Making Zucchini Gummi Candies

I first saw zucchini candy over at Collecting the Moments One by One, and it's been on my list of things to try for over a year now.


Last week The Little and I picked up a basket full of extra large zucchini at a roadside market, with the thought that I would find time to make some zucchini relish. As the zucchini sat on my counter for several days it became apparent that the relish wasn't going to make itself. And then yesterday, as I sat coloring with my son, staring woefully at the zucchini and thinking of too many zucchini bread loaves in my future I remembered the candy!

Of course, I couldn't figure out where I had read about zucchini gummies as we prepared to make our own - that thought came to me in the wee hours of the morning, so we improvised as we went along.

You'll need:
Several large zucchini - baseball bat size or larger is preferred.
3 packages of Kool-Aid. We chose what we had on hand - invisible raspberry.
2 cups granulated sugar
4 cups water
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup powdered sugar



Peel your zucchini and remove the ends. The Little wanted to help, so under close supervision I let him try peeling once:


Once your zucchini is peeled, cut it in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. We pretended we had zucchini boat races while working on this part. The Little was an excellent seed scooper - placing them all in our compost pail to be taken outside for our chickens. Next slice and roughly chop your zucchini into 1 inch pieces:





In a large pot on the stove combine 2 packages Kool-Aid, the water, and the granulated sugar. Bring to a boil and gently add the cubed zucchini pieces. Return to a boil and then turn down the heat, allowing the zucchini to simmer for 30 minutes.


Using a slotted spoon or the like, remove the now translucent zucchini from the liquid. Allow the zucchini to drain in a colander for 10 minutes. Arrange the slices on your dehydrator rack. We dehydrated ours for about 14 hours at 140 degrees. The zucchini should be pliable and chewy when finished, but not overly wet on the inside.

If you don't have a dehydrator, try placing the zucchini pieces on a baking sheet and cooking in your oven on the lowest setting. My oven's lowest setting is 250 F, so keep an eye on your zucchini to make sure it doesn't burn or over cook.



Your zucchini will shrink to about half it's original size when finished. We removed it from the racks and tossed it while still warm in a mixture of 1/2 cup corn starch, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 packet of Kool-Aid mix. The cornstarch and sugar prevent it from sticking together. The Kool-Aid made it tangy. We store ours in a mason jar:


The finished zucchini candy is delicious. I'm sure I cooked all the nutrients right out, and totally negated any nutrients that might have been left with the added sugar - but I'm pretending that zucchini candy is healthy today, because anything that is made with vegetables and tastes just like gummi bears must be good for you!

Loving our new treat,
Simple Mama