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Summer is the time for juicy and sweet fruits. One of the most favorite are watermelon and melon. They rightfully won their place of honor, because the high content of liquid in them allows you to quench your thirst on hot sunny days. In addition, the unique and inimitable taste makes them a favorite sweet. So why not save a summer sweet delicacy for the winter, for example, prepare an unusual melon and watermelon jam. It may become the most favorite dessert in the winter season.
Rules for choosing products for jam
To prepare tasty and healthy watermelon-melon jam for the winter, you need to choose the right products for its preparation. Indeed, unfortunately, today among the suppliers of fruit and vegetable crops it is very customary to improve their presentation with the help of chemistry. In order not to become one of the buyers who bought a low-quality watermelon or melon, you should carefully consider them. By the peel and pulp, you can effortlessly determine the ripeness and quality of such fruits.
As a rule, in chemical-filled watermelon, the veins are yellow and thick. You can also conduct a small test: take a glass of water, put the pulp there, and if the water just becomes cloudy, then this is a high-quality ripe fruit, but if the water takes on a slightly colored appearance, then the watermelon is clearly unripe and filled with chemical dyes.
In a ripe watermelon fruit, when tapped on it, the sound should be deaf. In addition, a ripe watermelon with strong compression in the hands should slightly crunch.
When choosing a melon, the first thing to look at is the stalk. In a mature fruit, it should be dry. Also, the peel of a ripe melon should be thin and, when pressed, slightly springy. If the peel is hard or too soft, then the fruit is clearly unripe or not the first freshness.
Buying a cracked or overripe melon is not worth it, as pathogenic bacteria can collect in places where the skin is cracked.
If you follow these simple tips, you can get pretty good fruits, which will not only become a quality product for making jam for the winter, but will also be an excellent raw delicacy.
Recipes for melon and watermelon jam for the winter
Oddly enough, but watermelons and melons are very good for making jam. In addition, such a sweet preparation can be made not only from the pulp, but also from their peels. Jam from crusts turns out to be very tasty and unusual.
Watermelon-melon jam is often boiled with the addition of other fruits. Apples and bananas go well with the pulp of these fruits. For taste, it is recommended to add honey and ginger. And the addition of lemon or its juice allows you to dilute the sweet taste with sourness. Also, the acid contributes to the long-term storage of jam, because there are practically no acids in the composition of melon and watermelon, and this can lead to sugaring of the workpiece.
Jam from juicy pulp of watermelon and melon
To prepare watermelon-melon jam from juicy pulp, you will need the following ingredients:
- watermelon pulp – 500 g;
- melon pulp – 500 g;
- 1 kg of sugar;
- 250 ml of water;
- lemon – 2 pieces.
To make watermelon and melon jam, the first step is to separate their pulp from the peel and seeds. To do this, first take a watermelon, cut it in half, divide it into slices, separate the peel and remove the seeds. The same manipulations are carried out with a melon, only the seeds are removed before cutting the melon into slices. Then the slices are cut into small pieces.
The prepared pulp should be slightly crushed to crush large pieces. Pour a mixture of 500 g of sugar, put in the refrigerator in order to form juice.
While the watermelon-melon pulp is in the refrigerator, you need to prepare sugar syrup.
They take the remaining 500 g of sugar, pour it into a container or saucepan, fill it with water and put it on fire. Stir until dissolved and leave to boil.
While the sugar water boils, prepare the lemon juice and zest.
Take two lemons, wash thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel. With the help of a special fine grater, the zest is removed from the lemons. Then cut them in half and squeeze out the juice.
Lemon juice is poured into boiled sugar syrup and zest is added. Well altered and removed from the stove. Let cool.
The watermelon and melon pulp is taken out of the refrigerator. Mix it with sugar syrup and put on fire. Stirring, bring to a boil. Boil for 40 minutes. Taken off the stove. After 3 hours, the cooking process is repeated.
Ready-made jam in a warm form is poured into sterilized jars. Close the lid tightly. Leave until completely cool. After watermelon and melon jam can be stored until winter.
Melon and watermelon jam
In addition to juicy pulp, jam can be made from watermelon and melon peels. It turns out quite an exquisite sweetness despite the unusual ingredients.
For jam from watermelon and melon peels you will need:
- watermelon peels – 0,5 kg;
- melon peel – 0,7 kg;
- sugar – 1 kg;
- water – 650 ml;
- citric acid – 0,5 teaspoon;
- vanillin.
Separated peels of watermelon and melon should be washed well, remove the dense part of the peel and cut into small cubes.
Next, prepare the sugar syrup. In the pan where the jam will be cooked, pour 500 g of sugar and pour it with water. Put on fire, stir, bring to a boil.
Watermelon and melon rinds are added to the boiling syrup and mixed well. Bring to a boil, add citric acid, remove the resulting foam. Then reduce the heat and leave to languish for 15 minutes.
The boiled jam is removed from the stove and allowed to cool for about 2-3 hours. Put on fire again, bring to a boil, cook for 15 minutes. They take it off the fire. After 2 hours, repeat cooking.
Before the fourth time of cooking, add the remaining 500 g of sugar and vanillin to the jam, stir well. Put on the stove, stir, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
The finished jam is allowed to cool slightly, then poured into sterilized jars. Close tightly, turn over and cover with a towel. After complete cooling, the jars with the workpiece can be sent for storage until winter.
Terms and conditions of storage
With proper preparation, watermelon-melon jam can be stored for about 1 year. The optimum storage temperature varies from 5 to 15 degrees. If it is higher, then the jam can ferment, and if it is very low, it can be sugared.
It is advisable to store such jam in a dark place so that direct sunlight does not fall on the jars, as this contributes to fermentation. The lid may bulge. And if this happens, the jam is undesirable to eat.
After opening a jar with a blank, watermelon-melon jam should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 1-2 months.
Conclusion
Melon and watermelon jam is an amazing sweetness that in any winter frost can remind you of a warm summer with its pleasant taste and aroma. Amazing jam from both the pulp and the rinds of gourds. It can be consumed with tea, and can be used as a filling for various pastries.
