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Summer is the time for juicy and sweet fruits. Watermelon and melon are considered some of the most popular. They have rightfully won their place of honor, because their high liquid content allows you to quench your thirst on hot sunny days. In addition, their unique and inimitable taste makes them a favorite sweet. So why not save the summer sweet delicacy for the winter, for example, prepare unusual melon and watermelon jam. It can 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 it is very common among suppliers of fruit and vegetable crops to improve their presentation with the help of chemistry. To avoid becoming one of the buyers who bought a low-quality watermelon or melon, you should carefully consider them. By looking at the peel and pulp, you can easily determine the ripeness and quality of such fruits.
Typically, in a watermelon filled with chemicals, the veins are yellow and thick. You can also do a small test: take a glass of water, put the pulp in it, 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.
A ripe watermelon fruit should have a dull sound when tapped. In addition, a ripe watermelon should crunch slightly when squeezed tightly in your hands.
When choosing a melon, the first thing you should look at is the stalk. In a mature fruit it should be dry. Also, the peel of a ripe melon should be thin and slightly springy when pressed. If the crust is hard or too soft, then the fruit is clearly unripe or not fresh.
You should not buy cracked or overripe melon, as pathogenic bacteria can accumulate in places where the peel is cracked.
If you follow these simple tips, you can buy pretty good fruits, which will not only become a high-quality product for making jam for the winter, but will also be an excellent delicacy in their raw form.
Recipes for melon and watermelon jam for the winter
Oddly enough, watermelons and melons are very suitable for making jam. In addition, such a sweet preparation can be made not only from the pulp, but also from their crusts. The jam made from the crusts turns out to be very tasty and unusual.
Watermelon-melon jam is often cooked 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 adding lemon or its juice allows you to dilute the sweet taste with sourness. Acid also promotes long-term storage of jam, because melon and watermelon contain practically no acids, and this can lead to sugaring of the product.
Jam made from juicy watermelon and melon pulp
To prepare watermelon-melon jam from juicy pulp, you will need the following ingredients:
- watermelon pulp – 500 g;
- melon pulp – 500 g;
- 1 kg sugar;
- 250 ml water;
- lemon – 2 pieces.
To make jam from watermelon and melon, the first step is to separate their pulp from the rind and seeds. To do this, first take a watermelon, cut it in half, divide it into slices, separate the rind and remove the seeds. The same manipulations are carried out with 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 lightly crushed to crush large pieces. Pour 500 g of sugar into the mixture and put it in the refrigerator to form juice.
While the watermelon-melon pulp is in the refrigerator, you need to prepare the sugar syrup.
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 is boiling, prepare the lemon juice and zest.
Take two lemons, wash them thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel. Using a special fine grater, remove the zest from the lemons. Then cut them in half and squeeze out the juice.
Pour lemon juice into boiled sugar syrup and add zest. Mix well and remove from the stove. Let it cool.
Take the watermelon-melon pulp out of the refrigerator. Mix it with sugar syrup and put on fire. Stirring, bring to a boil. Cook for 40 minutes. Remove from the stove. After 3 hours, repeat the cooking process.
The finished jam, while warm, is poured into sterilized jars. Cover tightly with a lid. Leave until completely cool. Afterwards, watermelon and melon jam can be stored until winter.
Melon and watermelon rind jam
In addition to the juicy pulp, jam can be made from watermelon and melon rinds.The result is a rather exquisite sweetness despite the unusual ingredients.
For jam from watermelon and melon rinds you will need:
- watermelon rinds – 0.5 kg;
- melon peels – 0.7 kg;
- sugar – 1 kg;
- water – 650 ml;
- citric acid – 0.5 teaspoon;
- vanillin.
The separated watermelon and melon rinds should be washed well, the dense part of the peel should be removed and cut into small cubes.
Next, prepare sugar syrup. Pour 500 g of sugar into the pan where the jam will be cooked and fill it with water. Place on fire, stir, bring to a boil.
Add watermelon and melon rinds to the boiling syrup and mix well. Bring to a boil, add citric acid, skim off the resulting foam. Then reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 15 minutes.
The boiled jam is removed from the stove and allowed to cool for about 2-3 hours. Place on the fire again, bring to a boil, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. 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. Place on the stove, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 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 preparation can be stored until winter.
Terms and conditions of storage
When prepared correctly, watermelon-melon jam can be stored for about 1 year. The optimal 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 become sugary.
It is advisable to store such jam in a dark place so that the jars are not exposed to direct sunlight, as this promotes fermentation. The lid may swell. And if this happens, it is undesirable to eat the jam.
After opening the jar with the preparation, watermelon-melon jam should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 1-2 months.
Conclusion
Melon and watermelon jam is an amazing sweet that, in any winter frost, can remind you of a warm summer with its pleasant taste and aroma. The jam made from both the pulp and the rinds of melons is amazing. It can be consumed with tea, or can be used as a filling for various baked goods.
