Stephen, with a ZOUS
(zucchini of unusual size)
It’s July. Which means, if you are a gardener, that you probably have more zucchini than you know what to do with. (And if you are not a gardener, that you have probably been gifted someone’s excess.) Zucchini bread, zucchini fritters, steamed zucchini, skewered zucchini, stuffed zucchini and zucchini jam. Yes, I said zucchini jam! I came across this recipe on an email group for moms of big families and I modified it a bit to suit our family’s preferences. I will explain a little bit about canning jam after the recipe.
Peel a large zucchini. You can use the biggest monster zucchini you can find. Scoop out the seeds. Put the flesh through a food processor, or finely shred using a hand held grater. I process all my extra-jumbo zucchini at once and then divide up the shreds into 6 cup portions and freeze what I won’t be using right away, in freezer bags, for future jam making sessions.
Cook 6 cups peeled, shredded zucchini with 1/4 cup water until translucent.
Add:
- 6 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup bottled lemon juice
- 1 cup fruit of choice
Bring to a boil. Boil 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat. Add one 6-oz or two 3-oz packages of flavored gelatin (i.e., Jello)
Stir well to combine.
Pour into clean, hot Mason jars, leaving 1/4″ head space. Wipe rims of jars. Add lids and rings. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes, or store the jam in the refrigerator. Or, do what I do and turn the sealed jars upside down on a towel for 1 hour. Turn right side up and leave to cool for 12 to 24 hours. Yield: About 8 cups.
There is a lot of flexibility in this recipe. Choose whatever fruit you have on hand, and then select a flavor of jello to match or complement the flavors. For example: Strawberries and strawberry jello, Strawberries and peach jello, strawberries and orange jello, orange pulp and orange jello. Chopped peaches and raspberry jello, Pineapple and lemon jello. There are many possibilities.
Just in case it freaks anyone out that I don’t always process my jam in a water bath, I will explain currently recommended protocol and why I choose not to follow it for jams and jellies intended for my own family’s consumption. First, my reasoning for skipping the water bath for jams: I happen to have personally observed canners from previous generations doing things this way. The “old-fashioned” way. With no ill effects.
Actually, my mom used to use plain jelly jars, the kind that don’t have threaded tops for lids. She put jam in them, topped with paraffin wax. The jam contains so much sugar that it is rare to have any sort of spoilage. In 20+ years of canning, I have never had any spoilage in jams and jellies. Because I am careful to avoid contamination, doing it this way is within my comfort level. It saves me time and keeps my house cooler. I inspect the jars upon opening, and we go through jars of jam in this house like nobody’s business, so they don’t sit around very long.
If I intend to give the jam as I gift, I do process it in a water bath because I have no control over the manner in which it is stored, or for how long, once it leaves my home. Educate yourself on canning protocol and decide for yourself your comfort level. I will list a few resources that I have found helpful at the end of this post. But nothing beats learning hands-on from an experienced canner.
Quick canning overview
Zucchini jam
There are two ways to process home canned food: water bath and pressure canning. The water bath method is used for high acid and high sugar foods. Fruits, jams, jellies, pickles, and tomatoes are all safe to process using the water bath method. The pressure method is used for vegetables, meats, soups, chili, salsa, spaghetti sauce, etc.
Both methods use the same preparations techniques. One must wash the canning jars and keep them hot. This can be done by running them through the dishwasher, simmering them in a large pot on the stove or placing them in a warm oven. The two piece lids/rings must be placed in a pot and brought to a simmer. Prepared food is ladled into jars (usually done hot, but sometimes cold or room temperature with boiling water poured over). Any air bubbles are forced out of the jars by running a spatula or non metal knife around the inside edge of the jar. The jar rim is wiped clean with a sterile (boiled) cloth. The lid is placed on the jar and tightened down with a ring. There is a handy magnet tool for removing the lids from the pot of simmering water.
For water bath canning, the jars are then placed in a large kettle/pot of boiling water that has a rack on the bottom to keep the jars from direct contact with the bottom of the pan. Water is added to the pot after the jars are in place until the water level is above the tops of the jars. The jars must remain covered in boiling water for the entire time of processing.
