What to Do with Too Much Zucchini
In this guide, I've compiled an easy-to-understand information on what to do with extra zucchini from your garden. With these tips, you can enjoy your zucchini in summer and preserve some to last through the winter.
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(i) Dehydrate Them
Dehydrating is the best preservation method for long term storage. Dehydrated zucchini can be ground into powder and used as soup or sauce thickener. Also, zucchini powder can be used as a 1:3 substitute for all-purpose flour and a 1:1 replacement for coconut flour.
Besides grinding into powder, dehydrated zucchini can be stored and rehydrated. You simply rehydrate and use them in any place where you would use fresh ones such as throwing in soups and stews. It easily plumps back when exposed to liquid.
Moreover, you can dehydrate your zucchini into chips. Dehydrated zucchini chips can be eaten as a snack, used as a crunchy topping for salads, and thrown into a soup or stew.
Here's how to dehydrate zucchini:
Wash and cut off the ends, as well as blemishes
Peel (optional), and remove mature seeds in the center
Slice your zucchinis with a mandolin slicer. The thinner they are the faster they dry. Additionally, mandoline makes slicing faster and easier.
Drain sliced zucchini before drying them with a food dehydrator or oven. (I prefer using a dehydrator because you don't have to babysit it).
If you're drying zucchini for chips you can season with salt and your favorite spice, but do not use a lot of seasoning
Once they're dried you can place the pieces in a jar and vacuum seal or throw in an oxygen absorber for a longer shelf life. But if you want to make flour, you can grind your dehydrated zucchini into powder. Use a coffee grinder, blender, or food processor to grind.
(ii) Freeze Them
Freezing is the easiest and most common method to preserve zucchini. You can freeze zucchini for future loaves of bread, muffins, fritters, stir fry, soups, stews, lasagna, zoodles, smoothies, etc
Here's how to freeze zucchini
Cut them however you intend to use them. You can cut in rounds, cubes, slice like French fries, spiralize, or shred.
Before sealing your zucchinis in freezer bags, lay them flat on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Then freeze them for a few hours.
Once frozen, package them in ziploc bags or vacuum seal bags and return them to the freezer. The reason for freezing before putting them in bags is to keep them from sticking together.
TIP: When you want to use your zucchini, take out what you want and put it straight into the pan without defrosting. By doing this, your zucchini won't lose texture. If you thaw it first it will be watery and mushy. But if you want to use them in baking, let them thaw and do not drain after thawing. If you take the liquid off, your bread will be dry and crumbly. After all, that liquid or juice is a natural content that has all the nutrients like using ones freshly sliced.
(iii) Make Zucchini Noodles (aka zoodles)
There are endless options to do with zucchini noodles. From making a stir fry, lasagna, and adding to salads. Additionally, zoodles can be an alternative to standard pasta whereby you use them in anything you would use whole wheat pasta for. It takes just a few minutes to make zucchini noodles and it's perfect for topping with all of your favorite sauces.
To prepare your zucchini for zoodling, the first thing is to decide what style of zoodle you want. For spaghetti-style zucchini noodles, you can run them through a spiralizer. Then for thin slices to use as lasagna noodles, use a mandolin slicer. Both these gadgets are game changers to get any zoodle dish on the table.
You know what else? Kids love noodles but dislike vegetables, so any zoodle dish will be the best way you can get them to eat zucchini. Moreover, zucchini noodles are grain-free and gluten-free. Apart from using zoodles in pasta dishes, you can freeze and dry them for later use.
(iv) Make Zucchini Pineapple
Zucchini pineapple, popularly known as "mock pineapple" is a unique way to use up your bountiful zucchini harvest. Wondering how it tastes? Well, it tastes just like pineapple because pineapple juice is involved in this mixture. And zucchini takes on the flavor of whatever it gets cooked with.
Mock pineapple can be used in any recipe that calls for pineapple such as cake, muffins, bread, pineapple upside down cake, etc. You can even eat it straight out of the jar if you love pineapples. Here's how to make zucchini pineapple
Ingredients ( yield 8 to 9 pints)
4 quarts (16 cups) cubed or shredded zucchini
46 ounces of unsweetened pineapple juice
1 and a half cups of lemon juice
3 cups of sugar (you can omit or reduce sugar)
Instructions
Wash and cut off both ends.
Peel zucchini; make sure to get all the green off and remove the seeds
Shred or chop into small chunks
Combine the ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, and stir often. Simmer for 20 minutes
Fill jars with zucchini pineapple mixture.
Process in a water bath for 25 minutes (use a water bath canner, not a pressure canner)
NB: If you want to prepare more zucchini pineapple, you can simply double the recipe. Likewise, if you want to prepare less of it, scale down the recipe.
To Sum Up
As a hardworking gardener, you’ve dedicated your time to getting your hands a little dirty from clearing the ground, preparing your planting beds, planting and taking care of your zucchini plants. Therefore, you deserve to enjoy your harvest! With these above-mentioned ideas, you can enjoy your bountiful zucchini harvest all year long.
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