So I was down in my basement today grabbing a jar of green chiles that I canned last year and I found my last, lone jar of these garlic ginger zucchini pickles (remember, not water bathed, simply with a plastic lid on top) and I thought of you. I opened them, (slightly suspecting to be found by my husband lying unconscious from the fumes at the bottom of my basement stairs when he came home,) and . . . nothing. They’re still perfectly fine a year after I made them. Just wanted to let you know!

Best,
Sarah

I think if you hot-water bathed them they’d get really mushy since they’re zucchini and not cucumbers. I’ve never hot water bathed them before but I’d guesstimate 20 minutes for pints – just long enough for them to seal. Since they have such a high quantity of vinegar in them, I’ve never had any problem with them sitting on a cool shelf for several months . . . without using any heat. Instead, I just put a layer of plastic wrap on top then screwed on the lid. I hope you try them – they’re fabulous!

Good luck!

Sarah

Yes, you can absolutely lacto-ferment zucchini but in pickles I find that they get too mushy so I limit my lacto-fermenting to items with a bit more crunch (including cucumber pickles, peppers, sauerkraut, etc.) However, I’ve considered making a lacto-fermented dill zucchini relish, as I think that the small pieces in relish would make the mushiness less noticeable.

Good luck!

Best,
Sarah