Bread & Butter Zucchini Pickles

Bread & Butter Zucchini Pickles are sweet, tangy, sour, spicy – and very delicious. You’d never guess these pickles were made with zucchini slices!

A delicious way to preserve garden grown zucchini

We’ve officially reached the “Say Uncle” stage of our backyard garden zucchini! The hot, dry weather we’ve had this summer has given us a bumper crop – and we’ve been picking more zucchini than we could possibly eat ourselves or give away to friends.

These Bread & Butter Zucchini Pickles are one of our favorite ways to preserve fresh zucchini so we can enjoy it long after summer’s growing season. After one taste, you’d really be hard pressed to tell that these sweet and tangy pickles are made with zucchini instead of cucumbers.

Like any other bread & butter pickle, these zucchini pickle chips are great on sandwiches and burgers. Mix them into a dip or pasta salad, or eat them by the forkful – they are that good – or you can even make fried pickles!

You can make these as refrigerator pickles (they will last up to three months in the refrigerator), or can them for longer-term storage (up to a year).

Why are they called Bread & Butter Pickles?

Some believe that the name dates back to the early 1900’s, when people added pickles to bread and butter sandwiches. It was a low cost, readily available meal when food supplies were low.

There have also been several bread and butter pickle trademarks over the last hundred years or so, with the earliest dating back to 1923 and belonging to Omar and Cora Fanning of Illinois. Cora was known locally for making sweet and sour pickles using a recipe from Omar’s grandmother, and when money was tight, she bartered her pickles for groceries – including bread and butter.

Today, bread and butter pickles are known for being sweet and tangy, with spices and a great crunch. Surprisingly, the pickled zucchini in our recipe today retains the same crunch as a cucumber!

• They taste just like the pickles made with cucumbers.
• It’s another great way to cook with zucchini from your backyard garden.
• When canned, you can enjoy fresh summer zucchini all year long.

• Zucchini – Choose zucchini on the smaller side for this recipe, so your pickle chips are small and will easily fit in the jar.  
• White onion – While a yellow or a sweet onion can be used in this pickle recipe, the stronger, sharper-tasting white onion perfectly offsets the sweetness of the pickle brine.
• Pickling Salt – This is used to draw out any bitterness from the squash, and also pulls moisture out, making the pickles crisp. Kosher salt can be used as long as it does not contain any additives or agents that prevent the salt from caking or clumping together.
• Vinegar – You’ll use both white vinegar and apple cider vinegar to make the pickling brine. Check the label to make sure that both vinegars are 5% acidity.
• Granulated Sugar – Also used in the brine.
• Pickling Spice – You can use a packaged pickling spice for convenience. But we like to make our own using mustard seeds, crushed red pepper flakes, celery seed, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, whole cloves, and ground turmeric.

1. Rinse the zucchini, wiping the sides to clean the skins.
2. Trim both ends from the squash.
3. Slice into thin quarter-inch slices, then place in a very large bowl.
4. Slice the onions thinly, then add them to the bowl with the zucchini.
5. Sprinkle on the pickling salt and toss to coat. Cover with a thin tea towel then cover the top of the tea towel with ice cubes. Refrigerate for four hours.
6. After four hours, discard ice and rinse the zucchini and onion slices. Drain well, then lay out on paper towels to dry.
7. Sterilize jars in hot boiling water. Wash the lids and rims in hot soapy water, then rinse. Keep the jars in the hot water with burner on low until ready to fill.
8. Make the brine by combining all of the brine ingredients with the spices and bring to a boil. Simmer five minutes, then lower burner to low and keep hot.
9. Using long handled tongs, carefully remove one jar at a time from the water and fill with the zucchini and onion slices to about an inch from the top. Ladle in the hot brine to a half inch from the top and wipe the rim. Place on lid and hand tighten jar cover. Repeat for all jars.
10. If not canning, place the jars of pickles in the refrigerator and enjoy for up to three months. (The pickles will be ready to eat after about a week.)
11. If canning, place the jars back into the pot of hot water. You may need to remove some water to accommodate any water displacement.
12. Bring pot to a boil and boil for 15 minutes covered slightly. Turn off burner and let sit for five more minutes, then remove jars to a rack to cool.
13. Let jars sit at room temperature until lids pop and create a tight seal. Store for up to one year. Refrigerate once opened.

• Can I make Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles ahead of time?  Yes, these pickles have the best flavor  after sitting for a week or longer.
• Can I halve this recipe? Yes – just use half the amount of each ingredient.
• How do I store leftovers?   Once a jar of pickles is opened, keep refrigerated for up to three months.

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