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Squash caviar as in the store for the winter

Zucchini Spread for Winter (Like the Store-Bought Kind)

Delicious and fragrant, just like the store version! No matter how many times I make zucchini spread, the store kind always seems tastier. But made by this recipe, it tastes very, very close to the store-bought version. It's not hard to make, and it comes out delicious!

Natalia Tsybulskaya

Recipe author

Squash caviar as in the store for the winter

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Zucchini

Vegetable oil

300

Sugar

Tomato paste

Garlic

Onion

Carrots

Salt

1.5

Vinegar

Flour

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 7 % 1 g

Fats 43 % 6 g

Carbohydrates 50 % 7 g

78 kcal

GI: 86 / 0 / 14

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make zucchini spread like the store-bought kind? Gather all the ingredients. Any zucchini will do — any color, size, or shape. Just peel large zucchini and remove the big seeds. You can replace the tomato paste with ketchup. But it's best to use chopped fresh tomatoes — in vegetable season that's no problem, and they're better for you.
Step 2:

Peel the onion and cut it into cubes.
Step 3:

Fry the onion in a skillet with a spoonful of oil until golden — usually about 5–7 minutes. Remove the onion from the pan.
Step 4:

Peel and grate the carrots.
Step 5:

Fry the carrots in a skillet with a spoonful of oil for about 5 minutes. Remove the carrots from the pan.
Step 6:

Peel the zucchini if needed and cut it into cubes.
Step 7:

Fry it in batches in a skillet with a spoonful of oil for about 7–10 minutes.
Step 8:

Put all the vegetables in a heavy-bottomed pot, add the peeled garlic, and blend it all with an immersion blender. You can also use a meat grinder. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.
Step 9:

Add the tomato paste.
Step 10:

Add the sugar and salt.
Step 11:

And the ground pepper. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, for another 30 minutes.
Step 12:

In a dry skillet, toast the flour until it smells nutty and turns cream-colored. Stir it into the spread.
Step 13:

Five minutes before the end of cooking, pour in the vinegar. This recipe uses 6–9% distilled vinegar. If you have vinegar essence, dilute it 1:8.
Step 14:

Sterilize the jars however is convenient. I put jars with a little water in the microwave for 5–7 minutes. But you can also sterilize them in the oven at 100°C (210°F) for about 30 minutes or hold them over steam. The lids just need 5 minutes of boiling.
Step 15:

Pack the spread into the jars and seal the lids tightly or roll them up. No further sterilizing is needed. It's best to store this preserve in a cool place.
Step 16:

Enjoy!

Remember that in recipes for winter preserves, ingredients like salt, sugar, vinegar, and its substitutes are used not just for flavor but mainly as preservatives. So never cut back on the amount of salt and sugar, or swap the vinegar (essence) for a weaker concentration than the recipe calls for — otherwise the vinegar (and salt/sugar) won't do their preserving job and the preserve will spoil.
Use an oil with a high smoke point for frying! Every oil is good only up to a certain temperature — its smoke point, where it starts to burn and form toxic compounds, including carcinogens. Unrefined oils, with rare exceptions, have a low smoke point. They contain a lot of unfiltered organic particles that quickly start to burn. Refined oils hold up better to heat and have a higher smoke point. If you're going to cook in the oven, in a skillet, or on the grill, make sure to use an oil with a high smoke point. The most common high-smoke-point oils are refined sunflower, olive, and grapeseed.