If you’ve ever had an abundance of zucchini and wondered what to do with it, this guide is for you.
Today, we’ll show you how to turn zucchini into different flavored fruits without canning!
This method is perfect if you want to avoid heating up your kitchen or if you’re short on time.
Let’s get started!
1. Choose and Prep Your Fruit Juice
This how is we’re going to turn our zucchini into different flavored “fruits.”
The first step is to get your fruit juice boiling.
You have a lot of flavor options here. Unlike canning, you don’t need to be careful about the acidity of the juice.
I’ve been enjoying the cranberry line from Ocean Spray:
- White Cran + Peach
- White Cran + Strawberry
- Pineapple
But you can use any fruit juice you like.
Think about the end flavor you want and choose your juice accordingly.
2. Prep Your Zucchini
While your juice is coming to a boil, start peeling and slicing your zucchini.
Cut off the ends and use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin.
If you’re using a regular zucchini, cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.
For this recipe, I prefer to cut the zucchini into little half-moon shapes.
3. Cook the Zucchini in Fruit Juice
Once your juice is boiling, add the zucchini chunks.
Lower the heat to medium and let the zucchini simmer for 10 minutes. This allows the fruit juice to penetrate the zucchini chunks, imparting their flavor.
After simmering, transfer the zucchini and juice into a bowl to cool.
If doing multiple flavors and juices, you can start boiling your next batch of juice while the first batch cools.
Make sure your zucchini is submerged in the juice. This ensures that all chunks are well-flavored.
4. Dehydrate the Zucchini
Lay the zucchini chunks out on dehydrator trays in a single layer.
Set your dehydrator to 125°F and let it run for 8 to 14 hours.
The zucchini chunks should be pliable but not moist when done.
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
When the zucchini is done, it will remain flexible and may look shiny due to the high sugar content.
Tear a piece apart and squeeze the inside to check for any water droplets.
If there are no droplets, your zucchini is ready.
FREE FOOD STORAGE PLAN!
Does gathering and storing a year’s worth of food for your family seem overwhelming and unachievable?
Make it easy with our step-by-step plan. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter & we’ll send it to you FREE!
How to Store Dried Zucchini Fruit
Pour the dehydrated zucchini into a quart jar and vacuum seal it. These delicious chunks usually don’t last long in our house, so I don’t package them for long-term storage.
That’s all for today!
If you missed our canning pineapple zucchini recipe, check out this video tutorial.
We hope you enjoy this quick and easy method for transforming zucchini into delicious fruit-flavored snacks!
READ NEXT: 11 Ways to Use Zucchini
