How to Preserve Zucchini

The most commonly seen zucchini is dark green, long and cylindrical. This was the zucchini of my childhood; the kind that my maman used to make moist chocolate zucchini cakes. Only recently have I discovered the many shapes and sizes of zucchini. This year we are growing Ronde de Nice zucchini, a French heirloom variety that is round and light green. I plan on growing it again next year while experimenting with a few other heirloom varieties like the Black Beauty and Romanesco. When zucchini plants are producing there seems to be no end to the harvest. As the zucchini piles on my countertop gets higher and higher I know that it's time to preserve them for the coming winter.

Freezing Zucchini

The best way to freeze zucchini is to peel it, which may not be necessary in for small tender zucchini, cut it in half to remove large seeds and grate it. If you have a food processor with a grater attachment now is the time to use it. Pack the grated zucchini into a 1 cup measuring cup and invert onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until you fill up the sheet with 1 cup zucchini piles and then put the cookie sheet in the freezer. After the piles have frozen place them in a large zip lock bag. Zucchini can also be frozen in larger pieces like slices, cubes or even hollowed out halves for stuffing later on.

Pickling Zucchini

I am thinking specifically of zucchini relish but apparently pickled zucchini slices are good too and have a nice texture. There is a good recipe for zucchini and pepper relish in Marisa McCellan's book Food in Jars, named after her blog.

Dehydrating Zucchini

Most fruit, vegetables and herbs can be dehydrated so it's no surprise that zucchini can be as well. If you have a mandolin or or good knife skills slice the zucchini into thin slices and dehydrate it. Gnowfglins has an informative post on dehydrating zucchini.

Eating Zucchini

There are many zucchini recipes out there but I must share this recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Cake from Simply Recipes. I have made this cake three time in the last couple months and it is delicious! Another zucchini recipe we've enjoyed is this Stuffed Young Zucchini which worked well for our Ronde de Nice zucchini.

Feel free to share your favourite zucchini recipes below, if I get enough suggestion I'll compile them into a post.

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