Pineapple Zucchini - Preparing and Canning the Harvest

I have the privilege and horror of a "Zucchini Glut" to deal with. It is my own fault and I am ever so grateful for the gift. I have a deep freezer, thank goodness, so I can freeze many bags of shredded zucchini. But we are only three people and 30 pounds seems insurmountable to process before they loose the rot battle. So I asked for suggestions from my friends on Facebook. Thank goodness there were many excellent ideas. One such idea came from Donna Hoaks who suggested I can some as zucchini pineapple for long term storage. I'd never tried it so I went with the link I will provide and made 4 pints as testers. I will probably make 4 more. I want to use this pineapple sunshine in cakes over the winter, like an applesauce cake but with this fake zucchini pineapple.

I have to tell you that these jobs in the kitchen have become an entirely new thing since my daughter started sous cheffing for me. Everything is so streamlined and efficient it's staggering what another skilled pair of hands can do to lighten the load. First, we peeled the zucchini then de-seeded it and shredded it in my food processor. We ended up with 14 cups first round. We let it sit and drain a little in a colander. The recipe called for 4 quarts of zucchini so I made a half recipe. It tastes like pineapple. I am thrilled. I have been taking part in the food in jars challenge, it has pushed me back into the canning arena and I am enjoying it.

This is the recipe I used:  http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_02/zucchini_pineapple.html

I am also trying to save up my preserves for my son's birthday. Believe it or not, he asked me for jars of jam for his special day. I have at least 12 jars of different varieties now and I will add some of this zucchini to his food storage as well.

I hope you enjoy. #fijchallenge

~ Hugs from Mum