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MaryPot

Help!

Was given about 8 BIG zucchinis by my neighbour a couple of weeks ago. They are elbow-to-wrist and larger.

It has been too long and we haven't been home enough to use them.

I love when they are crunchy, but any preserving will probably do away with that. We usually slice them in 2 lengthwise, hollow them out, fill them and grill them until they are hot but still have a bit of a crunch.

What can I do with them - cook/freeze, freeze or make raw for cooking later?

@MaryPot Couple of ideas: You can shred some and freeze in ready portions to use for zucchini bread (a food saver/vacuum sealer is really handy for this type of thing). You can cube some and put in a pasta sauce or soup (which can then be frozen). Also I saw a video of a guy who said that when they get very large they can just be kept in a cool place for months. I haven't tried that 🤷

@Nonya_Bidniss

Thanks for those! Will do that with at least a couple. We don't bake our own bread, though, so mostly cubed or sliced for sauces or stews, I guess.

He could be right about keeping. We have a really impressive (best ever in 40 years cohabiting) fridge. The little zucchini we had bought at about the same time was mush the other day, but the biggies are still nice and firm. Still - I don't want to chance too many of them on an experiment!

@MaryPot
Cook / freeze is far better than freezing raw in my opinion.
There are relishes that can be made with zucchini. Pickle them like cucumber.
Use a cold pickle to retain as much crunch as possible.
Dehydrate for use later.

@Steveg58

We don't have a dehydrator, but have been considering getting one. What is the advantage of dehydrating instead of freezing raw or just slightly cooked?

@MaryPot
I find that they go mushy after freezing, usually accidental in my case, that may not matter depending on your intended use but my personal preference is they are not as nice.
If dehydrated they become low mass and it is easy to add a handful into any soup or stew type dish.
Before dehydrating I run them through the mandolin to produce something like shoestring fries.

@Steveg58

Okay. So, really, no matter what I do, they will be mushy unless prepared fresh, right?

I can live with that... a little, at least! Hehe!

Thanks for the tips! Muchly appreciated!

@MaryPot
You can also dry them crisp as vegetable chip.
Also freezer space tends to be at a premium here. 😀

@MaryPot i would advise you to make fritters, a simple frying batter and you slice the courgettes in a third of an inch. You roll them in the batter, then in crushed corn flakes if you want, and you fry it till golden in some hot vegetable oil.

You drain them on kitchen paper and give them a good pinch of citrus salt.
It's made with fine salt combined with a little grated lemon zest.
(Citrus salt is of course optionnal).

The fritter are great the same hour but no great when it waits,

@MaryPot so i would advise to make them and eat them right when they are made, when chatting with visiting friends or your family !