How to Use Your Zucchinis
Too many zucchinis!
The gardens are bursting with zucchinis this time of year. A single plant can produce 3 to 10 pounds of zucchini per season. Some gardeners harvest 3-5 ripe zucchinis from each plant every week! So it’s not unusual to see a table by the side of the road with zucchinis, free for the taking.
Many people can’t eat them up fast enough!
Zucchini is a chameleon of nutritional value. Hiding under that green skin is a multitude of vitamins and minerals essential to our health. Zucchini is a low calorie source of vitamins A, C, and folate(B9), as well as the antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin, which are being studied in their connection to eye and vascular health.
Here are a variety of ways to enjoy them now while they are ripe and how to preserve what you can’t eat for later.
Cook Them
Fortunately, zucchinis are a very versatile vegetable so there are countless ways to enjoy them while they are ready and ripe!
They can be sauteed, roasted, grilled, baked, spiralized into “zoodles”, thinly sliced into noodles, blended into smoothies, pureed into baby food, diced into a salsa, baked into bread, scrambled into a frittata, toasted into chips. From ratatouille to muffins, the possibilities are endless.
Thanks to their relatively neutral flavor, zucchinis can blend into nearly any dish with the right herbs and spices.
Creative parents online have shared their ways of hiding vegetables into meals of their children, particularly those who are picky eaters, like blending them with chicken to make homemade chicken nuggets.
With a quick search online, you’ll find hundreds (maybe even thousands) of ways to enjoy zucchini when they are in season.
Of course, you may still have too many zucchinis ripening at the same time.
Winter squashes - like pumpkins, acorn squash, butternut, and delicata - store for months in a cool, dry basement. Zucchinis, however, are a summer squash. Summer squashes have a higher moisture content so they are more prone to rotting. Extra steps are needed to use them up and preserve them.
Let’s look at some ways to preserve them for later.
Freeze Them
There are several ways to freeze zucchini depending on your intended use. Freeze some in several different ways so you have them on hand for whatever you are craving in the future.
Slice, Blanch, and Freeze
Slice your zucchini and blanch in salted boiling water for a minute. Remove from the pot and place in an ice bath. Drain again and dry. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once your zucchini slices are completely frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer safe container or bag for longer storage.
Shred and Freeze
Baking bread or muffins requires shredded zucchini. But you can only eat so much bread at one time! To preserve for other later baking, shred a batch of zucchinis and bag them in one or two cup portions. In the winter, you can easily thaw the bags you need for your recipe and bake as you normally would!
Dry Them
Who doesn’t love a crunchy snack? Dried zucchini makes amazing chips because you can season them to your liking. You can use a food dehydrator, an airfryer with a drying function, or simply use your oven.
You can also rehydrate zucchini later to be used in a variety of dishes, such as pasta or soup. You can also shred it, cut it into long sticks, cube it, or any other way that makes sense for future meals.
If stored properly, dried zucchini can last up to a year!
Can Them
Zucchinis are a low-acid vegetable that can be pressure canned for long term storage. As with all canning, make sure to use a safe, tested recipe from a reliable source.
The texture of summer squash doesn’t maintain as well with canning as it does with freezing. Blanching before freezing can help retain some of the texture and shape.
Pickle Them
Pickling is another way to preserve zucchini for a longer period of time. You can quick pickle them to store in the refrigerator for a few weeks or you can use the standard picking process for storage for about a year. Standard picking requires a vinegar-based liquid and a water bath canning method.
Ferment Them
Fermentation is the process of using bacteria breaking down natural sugars or starches into alcohol or acids. It’s a method that changes the properties of food and preserves it due to the acids that are created in the process. Sauerkraut, kefir, yogurt, and kimchi are common fermented foods.
In addition to preserving your food and being yummy, fermentation also produces probiotics and enzymes that benefit your digestive system.
Eat or Preserve Every Zucchini!
Including zucchini in your meals is a great way to help meet your nutritional needs! Eat what you can now while they are ripe or freeze, dry, can, pickle, or ferment your zucchini to enjoy them later.
