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Bread & Butter Zucchini Pickles - A Family Feast

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!

Yield: 9 pints 1x
Prep: 5 hoursCook: 20 minutesTotal: 5 hours 20 minutes
Scale:

Ingredients

5 pounds small to medium zucchini squash

1 large white onion

1/2 cup pickling salt (This is salt without a noncaking agent)

Brine

2 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar (5% acidity)

2 1/2 cups cider vinegar (5% acidity)

5 cups granulated sugar

Spice mix*

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons celery seeds

1 cinnamon stick broken into pieces

12 allspice berries plus 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

12 whole cloves plus 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground turmeric


Instructions

  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 using a mandolin or if you have a special blade on your food processor and place in a very large bowl.
  4. Slice the onions thinly and add to the bowl with the zucchini.
  5. Sprinkle on the pickling salt and toss. Cover with a thin tea towel then cover the top of the tea towel with ice cubes. Place in the refrigerator for four hours.
  6. After four hours, discard ice and rinse the squash and onion slices then drain. Lay out the sliced vegetables over paper towels then more paper towels on top and dry.
  7. Boil a large pot of water or a canning pot and place the jars into the hot water to sanitize. Wash the lids and rims separately 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 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. (Using a jar funnel designed for canning makes this job easier). Place on lid and hand tighten jar cover. Repeat for all jars.
  10. If not canning, place these in the refrigerator and keep using for three months.
  11. If canning, place the jars back into the canning pot. You may need to remove some water to accommodate water displacement. You’ll want the water in the pot to be about an inch higher than the tallest jar.
  12. Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes with the cover of the post slightly ajar. Turn off burner and let sit for five more minutes then remove using a canning jar gripper. Let sit at room temperature until lids pop and create a tight seal. We let ours sit overnight before testing. You know you have a good seal if you push down on the top and it does not push back. Store for up to one year. Refrigerate once opened.

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Notes

*You can substitute all of the pickling spices for a jarred pickling spice mix however the flavor of the brine will be different than our recipe. If using the jarred spice mix instead of our mixture, use ¼ cup (4 tablespoons).


© Author: A Family Feast
Cuisine: American Method: canned