Pina Colada Jam Made from Zucchini

We are coming up fast on "Zucchini overload Season"! We've all made Zucchini Cakes, Zucchini Breads, Zucchini Muffins, heck I've added, er should I say hidden, shredded Zucchini in my Spaghetti Sauce! When you have Zucchini coming out of your ears and even your neighbors are sick of it, you can get pretty creative ;)

This is where this recipe for Pina Colada Jam comes into play. Zucchini is probably the last thing you may think of when talking about jams or preserves. You may even get a turned up nose or two. My advice, don't tell them until after they have tasted it! LOL

I was pleasantly surprised by it's taste. Of course, it doesn't taste exactly like the Pina Colada drink it's named after but is very good in it's own right. It has a milder taste that is awesome on toast, biscuits, even waffles!

The flavor reminds me of my Mom's Apricot Pineapple Jam she would make each year. It instantly brought back a flood of childhood memories and since I haven't had Mom's for so many years, I fell in love with it. My older children remember Nana's Jam too, so nostalgia filled our kitchen as we ate it. My younger ones aren't quite sure about it yet....but they are coming around...especially since it does NOT taste like Zucchini!

When peeling a Zucchini, should you have one of the mammoth sizes, (you know the ones that seem hide from you until, oh say, are about the length of your arm!) Cut these it into sections width-wise first. Then take one of those sections and place the flat end you just cut on your cutting board. I find is easier to slice the peel off by placing my knife at the top and cut down the sides to the cutting board, turning the section of Zucchini as necessary. Peel all remaining sections.

Onto shredding - these larger sized Zucchinis have very large seeds and we don't want those in our jam. So cut each peeled section in half, this time lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop all the seeds and strings out of the center of each half. Rid seeds and strings from all remaining sections. You are now ready to shred the Zucchini. If you are lucky enough to have a food processor this will be a breeze for you. If not, like me, your arms will definitely get a work out on a regular old grater. But once you start it goes by pretty fast. you can always enlist the help from anyone that's standing around wondering what the heck you are doing ;)

Pineapple prep - cut off green top. Slice outer skin off. There is a hard core in the center. Slice down the pineapple just outside the core cutting off large chucks of Pineapple. Cut into smaller pieces and place in your food processor or blender to puree. Again if you are like me and don't have any appliances that will do this, you can cut into the smallest pieces possible, then use a potato masher and go to town on it!