Pineapple Zucchini
Brine and Water bath Can
Take fresh zucchini, peel it, cut it into chunks, and process it in a brine of pineapple juice, lemon juice, and sugar. The end result genuinely tastes like canned pineapple. But it’s zucchini.
zucchini on its own is a low-acid vegetable, which means you normally can’t safely water bath can it. But the pineapple juice and lemon juice bring the acidity level up enough to make this recipe safe.
For the brine, you’ll need:
• 64 oz jug of pineapple juice
• 1½ cups lemon juice
• 3 cups sugar
Bring it all to a boil. Add your peeled and chunked zucchini and simmer for 20 minutes. Fill your jars to ½ inch headspace and water bath can for 15 minutes.
A quick tip on zucchini variety: Any zucchini works, but if you grow the vining type called zucchini rampicante (also known as trumpet squash), you’ll get a much bigger harvest. It can be trellised, stands up better to squash bugs and vine borers, and the seeds are all concentrated in the bulb end—so you just cut that off instead of scooping seeds.
The recipe is built around one 64 oz jug because that’s the standard juice size. Your yield depends on how much zucchini you have. Whatever doesn’t fit in jars, pour the remaining brine over it, refrigerate, and snack on it fresh. Or soak it in juice for a few days, then dehydrate for a chewy pineapple-style trail mix treat. Our kiddos love it.