Jam for the winter can be cooked from a variety of fruits, berries and even vegetables. Watermelon is no exception. This juicy sweet berry produces an incredibly fragrant, tasty jam, which in the wintertime will remind you of sunny summer days.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
In August, the markets are simply inundated with a huge number of ripe watermelons. Choosing this giant berry for making jam, you need to pay attention to its quality, degree of maturity and the absence of signs of deterioration, the presence of nitrates. First of all, you need to know that the period of natural ripening of the berry is the last month of summer, so you should not buy earlier.
Watermelon during ripening actively absorbs pesticides, which can enter the soil with fertilizers. Exceeding the permissible norm in a berry can cause severe poisoning, so it is better to check it when buying with a special device. To reduce the amount of nitrates, include in the step-by-step recipe for making jam the item on steeping berries in cold water for 2-3 hours - during this time, harmful substances will go into the water.
To choose the “right” watermelon, you should pay attention to the following signs of ripeness and good quality, namely:
- shiny, hard peel with contrasting stripes;
- the presence of a yellow spot on the side 5-10 cm in size (depending on the size of the berry). The large spot size indicates that the fetus lacked light, it matures slowly and is likely to be tasteless;
- Mandatory ponytails.
Important! Watermelon is used in the fight against such a serious disease as hypertension. The crusts contain substances that lower high blood pressure, have a calming, relaxing effect on the body. At the same time, the berry is contraindicated for people suffering from diseases of the urethra, atherosclerosis.
When choosing a watermelon, just tap on the peel - it should make a clear sound. If, when squeezing the fetus with both hands, you hear a slight crackle, then it is mature and juicy.
For the preparation of jam from watermelon pulp, it is better to choose late varieties, in which there are fewer seeds. The amount of sugar can be slightly reduced or increased depending on the sweetness of the watermelon.
Step-by-step recipes for harvesting watermelon jam for the winter
Every housewife should definitely try to cook jam from watermelon, especially since there are quite a few simple and affordable step by step recipes. Choose which one you like best and act.
Simple Pulp Recipe
6 cans of 0.5 l4 hours
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Select the flesh of the watermelon, peeling from the crust and seeds (should result in 3 kg of already peeled product). Cut into medium sized pieces.
- Place the watermelon pulp in a pan, add sugar on top and wait a couple of hours until the fruit starts to juice. It is worth considering that there will be quite a lot of juice, therefore, the capacity should be taken in large sizes.
- Put the pan on fire, after mixing the contents.
- The mixture must be brought to a boil, then gradually reduce the level of fire and continue cooking for 15 minutes.
- Remove from stove, cover the pan with a lid and in this condition leave for 1 hour.
- Repeat the procedure with boiling two more times.
- 5 minutes before the end of the last cooking, add citric acid.
- Put cooked jam in banks and roll up. Full readiness can be determined by appearance: watermelon pieces should become like jelly, and the syrup thicken and take a caramel hue.
Did you know? Later varieties of watermelons contain more sucrose and glucose, so the jam turns out to be thick and has a richer flavor characteristics.
With lemon
2 cans of 0.5 l each 13 hours
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Separate the flesh of watermelon, peel, cut into pieces.
- Wash lemons, cut into slices with peel.
- Sprinkle food in a pan, sprinkle 1/3 tbsp on top. sugar and leave for a couple of hours until juice is formed.
- Pour in the remaining sugar, mix, refrigerate for 10 hours.
- After the specified time, remove the pan from the refrigerator and set to boil over low heat. After boiling, the mixture should simmer for another quarter hour over low heat.
- Remove the workpiece, cool and boil again for 15–20 minutes.
- Pack the finished jam with a clean, dry spoon in jars, roll up.
- If desired, instead of lemons, you can add orange or use both ingredients in the same recipe. Citrus fruits will add a touch of acidity and shade sugary sweetness.
With apple
3 cans of 0.5 l each 20 hours
lemon acid
on the tip of a knife
vanilla (optional)
pinch
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- In watermelon crusts, it is necessary to carefully separate the white part, cutting off the upper green cover and the inner red pulp.
- Cut into cubes (it is not necessary to maintain a clear shape - it still deforms during cooking), pour boiling water and stand for 10 minutes.
- Introduce sugar and cook over low heat until the watermelon cubes become transparent and rise. In this case, it is necessary to constantly stir the mixture so that the sugar does not burn.
- Remove from the stove and let the mixture “rest” for 8-10 hours.
- Remove the washed apples from the peel and core with seeds, grind them into pieces or slices, add to jam.
- Boil the mixture again (now with apples) and cool. Repeat the procedure 3-4 times, including boiling every 4 hours.
- At the end of the last cooking, add citric acid and vanilla.
- Put the jam in jars. Roll up.
Important! For watermelon-apple jam, it is better to choose late varieties of apples — they do not boil so much, have a dense structure and a pleasant aesthetic appearance. It is better that they be sweet and sour varieties, for example, Papirovka, Melba, Ranet, Semerenko.
With gelatin
750 ml6 hours
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Remove seeds from watermelon pulp, chop finely.
- Pour the pulp 1/2 sugar and do not disturb for 4-5 hours.
- Pour water into a separate bowl or pan, add the remaining half of the sugar, bring everything to a boil.
- Put the prepared slices of watermelon in the prepared syrup in the juice, mix, boil for 20-25 minutes on low heat.
- Remove the workpiece from the stove, cool.
- Strain the resulting mass through a colander, putting the flesh in a separate container.
- Add gelatin to strained syrup and leave to swell.
- While the sweet syrup swells, grate the watermelon pulp through a colander.
- In a saucepan, combine the pulp, syrup, citric acid and vanilla.
- Boil and simmer for 1 minute over low heat.
- Pack hot jam in jars and close. If you want to enjoy fresh jam, it will be ready for use after 3 hours, when the jelly completely hardens.
Features of storage at home
Watermelon jam has an amazing ability to preserve the vitamin composition after heat treatment. Store jam in room conditions or in a cool placewhere the temperature does not fall below + 12 ° C. Avoid direct sunlight in the cans and provide ventilation in the place where the home preservation is.
Did you know? Watermelon — a unique storehouse of antioxidants, vitamins and nutrients. It contains ascorbic and folic acid, carotene, thiamine. The berry is a unique antidepressant, therefore, its use in the winter period will significantly raise the mood, strengthen immunity.
Watermelon jam for the winter, in addition to the stunning aroma and taste, has a stunning appearance, where translucent scarlet pieces of berries are filled with a yellowish viscous syrup. It is possible to eat it as a dessert or as a seasoning for pies, pancakes. It’s impossible to go past such a treat, so don’t waste time and cook with pleasure!