For pressure canning one needs a pressure canner, which is a large pressure cooker designed for canning. A small amount of water is added. (There are usually markings on the pot to indicate how much water to add.) The jars are loaded into the canner (again, on a rack to keep the jars from direct contact with the pot). The lid of the canner is placed tightly on the pot and heat is turned up on the pot to bring it up to the desired pressure. I have used both a dial gauge and a weighted gauge to regulate what pressure I need to cook at. I vastly prefer the weighted gauge. With the dial gauge, you have to be right there looking at to to be sure it stays at the proper pressure; but the weighted gauge makes a sound, so I can be busy doing other things while the food processes and still oversee the operation. Once the correct pressure is reached, it is simply a matter of maintaining that pressure for the amount of time needed to safely preserve the chosen food. Then the pressure is allowed to reduce slowly (no quick release). The times and pressures for various foods are found in the Ball Blue Book and other canning resources.
When the processing time for either method is complete, jars are removed with canning tongs and placed on a towel or other stable, heat-proof surface and allowed to sit until completely cool. One of the most satisfying sounds ever is the “ping” from the lid of a home canned jar as it cools and seals. Once cool (usually 12-24 hours later), you gently remove the rings from the jars. Wipe the jars off if necessary. Check that they actually sealed by observing whether the middle of the dome lid has pulled down. Any jars that didn’t seal should either be reprocessed, or refrigerated and used promptly. Label and store the sealed jars in your pantry until needed.
Canning Resources
- Ball Blue Book
- Stocking Up
- Putting Food By
- National Center for Home Food Preservation
- “Getting Started” guide from Ball
- Simply Canning
- PickYourOwn.org
Facebook groups
- Canning Granny
- Canning
- Canning & Preserving For Christians
Click here for a printable version of this recipe.
My grandmother used to do the same thing with jams & jellies by pouring paraffin on top. I just put them into sterilized jars, & lids cover with a towel & they seal perfectly. I never had a problem in over 50 years. I also can pasta sauce in the same way & was taught this method by a family of farmers that have been doing it for decades. Again I never had one that didn’t seal. The trick tho is not to stack more than 2 cases of whatever your canning on top of each other or you may put pressure on the case on the bottom & the seals will pop open! I found this out the hard way. We put a lot of work into canning & being seriously sterile is the way to go for your yummy stuff so you don’t lose not only the product but all that work you put into eat. I will add that you must follow the water bath method for proteins, dairy, etc. I do not put any of that in my pasta sauce. It’s made with pureed tomatoes, herbs, spice & sometimes other vegeys. I do add tomato paste if it’s not thick enough plus a little olive oil, sugar anything you like for your taste buds. I have friends that beg for my sauce so I usually make 36 quarts or more. I detest store bought basic sauce. The expensive ones are good but pricey. Hope I helped with this post. Learning from older women who have certain ways of canning is an education in itself. Happy Canning
It is fascinating to hear the canning wisdom of experienced canners! Thank you for sharing!
What flavor of gelatin did you use? I can’t wait to get some zucchini out of my garden to make this recipe.
I have used a variety of flavors depending on which fruit I add. Strawberry gelatin with canned pineapple or berries, peach gelatin with peaches, lemon with blueberries, etc
What flavor jello could be used with blackberries?
You are limited only by your imagination. I’d try lemon, peach or strawberry, for sure. Honestly, I’d just imagine combining various fruits in a fruit salad and think of how the flavors would mingle. Don’t be afraid to try a new combination. I’ve made all sorts of varieties of this recipe and they have all been delicious.
Thoughts on using sugar free jello.
I have no experience with sugar free jello in this recipe or with making low/no sugar jams in general. My personal logis says that there is so much sugar already added in the recipe, that there is very little point to choosing a sugar free jello. Consequently, I’ve always used the regular version.
That said, try it and see what happens. I would not expect it to be shelf stable so I’d just refrigerate the jam. But I might turn out perfectly fine. If you do try it, please report back. I’d love to hear how it went.
I never water bath my jam, jellies, applesauce, and lots of things–has always worked fine for my families consumption as well.
I’ve never canned always just done freezer jam. Would this recipe work as a freezer jam?
Absolutely! Package with appropriate head space in freezer safe containers and you should be good to go.
How many jars does this recipe yield?
Yield is about 8 cups. How many jars depends on what size jars you choose. 2 quart, 4 pints, 8 half pint, etc
The jam turned out sticky and not very spreadable. The taste is great though.
My most recent batch also turned out sticky. I think, in my case, I cooked the zucchini a little too long and therefore started with lower moisture (more had boiled off). I also didn’t start my timer until I had a full rolling boil. I maybe should have started it when I saw bubbles around the edges of the pot. I was also doing two batches at once so my attention was a divided. My jam is more spreadable when it warms a bit.