5 Ways to Preserve Zucchini

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One of the plants that I make sure to include in my garden every year is zucchini, mostly because as long as you stick the seeds in the ground and wave a hose past it every couple of days, you'll wind up with plenty of it — it's a tough plant and can be neglected a bit with no worry.

The main downside to zucchini is just how much zucchini you can wind up getting off of one plant. If you've ever grown zucchini (or you've lived next door to someone who grew zucchini), you know that you can quickly find yourself leaving bags of zucchini on your friends' front porches just to keep up with what's growing in your garden.

Finding ways to preserve your zucchini is the only way to effectively management a bumper crop (which zucchini never seems to fail to provide). Even giving it away may not let you keep up. But there are a number of tactics to manage a zucchini harvest, letting you enjoy zucchini all year round. Here are 5 ways to preserve zucchini and use up your crop.

Freeze

Depending on your favorite dishes, different methods of freezing can be used. I tend to just slice up zucchini, put it in a freezer bag, and be done with it. The slices are perfect for adding to dishes and you don't even have to defrost them first if you're adding them to a hot pan.

Bake Bread

I love the first loaf of zucchini bread of the season. Past the fifth loaf, though, it loses its appeal. Just the same, I bake up several loaves of zucchini bread every summer and just tuck them into the freezer for whenever I need a treat later in the year.

Make Chips

Zucchini chips can be a tasty and healthy snack and they're very easy to make. Slice the zucchini very thin, sprinkle lightly with your favorite flavorings, and dehydrate for a few hours. Provided that your chips are crisp, you can keep them for quite a while.

Pickle

While canning can take a little work, zucchini pickles make for a great treat and can be eaten in place of cucumber pickles. You can also make zucchini relish.

Dehydrate

By simply dehydrating zucchini (and leaving of the spices), you've got easy soup or casserole ingredients that can be stored in your pantry. Just drop them into a dish with plenty of liquid when you're ready to use them.