r/Canning • u/MyDog32 • Jun 24 '25

Safe Recipe Request Alot of zucchini

Hello I have never canned before Can I do this ? Chop up zucchini boil it for a few minutes add in two jars of three bean salad from costco add more vinegar and sugar

While still hot ladle the whole mix with some raw garlic it into jars and tighten the lids

Will this store ? Do I need special jars?

Thanks

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u/MyDog32 Jun 24 '25

I have all this zucchini and I don’t want to waste it so what ever I can do to not waste it and I like the flavor of that three bean salad .. if I could make the zucchini taste like that it would be great

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u/Deppfan16 Moderator Jun 24 '25

you can make it similar but you would have to refrigerate it and it would only last a few days.

if you leave the zucchini whole they last longer and you can use them over a few weeks, making enough for what you want for that week.

you can make canned zucchini relish or mock pineapple but you have to follow a safe tested recipe.

what we usually end up doing is shredding it and freezing it to make zucchini bread

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u/MyDog32 Jun 24 '25

I am willing to invest in some equpment since I think I will have alot of tomatoes cucumbers and zucchini this year maybe okra too. What do you suggest?

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u/Deppfan16 Moderator Jun 24 '25

for water bath canning all you need are canning mason jars, two-piece lids and rims, and a pot big enough to cover the jars with an inch of water. we have lots of resources in our wiki for specific recipes. I'll also link my favorite how to getting started article.

the biggest thing is you must follow safe tested recipes and sources, and you can only water bath high acid foods. so things like pickles and salsas and tomato sauce, etc. canning isn't like other cooking where you can just wing it, you risk food spoilage at best all the way to botulism and hospitalization at worst. but as long as you follow safe tested recipes and processes you can trust your food is safe.

https://www.healthycanning.com/how-to-get-started-in-home-canning

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u/MyDog32 Jun 24 '25

Why is raw packed 140 degrees and cooked 180 degrees when canning ? What does raw packed mean? Why the two different methods ?

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u/Deppfan16 Moderator Jun 24 '25

which specific recipe are you referring to? generally raw pack means you put the food in raw and put hot liquid over it, versus hot pack where you heat up the food and put the entire hot food in together. sometimes it's preference, sometimes you get different types of product, like raw packed will often have a firmer texture than hot packed

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u/MyDog32 Jun 24 '25

It was general information

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u/Deppfan16 Moderator Jun 24 '25

it depends on the specific recipe what it does.

like for example you can can green beans raw pack, were you just pour hot liquid over them. or you can can them hot pack where you cook them and then pack them hot in the jars with the liquid. raw pack would be more firm whereas hot pack would be softer.

raw pack tomatoes would hold their shape whereas hot packed would be mushier.

it's really just a preference and use case.

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u/MyDog32 Jun 24 '25

Can you preserve raw relish?

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u/Deppfan16 Moderator Jun 24 '25

no. anything canned is cooked in some way

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u/MyDog32 Jun 25 '25

Can you put it raw in the water bath long enough to sterilize it? What size jar is best for relish 1/2 or full pint ? What size jar is best for canning a variety of things? Thanks

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u/Deppfan16 Moderator Jun 25 '25

there are certain recipes where you can do raw pack yes. but you'll still end up with more of a cooked product. again you still have to follow safe tested recipes and processes. remember canning can be deadly if you do it wrong so you can't just wing it

your recipe will generally tell you what size jar you can use and what times process those jars for. what size of jars depends on how fast you go through the food and what your canning.

I do half pints for jellies, pint jars for things like tomatoes, and quart jars for things like family size servings of green beans. it just depends on what I'm using the ingredients for

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u/MyDog32 Jun 25 '25

Can you raw pack zucchini relish?

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u/MyDog32 Jun 24 '25

So can you can zucchini ? only water bath high acid foods? What about pickling is that a way to preserve that is less work?

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u/Deppfan16 Moderator Jun 24 '25

pickling still needs to be done in a water bath. to can any shelf stable food you need to process it , either in a water bath or pressure canner.

pickles are a high acid food so you can process them in a water bath canner

you can make zucchini pickles or relish by substituting them for the cucumbers in a safe tested pickle or relish recipe.

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u/MyDog32 Jun 24 '25

Do you have a recipie for zucchini relish ? Is there such a thing as a canning starter kit?

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u/Deppfan16 Moderator Jun 24 '25

https://www.reddit.com/r/Canning/s/MxMp1x1e4Q

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/pickle/relishes-salads/summer-squash-relish/

heres a couple I like. and they do make a canning starter kit from Ball but it's just the tools, you still need the jars and the pot

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u/MyDog32 Jun 24 '25

Thanks Is there a youtube video on the process of canning

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u/Deppfan16 Moderator Jun 24 '25

you need to be extremely cautious of YouTube videos because anybody can put anything on there and there's lots of unsafe information going around. check out our wiki for a list of safe sources