Marrow is another word for zucchini.

One day, hopefully, I’ll live in a place where people only lock their car doors to keep clear of neighbors’ gifted zucchini. (Not as in gifted and talented…)

I’ll admit it. I’m just being difficult here. For this month’s Tigress Can Jam post I could’ve done cukes. I could’ve done melons from as near as South Carolina (and now New York, as of my coop this morning.) We are bringing an organic Maryland watermelon to Fire Island today. (You will see watermelon rind pickles in a week and some change.) Cucurbits are a broad family, with many options at hand. 

In hopefulness that one day I’ll have more marrow than we know what to do with, I turned theseInto theseSweets made from zucchiniI did this because I wanted to know for sure, is this something I’d ever do in a time of true abundance?

Though it was a handy way to fit three large zucchini into a single pint jar, truthfully, probably not. Seeding a zucchini is something no one really needs to endure. I’d do all the things Eugenia recommends in the link above (and none of the suggestions involve jars, just cocktail parties.)

There were, of course, merits and surprises, as with all first-run canning operations. After doing as instructed by Ms. Ziedrich, I realized I’d accidentally made that delicious candy, those ginger chews with the odd texture, except mine are made with zucchini instead of solid sugar and gelling agents. I boiled my mixture bit too long; my syrup went past thread stage, somewhere closer to soft ball.

Oh, well! They taste deliciously gingery. I’ll pop open the jar at some point and do as she suggests: eat them on biscuits or on white yeast bread (gluten-free, of course.)

Marrow preserves

reduced from Linda Ziedrich’s recipe in the Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves

yield 1 pint

3 large zucchini (weighing in at 3.25 lbs whole, 1.5lbs skinned and seeded)

1 small lemon juiced, strained and then zested

1/2 Tbs minced fresh ginger

2 cups sugar (I used raw)

Method:

1. Use or make a spice bag for the ginger.Tie kitchen twine around a few layers of damp cheesecloth2. Combine all ingredients in your heaviest-bottomed, non-reactive pot and let sit for 24 hours.

3. Bring to boil over medium heat so any leftover sugar dissolves; raise heat to med-high and boil for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Remove pot from heat, remove spice bag and let preserves cool (about 30 min to an hour depending on how large your batch is.

5. Place preserves in a jar(s) and process in a boiling waterbath for 10 minutes.My overwhelming zucchini non-abundance