Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles
A twist on an old favorite!
Ingredients
  • 5-8 fresh zucchinisliced into 1/4
  • 1 onionthinly sliced into quarter circles
  • several garlic cloves
  • dill clumpsflowers and/or leaves
  • 2 T. mustard seeds
  • 1 T. coriander seeds
  • 4 c. water
  • 1 c. vinegar
  • 2 c. sugar
  • 1/2 c. pickling saltplus more to sprinkle
Instructions
  1. First, take the zucchini and onions and sprinkle with pickling salt. Toss together in a bowl or saucepan and cover with ice cubes. Put about an inch of cold water into the pan and set aside for an hour or two. While that’s soaking, sterilize the canning jars by putting them (clean) into a 250 F oven for 10 minutes (without lids).
  2. Mix the water, vinegar, salt and sugar together in a pot and heat until the sugar and salt dissolve. This is called the brine.Once the zucchini have soaked long enough, drain them but don’t rinse much. Place into a stockpot along with the dill, garlic, seeds and warm to hot brine.
  3. Bring to a boil and let boil a few minutes. Also get the canning lids in some hot water to soften the seal.
  4. When the zucchini have changed color but are still firm, remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, ladle them into the sterilized canning jars. Pour enough brine in to fill to the top (but leave about 1/2″ of headspace). Hand-tighten the lids and place the jars into a canner full of hot water.
  5. Can the jars for at least 10 minutes (check out the USDA’s site for times adjusted for elevation). Remove when the time is up and set aside to cool. At some point the lids should “pop!” down, sealing the jar. If they do, you can store the jars for at least a year. If they don’t seal, you can try to re-can them or store them in the refrigerator. Zucchini Pickles!