There’s not much that I’m not willing to try to grow in my vegetable garden. If it can even remotely survive in this climate then I will stick it in the ground.
I’ve grown artichokes, eggplant, tomatillos and something called a cardoon. I will pack my rows full of tomatoes and peppers and zucchini, but I cannot stand growing cucumbers.
Cucumber plants are too needy for me. They’re supposed to be climbers, but they’re kind of half-hearted about it. Like drunken men trying to get up the stairs, only a couple tendrils actually make it all the way up the fence and more than a few end up sprawled out on the ground until someone comes along and picks them up.
They aren’t my favorite vegetable to eat, either. I don’t mind them in things, like a yogurt sauce and I’m a big fan of pickles, but you will never catch me eating a cucumber and onion salad.
It’s because of this that I have embraced the zucchini pickle. I have tons of zucchini in the summer. It’s practically coming out of my ears, and this versatile veggie is my culinary workhorse.
I use zucchini in everything from muffins to stir-fries and it fits quite well in the pickling world, too. I am in love with these quick refrigerator pickles.
Since my husband and I are the only ones who will even touch anything pickled in this house, the refrigerator pickle is a great way to make only what we are going to eat.
These zucchini pickles are a little sweet and a little spicy with a wonderful vinegary bite. I’ve been putting them on everything from tuna salads to bologna sandwiches. They’ll keep for about a month in the fridge, if they make it that long.
My sister-from-another-mother, Whitney, scored these cute AF Weck jars (affiliate link) for me at an estate sale earlier this year. They are super pricey, but sure are adorable if you wanted to give these pickles as a gift.
Making the pickle brine
The brine is a simple combo of vinegar, sugar and spices. Simply heat the ingredients up to boil so that the sugar and salt dissolve and then pour into the zucchini packed jars.
when you pack jars for canning, make sure you fit as much produce as you can in there. You want it to be packed in tight. This keeps your produce from floating around and you from using more brine than you wanted to.
More Zucchini Recipes:
Zucchini Timbale (kinda like lasagna)
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds zucchini sliced ¼-inch thick
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 4 springs of dill
- ¾ cup vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or more if you wish
- 6 peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon mustard seed
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 pint jars and lids
Instructions
- Pack the pint jars with the zucchini slices and peeled garlic making sure to stuff the jars as full as you can. Place 2 springs of dill on the top.
- In a small saucepan, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil and pour over the zucchini slices making sure to fill each jar to the very top (it is possible that you will need to make more pickling liquid depending upon how tightly you’ve packed the jars).
- Refrigerate overnight or up to a month. Keep the pickles stored in the fridge.
Wow this looks so good! I never thought to pickle zucchini but now I can’t wait! I still have a few growing in my garden and now I know what to do with them!
Wow this looks so delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe.