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Melon marmalade is everyone's favorite delicacy, but it is much better if it is prepared at home. Thanks to natural ingredients and complete control over the process, the result is a clean, low-calorie dessert that can be enjoyed even by a child.
Nuances and secrets of making melon marmalade for the winter
Every housewife has her own little secrets that help surprise guests and family with incredible taste or original presentation. Making melon marmalade also has its own nuances. Here are some of them:
- To prevent the fruit from burning to the bottom of the pan during boiling, it is better to take an enamel bowl with a thick bottom and constantly stir the mixture.
- For those who are watching their figure or cannot tolerate foods with a high glycemic index for health reasons, the sugar in the recipe can be replaced with fructose. It is perceived a little better by the body, however, you shouldn’t get carried away even with such sweetness.
- Multilayer marmalade looks advantageous: to prepare it, you can alternately pour mixtures of different colors, waiting for each layer to harden. Between the layers you can place pieces of fruit, berries, nuts or coconut flakes.
- Spices such as cinnamon, cloves and ginger, as well as lemon or orange zest, will make the sweetness much tastier.
- To prevent gelatin from sticking to the dishes, it is better to pour it into a wet container. To ensure that the powder dissolves well, it is better to pour water into the gelatin, and not vice versa.
- The freezer is the wrong place to set marmalade. It should thicken gradually, and the refrigerator is best for this.
- Agar-agar is a gelatin substitute. It is more useful to purchase it in flakes or powder, so the likelihood of encountering a natural product increases. For children's treats, it is better to choose agar-agar - it is healthier for the gastrointestinal tract.
- To choose a tasty and ripe melon, you need to smell the place where the stalk used to be (the smell is most intense there): it should smell like sweet and ripe juice. If there is almost no smell or it is weak, it means the fruit is not yet ripe.
Marmalade is not only tasty, but also a healthy product. Pectin, which is formed when water from fruits is digested, is useful for reducing the level of bad cholesterol, it fights infections in the gastrointestinal tract, and helps cleanse the body of heavy metals. Regular consumption of natural marmalade improves digestion. This sweetness restores strength after fatigue and physical exertion, stimulates brain function due to the high content of glucose and fructose. No matter how useful this product is, it should not be consumed in large quantities by children and people with diabetes.
Ingredients for melon marmalade
To make melon marmalade you will need:
- melon – 0.5 kg;
- sugar – 4 tablespoons;
- lemon juice – 2 teaspoons or citric acid – 1 teaspoon;
- agar-agar – 8 g;
- water – 50 ml.
The amount of sugar can be reduced if the melon turns out to be very sweet, or, on the contrary, increased.
Step-by-step recipe for melon marmalade
A step-by-step recipe for making marmalade will help you not get confused in the steps, and tips will tell you how to make the cooking process easier and more productive.
- Rinse the melon with cool water, cut it in half and remove the seeds. Peel the melon should be a centimeter deeper, capturing a thin layer of pulp. You can cut it into medium-sized cubes.
- Boiled warm water should be poured into a container with agar-agar, stir thoroughly and leave for 5-10 minutes to allow it to swell.
- The melon can be placed in a saucepan, sprinkled with citric acid on top or poured lemon juice. Add sugar and stir until all the pieces are evenly covered with sand.
- Before putting the pan on the fire, you need to thoroughly grind the melon with an immersion blender until it becomes a homogeneous puree, so that there are no lumps left. This puree should be simmered over low heat until it boils, then let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After this, you can add agar-agar, then heat for another 4 minutes. During this time, it is important to continuously stir the puree. When it is ready, you can pour it into marmalade molds. If there are no molds, the puree can be poured into an ordinary small container, first lining it with cling film to make it easier to get the marmalade out. Afterwards the product can be cut into portions with a knife.
- The forms should be placed in the refrigerator for 2 hours. At room temperature it will take longer to harden.To remove the marmalade, you can pry up its edge with a knife, then bend the silicone mold. Ready-made melon marmalades can be rolled in sugar or coconut flakes.
The finished marmalade can be served immediately after hardening.
Terms and conditions of storage
Ready-made melon marmalade can be stored for up to two months. It can be kept in the refrigerator, but it will not melt at room temperature. It is important to store it in a closed container to prevent it from drying out and becoming hard.
Conclusion
Melon marmalade is a traditional natural delicacy. It is easy to prepare, it is stored for a long time and you can be sure of the composition of the sweet if it was prepared at home.
