Melon like pineapple for the winter

A melon for the winter in jars like pineapple is a great way to preserve a healthy, fragrant vegetable, the season of which does not last long. The pulp prepared according to simple recipes retains most of its useful properties and surprises with a delicate taste. Pieces of melon and homemade syrup are very reminiscent of store-bought canned pineapples. If desired, the delicate taste can be easily supplemented with spices.

Secrets of cooking melon like pineapple

The characteristic aroma and delicate taste of melon does not require the addition of other products during canning. Combining yellow fruits with fruits or berries, you can easily drown out their natural smell, delicate aftertaste. Therefore, melon is most often harvested separately in jars.

When preserved for the winter, gourds go well with various spices. By adding cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, cloves, you can get new shades of taste in the usual blanks.

General principles for preparing melon as pineapple for the winter in jars:

1. The quality of the initial products has a direct impact on the taste of the finished dessert. For preparations for the winter with pineapple flavor, only fully ripened melons are suitable: sweet, dense, without softened areas. Overripe specimens are left for other desserts that require a viscous consistency.
2. Varieties with fruits of large size, elongated shape (such as “Torpedo”), when harvested in jars, give the best taste. For desserts stored for the winter, it is often recommended to choose orange-fleshed melons, as they are denser and hold their shape better when cooked. For a complete imitation of pineapple, such fruits are not suitable, although the taste is also difficult to distinguish when tasting.
3. Glass, metal utensils and all kitchen utensils that come into contact with food must be sterilized. It is convenient to disinfect jars in a hot oven or by dousing with boiling water. Metal, plastic, glass lids are also sterilized.
4. The shelf life of blanks in jars depends on compliance with all stages of preparation, compliance with the proportions of recipes and the quality of preparation of raw materials.

For heat treatment, small jars are placed in a bowl of boiling water for 15 minutes, containers of about 1 liter capacity – for 20 minutes. Large glass bottles (about 3 liters) are sterilized for about half an hour.

Melon recipes like pineapple for the winter

Before cooking, the melon should be thoroughly washed, peeled, cut, and the seeds removed. To imitate pineapple and increase shelf life in recipes, acid (acetic, citric, citrus juice) and sugar are used. By changing the proportions of additional ingredients, they provide blanks with different shades of taste.

The general principle of preparing melons for winter storage in jars is boiling syrup and pouring crushed fruits. The blanks differ both in the ratio of products and in the method of their heat treatment.

A simple recipe

The simplest recipe for harvesting melons with syrup and fruits similar to canned pineapples involves the following ingredients:

• melon weighing up to 3 kg;
• filtered water – 1 l;
• sugar – 500 g;
• citric acid – 10 g.

The components of the recipe are simple, and any novice housewife will cope with making a dessert. Cooking sequence:

1. A syrup is prepared from the entire amount of water and sugar: the mixture is heated until it boils and the crystals are completely dissolved, and then the acid is poured.
2. The processed melon is cut into cubes or slices, placed in sterile jars without compacting.
3. The containers are filled with hot syrup. At the same time, jars are filled 1,5-2 cm from the edge of the neck. The syrup should cover the pieces completely.
4. After placing the lids on the jars, pasteurize the blanks for at least 10 minutes.
5. After processing, the lids are immediately tightly sealed.

Banks are turned upside down and left to air cool. You can send conservation for storage after complete cooling.

Without sterilization

Without additional heat treatment, getting the taste of pineapple and storing melon for the winter is also not difficult. The difference between such a workpiece in the conditions of its storage. The taste and aroma will be the same, only the infusion takes longer.

A quick recipe for making melon like pineapple for the winter:

• pieces of prepared melon – 500 g;
• drinking water – 1 l;
• juice of a small lemon;
• sugar – 250

Sliced ​​fruits are packaged in jars. Separately boil syrup from sugar and water, adding lemon juice at the end. Melon is poured with boiling syrup and left for 10 minutes. After the time has elapsed, the sweet filling is decanted back into the pan, brought to a boil. Re-filling the pieces with syrup, the jars are immediately screwed tightly with sterile lids.

Canned food prepared by hot pouring should be turned over, placed on lids, and wrapped warmly. Cooling slowly, canned food self-sterilizes, which increases the shelf life in winter. Completely cooled cans can be put away in the pantry. The taste of pineapples will appear in a few days, when the pulp of the melon is completely saturated with syrup.

spicy melon

Exotic spicy taste informs canned food filling with the addition of alcohol and spices. The pineapple-flavoured recipe usually uses port wine and spices used in sweet dishes.

Ingredients:

• melon pulp – 2 kg;
• water – 500 ml;
• vintage port wine – 300 ml;
• cloves – 2 bud;
• cinnamon (ground) – 1 tbsp. l.;
• vanillin (powder) – 1 g.

Melon for the recipe can be cut into balls using a special spoon. Such a dessert looks more spectacular than when diced.

