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.

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?

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