That headline title alone made you curious, didn’t it? No, that wasn’t a typo. I was curious when I found this idea buried in a garden forum. Apparently, if you cook squash & zucchini in frozen juice concentrate, then run it through a dehydrator, it creates a gummy-like candy.

I’m a fan of candy gummy-anything, so this intrigued me. Spoiler: IT WORKS!

All Pros, No Cons

This uses up those jumbo zucchini you missed picking from the garden. The ones that are usually designated to compost pile.

I was overrun with squash and zucchini one season. It just kept coming. This was a creative way to use up a lot of that surplus.

Healthier snacks

It’s healthier to snack on extra squash and zucchini than gummy bears from the gas station. Granted, there is sugar in the juice concentrate, but overall, it is pretty light on the sweetness. And I like that. It’s a great addition to your homemade trail mix recipes. You might even get your kids to eat more vegetables this way. Granted, I was reaching on that last one.

Simplicity

This was incredibly simple to make. Follow me here and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients

Squash and/or zucchini

1 can of frozen juice concentrate

1 pot

Knife

Peeler

Dehydrator

Instructions

Skin the squash and zucchini

Divide lengthwise and remove the seeds

Chop into 1” cubes

Place cubes in a pot

Add 1 can of frozen juice concentrate. I find different flavors have different flavor intensities. Choose your favorite flavor

Fill juice container with water and add to the pot.

Cook down until pieces look opaque.

Drain squash pieces from the syrup

Place cooked pieces in your dehydrator. Make sure to spread them out so they don’t stick together.

My dehydrator doesn’t have a temperature gauge so they ran for around 6 hours. Time will vary depending on the size if your chunks.

Let them cool and then place them in a mason jar with an oxygen absorber to maximize shelf life. If they make it that long.