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Homemade Savory Zucchini Relish

Avatar Published: Aug 30, 2019 by Cheryl Magyar ยท This post may contain affiliate links.

Every summer zucchinis take control of the garden, some growing large enough to give more then 15 cups of grated green pulp per fruit!

Even though zucchini is commonly treated as a vegetable, it is rightfully a fruit. It emerges from an overgrowth of a zucchini flower, and botanically speaking it is classified as a berry or “pepo”.

Same is true for cucumbers and tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, okra… They are all fruits.

As much as we adore zucchini bread as a way to use up the excess glut from the garden, one can only eat so many slices of dessert.

Combine that with the fact that zucchini doesn’t freeze well (plus it takes up lots of precious space) and it is time-consuming to dehydrate – chances are that you will turn to pickling as a way of preserving your abundance of zucchini.

Some like zucchini relish sweet, others prefer it on the savory side.

Our family falls on the latter, after all, sugar is so prevalent in a modern diet. It is refreshing to have a meal without extra sweetener.

Savory zucchini relish ingredients

Growing zucchini is easy, finding ways to use it up and preserve it for winter is much more difficult.

Bread and butter zucchini pickles are one way to go, canned tomatoes with zucchini is another. Perhaps the simplest way to can zucchini is to make relish.

And with each zucchini picked, you can experiment with different spices, to make your pantry selection that much richer.

Savory zucchini relish ingredients

Here is the basic recipe, optional ingredients will be listed later:

  • 10 cups zucchini, shredded
  • 3 cups onions, chopped
  • 12 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp. dill or caraway seeds
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
  • 1/3 cup salt

Instructions for making savory zucchini relish

1. Grate zucchini into a large stainless steel or ceramic bowl, then add a couple tablespoons of salt. Give it a good stir and let it sit (covered) at room temperature for 8-10 hours.

2. Squeeze excess juice from the zucchini before getting ready to make the brine.

3. Chop onions and garlic, then add to grated zucchini with dill seeds and other spices (if using).

4. Pour water, vinegar and salt into a large stockpot and bring to a light boil, then add the entire zucchini mixture.

5. Mix it well and bring mass to a low boil for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Ladle into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes, adjusting for altitude.

Optional ingredients for zucchini relish

While it is nice to keep home cooking simple, using basic ingredients you can harvest from your own garden, there will be times when you want to branch out into the world of spices.

Mustard seeds, celery seeds and turmeric all make a wonderful addition to savory zucchini relish. Black pepper corns, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes add a hint of spice too.

If you hear your zucchini calling out for a bit of sweetness, why not try homemade relish made with honey instead of sugar?

You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the delightful flavors that emerge without the addition of preservatives and artificial colors that come along with store-bought preserves.

Ready to preserve your own zucchini relish? How do you go about it?

Savory Zucchini Relish

Savory Zucchini Relish

When your zucchini plants produce more than you can handle, make this savory zucchini relish.

Ingredients

  • 10 cups zucchini, shredded
  • 3 cups onions, chopped
  • 12 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp. dill or caraway seeds
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
  • 1/3 cup salt

Instructions

  1. Grate zucchini into a large stainless steel or ceramic bowl, then add a couple tablespoons of salt. Give it a good stir and let it sit (covered) at room temperature for 8-10 hours.
  2. Squeeze excess juice from the zucchini before getting ready to make the brine.
  3. Chop onions and garlic, then add to grated zucchini with dill seeds and other spices (if using).
  4. Pour water, vinegar and salt into a large stockpot and bring to a light boil, then add the entire zucchini mixture.
  5. Mix it well and bring mass to a low boil for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Ladle into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes, adjusting for altitude.

© Cheryl Magyar

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Food Preservation, Recipes

Avatar
Cheryl Magyar

Cheryl Magyar is a sustainable life designer and environmental freelance writer with more than twenty years experience of living a simple life close to nature. It all started at a young age with a love for the outdoors, followed by a keen interest in goats, which turned into a love for raising ducks and mangalica pigs on the Plains of Hungary. Currently she is homesteading in northern Romania, amidst charming haystacks, with her husband and homeschooled daughter. Their land and their life’s work is aptly named ForestCreekMeadows.

She is an avid organic gardener who can often be found eating nourishing “weeds” and making herbal infusions, just as she can be seen planting native trees to help others around the world to lower their carbon footprints. Follow on Instagram and sign up for their newsletter for more inspirations on living a sustainable life.

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