchini. In fact, they were so large I had to use our biggest cleaver to get them all cut up! They work for this though because the processes make them soft and squishy- just like pineapple!

Texture

These do not have the texture of pineapple. They have the pineapple flavor but they are a totally different texture. Pineapple tends to be slightly crunchy and the zucchini is not mushy but not firm either. Honestly, it’s really hard to describe. If you are a texture person you might be alarmed by this. My best advice is to go into it with an open mind and don’t expect it to be pineapple. Lower your standards here, folks! 

Preparing the Zucchini

To prepare your zucchini you first need to peel it. I used a potato peeler but a knife would probably work just as well. I was a little surprised at how sticky the peeled zucchini was. It’s normal for it to be sticky and dry out your hands. Once it is peeled, dice it up into smaller chunks. You will want them to be about the same size as pineapple chunks would be. 

If you are using a large zucchini you will want to remove the seeds. This can be done by using a spoon to scoop them out. My chickens like this part of the zucchini the best so this was another win- win scenario about being able to can the zucchini. We got cans of zucchini and the birds got some zucchini innards. Put the zucchini chunks in a bowl and set aside. 

Canned Pineapple Zucchini Recipe

• 16 cups peeled, chunked zucchini
• 46 oz pineapple juice
• 2-3 cups sugar
• 1.5 cups lemon juice

Directions

Once your zucchini is peeled and chunked, set it aside. 

1. Bring the pineapple juice, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil. 

2. Add the zucchini and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes. 

3. Using a slotted spoon fill jars with zucchini chunks. 

4. Fill the rest of the jar with the pineapple juice mixture leaving 1” of headspace.

5. Wipe off the rim of the jars and apply the lids.

6. Process in the hot water bath for 15 minutes. 

7. Remove from the water bath and allow the jars to sit for 12-24 hours. 

I find that it is best to get your water bath going at the same time that you add the zucchini. The water baths take so long to heat up that it will be boiling by the time you are finished filling the jars. This is just one way to save yourself a little bit of time. 

Jars & Lids

You will want to make sure that your jars and lids are processed before filling them. The jars should be washed and sterilized. It is your choice on how you do that (oven, dishwasher, hot water, etc). Keeping the jars hot also helps make sure they don’t crack since you will be adding the boiling hot water to them. Your lids should be processed as you normally would as well. I put them in hot water and simmer them until I’m ready to use them. That’s just my preferred method and you can do that however you are comfortable. 

The first time I used this canned pineapple zucchini it was with chicken. I put some chicken in the crockpot and dumped a jar of the pineapple zucchini on top. It gave it a great flavor and kept the chicken nice and moist. We served it over rice and really enjoyed it. I think next time we are going to try ham and I also want to try it on pizza too! 

Tell me, what are you doing with your abundance of zucchini?