Zucchini Bread Jam and International Can It Forward Day

When the folks at Ball asked me if I'd like to participate in promoting International Can It Forward Day-July 22nd, I said absolutely! I've been casually water bath canning and preserving since my 20's and encourage everyone to give it at try, whether canning a great seasonal buy on produce or, um, poaching cherries from a neighbor's tree:@) But today I wanted to share a different idea to help use up that notorious garden overachiever... zucchini. This Zucchini Bread Jam is a nice topper for anything you'd add cream cheese to. It has warm spices, background flavors of apple and lemon and a bit of body from the zucchini.

The recipe came from Ball's new book of canning, which truly is new. I'd call this a cookbook that is extremely diverse in it's ideas and recipes. 

Stay tuned, I'll have a pickle recipe to share soon that I'm pretty excited to try:@)

What is Can It Forward Day? 

A fun opportunity to learn more about canning:

• You can ask Jarden Home Brands canning experts any preserving or home canning questions via Twitter with the hashtag #canitforward from 10AM – 5PM ET on July 22nd. You can also share your own #canitforward creations with the brand on Pinterest and Instagram.
• You can pledge to can-it-forward by signing up via the pledge page and share with friends.
• You can tune in on July 22^nd to watch canning demonstrations via Facebook Live from 10:00AM – 3:30PM ET. Each hour, viewers will have the chance to win a giveaway prize!
• If you engage with any of the Facebook Live recipe videos, a donation will be made to charity.

And here's that zucchini recipe we all need right about now... 

May I suggest canning some jars for Christmas gifts-it's coming folks, it's coming...

Zucchini Bread Jam-from The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving
4 C zucchini, shredded-ok to mix in yellow summer squash
1 C apple juice
6 Tblsp Ball classic pectin
1/4 C golden raisins-I used regular raisins
1 Tblsp bottled lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 C sugar

1. Add everything except sugar to 6 quart stainless steel or enameled cast iron pot. Bring to a rolling boil.
2. Add sugar, stir to dissolve, bring to rolling boil. Boil for one minute, remove from heat.
3. Ladle into sterilized jars, leave 1/4" head space. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, add lids and rings. 
4. Process in hot water bath for 15 minutes.

Let's use up that zucchini and have a happy day:@)