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Every housewife who does not leave her family without such winter preparations as preserves, compotes, jams should try to make melon jelly for the winter. This light, aromatic and tasty dessert will not only lift the spirits of the whole family at any time, but will also successfully serve as the final point of any holiday dinner. And preparing it is not difficult at all.
Features and secrets of making melon jelly
Few people will refuse melon jelly, especially in winter, when the selling season for this melon crop is already over. There are practically no contraindications for consuming melon jelly. But the fruit retains almost all its beneficial properties, because it is subjected to heat treatment for a short period of time.
Melon jelly is a “light” sweet – with a low sugar content compared to other sweet preparations for the winter, because gelatin is used to thicken the syrup, and sugar is used only to taste and desire.
In most recipes for making melon jelly with gelatin, the fruit is processed into puree or only its juice is used. In this case, you can take a well-ripened melon.
When you want pieces of the fruit to be preserved in the jelly, you need to choose a melon with dense pulp or buy two fruits with different degrees of ripeness:
- when well ripe, use it to make syrup;
- slightly unripe - for whole pieces in jelly.
Fans of jelly sweets can diversify this dessert by adding slices of other fruits to melon jelly or using the juice of various fruits and berries to prepare jelly syrup. For those who like to feel the additional taste of exotic spices, the opportunity to experiment and develop new recipes is open:
- add juice or zest of lemon, lime;
- vanilla, mint, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon;
- in recipes for adults - rum, cognac, liqueur, vodka.
You can experiment not only with the taste, but with the appearance of the dessert: get a light, almost transparent jelly with pieces of melon, or make a syrup red, raspberry, cherry, yellow, green, using the juice of other fruits and berries.
Recipes for melon in jelly for the winter
The basis of the recipe for making melon jelly for the winter is simple and there is only one - the melon liquid acquires a jelly state with the help of gelatin. And the rest is the cook’s imagination. Therefore, there may be many recipes.
A simple recipe for melon jelly for the winter
Required Products:
- melon pulp – 0.5 kg;
- sugar – 5 tbsp. l.;
- water – 2 tbsp.;
- gelatin – 2 tbsp. l.;
- citric acid – 0.5 tbsp. l.
Sequencing:
- Cut the melon into pieces and place in a saucepan to make jam.
- Add water, sugar, citric acid, mix everything.
- When the contents of the pan boil, reduce the heat and simmer for another 5-7 minutes.
- Separate the melon pieces from the syrup.
- Add swollen gelatin, previously soaked for 20-30 minutes in 50 ml of cold water, to the hot syrup and stir until it is completely dissolved.
- Combine the melon pieces with the hot syrup.
- Pour into prepared containers and roll up the lids.
This dessert cannot be compared with ordinary jam or jam for tea. This tender, aromatic and not very sweet dish can be served at any holiday table and rest assured that everyone will like it.
With orange juice
A small addition in the form of an orange radically changes the color and taste of melon jelly. For preparation you will need:
- melon – half the fruit;
- orange – 3 large;
- water – 1 tbsp.;
- gelatin – 10 g;
- sugar – 4 tbsp. l.
Prepare as follows:
- Extract the juice from the oranges in a juicer.
- Combine orange juice with water and sugar in a cooking bowl and heat to a boil.
- Cut the melon into pieces, grind in a blender until pureed, put in boiling orange juice, boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat.
- Add the swollen gelatin (first put 10 g of the product in a third of a glass of water) and stir until it dissolves.
- Immediately pour into sterilized jars and seal them.
With honey and rum
Dessert option for adults for a holiday party. The following products are needed:
- melon pulp – 700 g;
- light honey – 125 g;
- lemon – half the fruit;
- rum – 2 tbsp. l.;
- gelatin – 1 tbsp. l.;
- cardamom – 2 pcs.;
- water – 2 tbsp.
Preparation in the following order:
- Combine water and honey in a saucepan and stir.
- Add rum, juice of half a lemon, crushed cardamom.
- Put on fire.
- Grind the melon to puree in a blender.
- Add to the boiling mixture in the pan and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add the swollen gelatin. Stir thoroughly and pack hot into a container for canning.
Cardamom is added to this recipe as desired. Sometimes not the whole melon is turned into puree, but only a part. The other part is cut into pieces and placed in boiling syrup along with melon puree. Then the jelly will be heterogeneous, it contains pieces of fruit.
Terms and conditions of storage
Melon jelly, prepared for the winter and packaged according to canning rules in sterilized containers, is stored like any jam all winter.
If there are storage conditions at low temperatures, for example, in a cellar, on a loggia, in a refrigerator, then it is better to put jars of jelly there, because there is much less sugar in such a dessert than in jam.
Melon jelly, not closed for preservation with special lids for the winter, can be stored in the refrigerator for a short time. This period also depends on how much sugar and acid it contains, as well as on the method of preparation - how long the heat treatment of the products lasted.
Conclusion
Melon jelly for the winter will help out any housewife in case of unexpected guests. This dessert is an independent dish that does not need anything to complement the taste. Making jelly with gelatin is easy and does not require much labor. You just need to choose the taste of the main fruit and decide what additives to best express it with.
