Zuni Café’s Zucchini Pickles
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:2 pints
- 1pound zucchini, ends trimmed
- 1small yellow onion, peeled
- 2generous tablespoons kosher salt
- Ice water and ice cubes
- 2cups apple-cider vinegar
- 1cup granulated sugar
- 1½teaspoons dry mustard
- 1½teaspoons yellow or brown mustard seeds, or a combination
- 1teaspoon turmeric
Preparation
- Step 1
With a mandolin, cut zucchini lengthwise (or crosswise, if you prefer) in 1/16-inch slices. Cut onion crosswise the same thickness.
- Step 2
Place zucchini and onion in a low wide bowl, toss with salt and cover with ice water. Add a few ice cubes. Leave for 1 hour, until faintly salty and slightly softened when tasted. Drain, discard ice and dry vegetables thoroughly between kitchen towels. Rinse and dry bowl.
- Step 3
Make the brine: Combine vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, mustard seeds and turmeric in a nonreactive saucepan, and simmer over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside until just warm to the touch.
- Step 4
Return zucchini to the bowl and pour cooled brine over, then stir to distribute spices.
- Step 5
Transfer mixture and brine to pint jars and refrigerate for at least a day before serving.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Rebecca Douglas
Leave most of the sugar out.
Josh
We left out the sugar and used a tablespoon of honey instead, came out very good!
KB
This made enough liquid to fill 3 pint jars, not just two. So I sliced some carrots, celery, radishes, and jalapeño and simmered them a few minutes in the extra brine with added kosher salt, and filled a 3rd jar. Also, with the zucchini/onion mixture I filled the jars just with the vegetables first and then poured the brine over them directly into the jars. A canning funnel was helpful. I think this is easier and less messy than combining everything first.
Mar
Note to other reviewers: reducing the sugar will also reduce the amount of time they will keep in the fridge.
Elise
Per University of California (https://ucanr.edu/sites/fresnonutrition/files/14351.pdf) it is the vinegar which is the preservative in pickles rather than the sugar. The purpose of the sugar is to balance the tartness of the vinegar.
dotto
Delicious! Made exactly as written. I could imagine reducing sugar by 1/3, but still enjoyed them immensely. Husband, an avid zucchini-avoider, loved them. Great on the Zuni Cafe burger and just as a snack.
Karen
These are great and easy. Sometimes I add a tsp of celery seed; it makes it more like bread and butter pickles which I also love. Excellent gift-back to the porch fairies who leave you cookies. (and zucchini)
Sheila
Outstanding - I used half apple cider/half white vinegar and cumin seeds instead of mustard. Best refrigerator pickle recipe I've ever made. Warning: if you don't like bread and butter pickles, you won't like these.
Cynthia H.
Instead of mustard seed (what I had on hand was too old) I used picking spice. Also cut off about 1/4 end of each zucchini so that I could lay the large 3/4 zucchini sideways in my cuisinart and slice it; then cut those ends as chips with slicer blade. It was nice to have a small jar of chips. Thank you Zuni.
Charles D
I've made these several times and love them. Cut back on the sugar a bit, sure, but they are meant to be sweet and sour. My mandolin must have different calibration, because zuke at 1/16 inches just falls apart; I now use 1/8.
Fantastic For Sandwichs and Burgers
I make this as per recipe. I just use one medium zuc and one large onion. Comes out about right for 2-16 Oz canning jars. These are so amazing on burgers. We really love them on “ultimate vegi burgers” in this cookbook. It goes incredibly well with a ham sandwich also. Lots of zing! And they look beautiful. They are a staple in the fridge now.
Ellen NYC
These pickles are delicious. As an alternative, I make pickles that have 3T sugar and 3T kosher salt, white vinegar, mustard seeds, fresh dill, and fresh garlic. They are advertised as keeping for 1-2 weeks but actually keep for months. I pickle zucchini, fennel, cauliflower, onions, shallots, carrots and Kirbys. So I am not sure what the amount of sugar has to do with how long they keep if everything else is in balance.
Susan
Love these pickles. I used to make them all the time. Thanks for the reminder. Will try with less sugar.
Karen Therese
These are really good and a perfect way to use up the extra zukes from the garden. I cut the sugar to 2/3 a cup and that was perfect for us
Excellent
I am picky about homemade pickles but really liked these. I followed the recipe as written and will do the same next time I make them. I put them on pulled pork sandwiches.
Charles D
Brought a huge (1/2 gallon) crock of these to an all-male glamping trip. Over three days they were hoovered up by the guys, who piled the pickles on slices of pork loin, breasts of chicken, crackers with goat cheese, crackers alone, and most everything else but the morning pancakes. I suggested I might cut back on sugar next time, but that was loudly vetoed.
richard narjes
great for a variety of garnishes, not just burgers
Sandy R.
Sugar unnecessary. Maybe just a little bit. This was delicious. Zucchini will never be met with Meh again.
Sheri
I highly recommend these pickles, especially in sandwiches (grilled cheese, corned beef, etc.). I make (and have made) lots of pickles and never thought zucchini varieties were worth the work. This recipe changed my mind and I can't wait to make them again next year.
Marian
These pickles are very good. The latest dish I used them in was chicken salad, but we eat them out of the jar too.
For next time
These pickles are delicious! As another commented, there was extra brine after filling the 2 pint jars. I combined the leftover brine with some olive oil and Greek yogurt and turned it into a tasty salad dressing.
cheryl
Add tsp celery seed Reduce sugar
Sandy
This fills two of the straight lined Weck jars. It is fabulous
Deb
OMG so, so good! I did not add any sugar and they were delicious!
Barbara
In response to the comment about reducing the sugar affecting how long they will keep--this isn't actually true. The vinegar is the preservative, not the sugar. The sugar is just for taste. This recipe has 2 cups of undiluted cider vinegar in it--these pickles will keep just fine in the fridge even without sugar. Many pickle recipes have no sugar and most dilute the vinegar used with water on a 1-to-1 basis. But given that the vinegar is undiluted, some sugar might be necessary.
ReniaK
courgettes instead of zucchinis, but otherwise made to a t. they're still crunchy after 24 hours and very refreshing. thumbs up! next time i may change some of the apple vinegar to rice vinegar and leave some of the sugar out
Mara G.
Courgettes are zucchinis.
Bynska
Just looked up Courgettes, because I didn't know what they were... What's the difference between courgette and zucchini? COURGETTE – ZUCCHINI. Courgette is the French name, Zucchini the Italian. Zucchini is the plural so if you're only cooking one, it's actually a zucchino. Courgettes belong to the pumpkin or squash species in the gourd family.
Charlene
These are SO delicious. I make them as gifts for friends and they also rave about them. I made them first when faced with a glut of zucchini from my CSA, and I keep making them. They store well in the fridge, but no one can resist them on burgers, fish, cheese, other meats...
Beattie
Do you think I could leave out the onion as we are not keen on raw/pickled onion?
Charlene
Yes, absolutely fine. I also reduced the amount of sugar, and used moist mustard because I had none in powder form.
Ellen NYC
These pickles are delicious. As an alternative, I make pickles that have 3T sugar and 3T kosher salt, white vinegar, mustard seeds, fresh dill, and fresh garlic. They are advertised as keeping for 1-2 weeks but actually keep for months. I pickle zucchini, fennel, cauliflower, onions, shallots, carrots and Kirbys. So I am not sure what the amount of sugar has to do with how long they keep if everything else is in balance.
Joyce
Think we’ll grow zucchini again next summer.
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