Further preparation:

1. Sugar is dissolved in a saucepan with a measured amount of water while heating slowly. Add all the spices, cook after boiling for no longer than 2 minutes.
2. Melon balls are poured into the syrup and port wine is poured.
3. Stop heating and let the mixture steep for about 15 minutes.
4. Remove the balls from the syrup with a slotted spoon, put them in clean jars. Containers are filled loosely.
5. The syrup is brought to a boil again and immediately poured into jars.

Cork the original dessert after sterilization for 20 minutes. Store jars of spicy melon and pineapple flavor like regular canned foods.

With ginger

The recipe for melon with ginger is not only similar to pineapple, but also has a sharp, fresh taste. With the same heat treatment, such canned food is stored better than others, due to the disinfectant properties of ginger.

The ratio of products per 3 kg of pumpkin pulp without peel and seeds:

1. sugar – 150 g;
2. fresh ginger – 100 g;
3. citric acid – 0,5 tsp.

The amount of water for the recipe is determined during the pouring process. From these ingredients, about 5 liters of the finished product is obtained.

Preparation of melon with ginger and pineapple flavor:

1. Melon pulp is cut into cubes. Ginger is peeled and cut into arbitrary slices.
2. Bookmarking in sterile jars begins with ginger. Melon cubes are placed on top until the containers are filled up to the shoulders.
3. Pour sugar, add citric acid. After that, boiling water is slowly poured into the jars until they are completely filled.
4. Sterilization takes 10 minutes.

Hot spicy canned melon with ginger and pineapple flavor is corked. They wait for the cans to cool and send them to storage. The warming, tonic effects of such a dessert are especially appropriate in winter.

With pineapple

Canned melon with pineapple chunks tastes even more like a tropical fruit. Prepared according to the recipe with table vinegar, it perfectly complements meat salads, is used as a separate appetizer, and can be added to desserts.

Ingredients:

• pulp of ripe melon – 2 kg;
• medium pineapple weighing up to 1 kg;
• sugar – 0,5 kg.;
• vinegar (9%) – 150 ml;
• cloves – about 10 pcs.;
• water (filtered) – 1,5 l.

Melon is prepared as standard. The pineapple is peeled and, having removed the middle, cut into the same fragments as the sweet vegetable.

The process of preparing pineapple mixture for the winter based on one liter jar:

1. 2 clove buds, chopped melon and pineapple are placed in each container, observing a ratio of approximately 3:1.
2. Syrup is made by adding vinegar and sugar to water. Warm up the composition after boiling for no more than 2 minutes.
3. Banks are poured with a boiling sweet and sour solution. Install covers on them.
4. Pasteurize jars for about 15 minutes.

The processed seamings are hermetically sealed, installed upside down, covered, and cooled down. Due to vinegar and pasteurization, canned food keeps well at room temperature until the middle of winter.

With honey

A good, ripe melon has a strong aroma that is perfectly complemented by the taste of natural honey. The spices in the recipe enhance the warming effect and give the pineapple flavored dessert even more exotic flavors. In any given recipe, it is permissible to replace half of the sugar with a sweet bee product.

Ingredients for the Honey Recipe:

• medium melons (up to 1,5 kg) – 2 pcs.;
• liquid honey (preferably flower) – 150 g;
• granulated sugar – 150 g;
• vinegar (9%) – 1 cup;
• cinnamon, cloves, allspice to taste.

The process of preparing melon with honey and pineapple flavor:

1. Water, honey, sugar and spices are mixed in a cooking container. Bring the mixture to a boil.
2. Melon cubes are carefully mixed into the bubbling syrup. At the slowest heating, keep the workpiece on fire for another 10 minutes.
3. At the end of cooking, add vinegar. Stir the solution and immediately remove the container from the heat.
4. Chopped vegetables, laid out in jars, are poured with hot marinade.

Sterilization, for better preservation in winter, can be carried out in an oven at a temperature of + 100 ° C for 10 minutes. Corked jars are stored in a cool place for no longer than 6 months.

Terms and conditions of storage

Subject to the rules of preservation, the melon will retain its taste and useful properties for up to 6 months. Closer to 9 months of storage, the blanks lose their pineapple flavor.

For preservation in winter, desserts in jars are placed in a dark, cool place, protected from direct sunlight. The optimum storage temperature for pineapples made from melon is + 10-15 °C. In an ordinary apartment, only pasteurized desserts are left in sterilized jars. At temperatures above +20 °C, the shelf life is significantly reduced.

It is not recommended to keep melon or pineapple blanks at sub-zero temperatures. A thawed product does not retain its characteristic texture and taste.

 Conclusion

Winter melon in jars like pineapple has many cooking options, acquiring exotic flavors when adding various spices. Even novice cooks can save a sweet vegetable for the winter. A simple composition of recipes and strict adherence to the rules guarantees always a successful result, and your favorite spices will give the dessert a new sound.