Each summer most farmers, homesteaders, and backyard gardeners are blessed with an abundance of both zucchini and cucumbers. Sometimes you can’t seem to give enough of the green produce away before they begin to rot on the vine.
Making relish is an excellent way to turn the high yield crops into tasty treats that can be stored for years to come – and given as Christmas presents to grateful loved ones.
Sweet Zucchini Relish Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups onions finely chopped
- 12 cups zucchini shredded
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 5 tablespoons salt
- 5 sugar sugar
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 and ⅓ teaspoons celery seeds
- 2 and ½ cups apple cider vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg ground
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 14 half pint Mason jars, rings, and lids
Instructions
- Combine the salt, onion, and zucchini in a bowl and refrigerate over night.
- Drain the moisture in the bowel through a strainer.
- Rinse the mixture and make sure it is thoroughly drained before moving on to the next step.
- In a separate bowl combine the celery seeds, black pepper, dry mustard, and nutmeg.
- Heat over medium heat the spices, red bell pepper, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and zucchini mixture until it reaches a simmer – this takes about 25 minutes.
- Fill the pint Mason jars with the mixture – leaving about a ¼ of an inch head room.
- Place the heated lid and ring onto each jar.
- Put the jars in the water bath – leaving about 2 inches of space in between each jar.
- Cover the water bath canner with its lid and process for 25 minutes.
- Remove the jars and place them carefully onto a towel (not touching) until you check them to make sure they have sealed and cooled before storing or consuming.
Tara Dodrill is a homesteading and survival journalist and author. She lives on a small ranch with her family in Appalachia. She has been both a host and frequent guest on preparedness radio shows. In addition to the publication of her first book, ‘Power Grid Down: How to Prepare, Survive, and Thrive after the Lights go Out’, Dodrill also travels to offer prepping tips and hands-on training and survival camps and expos.
Unfortunately we had neither zucchini nor any other squash this year, due to the incessant rain; but, this recipe should come in handy for later and in the case where we get some others passing on their extras to us.
Normally we shred extra zucchini and freeze it for later use. The shreds may be used either fresh or after thawing, to make zucchini bread, that is more like a cake than a real bread.
It is also tasty, sliced, dipped in egg and then flour or corn meal and baked until almost crisp.
Being able to print the recipe (as a PDF) comes in really handy. Thanks.
And I also got the ”[Subscribe] Comments on The Survivalist Blog – please confirm” email for this post, so all seems to be working normally again.
Good to hear. I’ll keep an eye out on the two checkboxes at below the reply box, they tend to disappear when notifications aren’t working.