Mock Pineapple

Up to my ears in zucchini, I've tried to find new ways to enjoy them and preserve them.  Well, thanks to the good ol' National Center for Home Food Preservation, I found an unusual recipe and thought I'd give it a whirl.

It's for zucchini pineapple.  Yes, you read that right:  PINEAPPLE.  You can use it just like regular canned pineapple.  It tastes the same and has just about the same texture as pineapple chunks or crushed pineapple.

OR you can use it like zucchini in baking.  Imagine zucchini bread made with zucchini pineapple.  YUM!

Another plus - it looks really pretty in the jar.  Holiday gift-giving ideas?

And lastly (my favorite reason), it is SO easy to make.

ZUCCHINI PINEAPPLE
4 quarts peeled, cubed zucchini or peeled, shredded zucchini - SEEDS REMOVED
46 OZ. canned/bottled unsweetened pineapple juice
1 1/2 cups bottled lemon juice
3 cups sugar

In a large saucepan, mix all ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer 20 minutes.

Clean and sterilize 9 pint canning jars.  Keep jars hot.  Clean canning lids and rings.  In a small pot of water, simmer the lids but DO NOT BOIL.  Fill boiling water canner with water (enough to cover pint jars plus at least another inch of water), cover and bring to a boil.

Fill jars with hot mixture and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove any air bubbles by running a rubber spatula or bubble freer wand in the sides of the jar and gently pressing against the zucchini.

Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean, damp rag.  Place the canning lid on the jar and screw on the canning ring to finger-tight.  Place jars into the boiling water canner.

Place the lid on the canner and bring to a boil.  As soon as the water starts boiling, set your timer to process the jars for 15 minutes (or as adjusted for your altitude).

After the processing time is complete, remove the lid and turn off the heat.  Let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes, then remove the jars from the canner without tilting them.  Let jars sit undisturbed on a towel for 24 hours.

After filling all my jars, I had some "pineapple" left over.  Mr. Zen absolutely loves pineapple and he was really shaking his head at me when I started cooking this recipe.  I let him taste some of the leftovers.  Let's just say that he is a believer now!

This stuff is really delicious!  Of course, you can tell that it's not TRUE pineapple because of the texture, but the taste is so good.  In fact, it didn't have quite the harsh acidic bite that true pineapple has and didn't leave our tongues stinging afterward.

I can't wait until I get another "mess" of ripe zucchini so I can make some more.

Aloha, y'all!