How to Make Zucchini Pickles (Pickled Zucchini) at Home - Easily! With Step-by-step Directions, Photos, Ingredients, Recipe and Costs

This month's notes: July 2014: Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries tomatoes, corn and most vegetables are being picked in most places; strawberries are finishing or done; Peaches are in and early apples will start in late July. Find a local blueberry festival and blueberry picking tips here. See how easy it is to make strawberry jam or strawberry-rhubarb jam! Make your own homemade strawberry ice cream including low fat, low sugar and other flavors))  Have fun, eat healthier and better tasting, and save money by picking your own locally grown fruit and vegetables, and then using our easy canning and freezing directions!

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Yield: 4 half-pint (8 ounce) jars  (you can double or triple this batch)

Click here for a PDF print version (coming soon)

Making and canning your own zucchini pickles or pickled zucchini is very easy and inexpensive with this traditional and tested (USDA / Ball Blue Book) recipe.  Anyone with a garden knows you'll soon have more zucchini that you can eat or give away, so here's a way to preserve (pickle) them to enjoy in the cold winter months.  And it's less than $1 per pint jar! Here's how to do it, in easy steps and completely illustrated.   It is much faster than the old method your grandmother used with tons of pickling salt and de-scumming the brine! Ugh!  This method is so easy, ANYONE can do this!  It's a great thing to do with your kids!

If you want to make cucumber bread and butter pickles, see this page instead  or click here for a bread-and-butter zucchini pickle recipe. And see this page for a great and easy Zucchini Bread!

 

And if you want to make zucchini pasta, here's a machine for that.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

Yield: About 8 to 9 pints

  • 2 pounds of fresh zucchini, sliced lengthwise (that's about 8 small zucchinis)
  • 1/3 pound quartered onions
  • 1/4 cup canning or pickling salt
  • 3 cups white vinegar (5%)
  • 3 teaspoons finely chopped dill
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed

Equipment

  • 1 Canner (a huge pot to sanitize the jars after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores, sometimes at big box stores and grocery stores.).  Note: we sell many sizes and types of canners for all types of stoves and needs - see canning supplies
  • Half pint canning jars (Ball or Kerr jars can be found at grocery stores, like Safeway, Publix, Kroger, grocery stores, even online - about $8 per dozen jars including the lids and rings).   
  • Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder that seals them against the top of the jar.  They may only be used once.
  • Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars.  They may be reused many times.
  • Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars) 
  • Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling water where you sanitize them. ($2 at Target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available online - see this page)
  • Jar funnel ($2 at Target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available online - see this page)
  • 1 large pot; teflon lined, glass or ceramic.
  • Large spoons and ladles

Directions - Step by Step

Step 1 - Slice the zucchini and onions

Just slice  of 1/8 inch from each end, then slice them lengthwise, into quarters. Slice the ends off the onions and cut them into quarters (it's not a problem if the quartered onions then fall apart)

 

Step 2 - Salt then zukes and onions and let stand.

Combine the sliced zucchini and onions in a bowl with the 1/4 cup of canning or pickling salt. Add enough cold water to cover them. Let the mix stand for 2 hours.

Step 3 - Drain

Drain (and discard) the liquids from the zucchini and onions.  Rinse the zucchini and onions thoroughly in a colander or drainer.

Step 4 - Mix the spices, vinegar and heat

In a large stainless steel, enamel, or lined pot, combine the

  • 3 cups white vinegar (5%)
  • 3 teaspoons finely chopped dill
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed

and bring to a boil.

Step 5 - Turn off the heat and add the zucchini and onions to the pot

Turn off the heat and/or remove from the stove and add the zucchini and onions. Let this stand on the counter for 2 hours.

Step 6 - Re-heat

Put the pot back on the stove and bring back to a boil. Then simmer for 5 minutes

Step 7 - Fill the canning jars

Fill the jars with zucchini/onion mixture and pickling solution, olution, "Low-Temperature Pasteurization Treatment,".  

Ball Recommended process time for Pickled zucchinied zucchini
  in a boiling-water canner.
 Hot Packed Process Time at Altitudes of
Jar Size 0 - 1,000 ft 1,001 - 6,000 ft
half-pints 15 min 20 25

Step 9 - Remove from the canner

Remove the jars, let them cool in a draft-free place, and the store in a cool dark place.  They'll be good for up to a year.  After that, the taste declines, but they're still safe, if the seals are intact and there are no signs of spoilage. spoilage.








 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Pickle Making Problems?

See this page for a more complete set of frequently asked pickling questions and answersand answers

Other Equipment:

From left to right:

  1. Jar lifting tongs
    to pick up hot jars
  2. Lid lifter
    - to remove lids from the pot
    of boiling water (sterilizing )
  3. Lid
    - disposable - you may only
    use them once
  4. Ring
    - holds the lids on the jar until after
    the jars cool - then you don't need them
  5. Canning jar funnel
    - to fill the jars

You can get all of the tools in a kit here:

Ball home canning kit

Home Canning Kits

This is the same type of standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce. This complete kit includes everything you need and lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer, and the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book. It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. You'll never need anything else except jars & lids (and the jars are reusable)! There is also a simple kit with just the canner and rack, and a pressure canner, if you want to do vegetables (other than tomatoes). To see more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!



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Summary - Cost of Making Homemade Zucchini Pickles - makes 12 pint jars, 16 oz each*
Item Quantity Cost in 2008 Source Subtotal
Zucchini 30-36 (about 2 small per pint jar) free from the garden or a neighbor, or $3.00 at a PYO Pick your own $0
Canning jars (pint size, wide mouth), includes lids and rings 12 jars $7.75/dozen Grocery stores (Publix, Kroger, Safeway, etc.) $7.75
Vinegar 4 cups $0.99  Safeway,
Publix, Kroger, grocery stores		 $0.99
Spices, sugar See above $3.00 Grocery stores (Publix, Kroger, Safeway, etc.) $3.00
Total $11.75 total
 or about  $0.98 per jar INCLUDING the jars - which you can reuse!
* - This assumes you already have the pots, pans, ladles, and reusable equipment. Note that you can reuse the jars!  Many products are sold in jars that will take the lids and rings for canning.  For example, Classico Spaghetti sauce is in quart sized jars that work with Ball and Kerr lids and rings. Note that the Classico's manufacturer does not recommend reuse of their jars: see what they have to say on this page:

How to make other pickles -  recipes and instructions:


This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 2006.

Reviewed May 2009.

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