Pickled Squash

In the early years of our marriage there were quite a few summers that we planted a large garden... mostly tomatoes, squash, and purple hull peas. Although I found out quickly that only a couple of squash plants are necessary to feed a family of five all summer, there were several summers I planted extra so I could pickle the excess.

This has been a good year and I've found myself with more squash than I can use (or even give away). I decided to pickle some a few weeks ago. I dug out the basic recipe I had used, but it didn't include specifics. You'd think with all the pints and quarts I churned out in the past I would remember, but a few details escaped me. So.... I just dug out my canning utensils and set to work.

Before I got started I remembered to sterilize my canning jars and put the lids and rings in the hot water until I was ready for them. I peeled and thinly sliced squash until I had 12 cups.

Next I thinly sliced some white onion... about three cups.

I combined the squash and onion in a large bowl and sprinkled them with salt to "sweat" for about an hour.

Meanwhile, I cut up about 3 large bell peppers and placed them in a large pot along with 4-1/2 cups sugar, 3 teaspoons mustard seed, 3 teaspoons celery seed, and 3 cups white vinegar. I then brought it to a hard boil.

This is where things briefly got out of hand. While waiting on the mixture to boil, I was standing at the sink draining off the squash and onions. When I looked back at the stove, the mixture had gone from barely coming to a boil to boiling over! What a mess!! It left a sticky liquid all over the burner that immediately started to smoke, setting off the smoke detector (nice to know it works!) and terrifying the dogs!

Anyway, I got back on track and put the squash/onions into the mixture and brought it to another hard boil. I immediately filled the canning jars with the mixture and liquid to within about a half inch of the top. Then I placed the warm lids on the jars and screwed on the rims before putting them into a hot water bath for about 15 minutes.

I removed the jars from the hot water and set them on a towel to cool. When I checked on them later, the lids had "popped" down assuring me that I'd gotten a good seal.

Now all that remains to be seen is if it tastes as good as I remember. The jars need to sit in a cool place out of the sunlight for about a month for the flavors to set. Then I'll cook up a mess of purple hull peas, pile some pickled squash on my serving, and see how it tastes! I'll let you know.....