Sunny, honey, amber - what epithets do not we embellish our impressions of the melon. The benefits of melon are obvious!
A wonderful fruit leaves few indifferent. Of course, I want to stretch the pleasure and stock up on a fragrant treat.
Fresh melons are not stored very long, but various preservation of them is very good. And what options do arise!
Marinades, compote, preserves, jams - longer to list than to decide on the harvest.
Preparations for the winter from melon - the general principles of preparation
• Harvesting melon for the winter, you can use not only well-ripened and sweet fruits, but also immature ones that have no taste and sweets will do. Even peels come in handy. Fruits damaged by rot are not suitable for workpieces; the flesh must be dense and not overripe.
• Before use, the melon is well washed with water and the seeds are removed from it, cut in half. Then cut into slices and cut off the peel, capturing the adjacent green part. The separated pulp is crushed and used according to the recipe.
• For preservation, you will need a large capacity, stainless steel for cooking jam, jam, marmalade. And for the preparation of marinade, compote or sterilization of workpieces - a volumetric pan. You will also need glass containers with a capacity of 0.5 to 3 liters, metal caps and a manual rolling key. To chop the pulp, you may need a blender, a meat grinder or a metal sieve.
• The first condition when preparing melons for the winter is the cleanliness of dishes and all related kitchen devices and appliances.
• Glass containers should be thoroughly washed and steamed, and the metal lids should be boiled. This will destroy the pathogenic microbes, which will extend the shelf life of the workpieces.
• Jams, jams are cooked from melon, canned stewed fruit, its pulp is marinated or covered with syrup in cans.
Harvesting Winter from Melon: A Simple Pickling Recipe
Ingredients:
• ripe melon - 1.7 kg;
• 250 gr. Sahara;
• 700 ml of drinking water;
• 15 peas of allspice;
• five small sticks of cinnamon;
• 10 carnation umbrellas;
• vinegar essence - 10 gr.
Cooking method:
1. Peel the seeds and peel of the melon, cut the juicy flesh into cubes with a rib size of at least 2 cm and dip in intensely boiling water.
2. Boil the slices for at least 4 minutes, then put a slotted spoon in a colander and dip in cold water to cool. Dry.
3. Prepare half-liter jars by rinsing them thoroughly with hot water and using a little baking soda, steam and dry them by placing them down on a linen towel or wire rack.
4. In each jar, spread the cooked spices equally and fill them on the shoulders with cooled melon flesh.
5. To obtain a gentle marinade, dissolve sugar in water and set on low heat. As soon as the last crystals are dissolved, and the syrup begins to boil, pour in quickly vinegar essence, mix and immediately set aside.
6. Pour the hot marinade into the jars, immediately covering them with boiled lids, and for ten minutes put them sterilized in a wide container with warm water. Be sure to place a grate or a dense matter folded in 3-5 layers below.
7. After that, the pickled melon should be hermetically sealed by rolling the lids with a sealed key.
8. Cool the preservation by turning on the covers without wrapping a blanket.
Harvesting winter melons in sugar syrup
Ingredients:
• small melon - 1 kg;
• one and a half cups of unrefined sugar;
• 1/3 tablespoons "lemons";
• 1 gr. crystalline vanillin.
Cooking method:
1. Rinse with cool, and then wash the fruit well with warm water, cut in half to select the seeds, carefully cut the skin, and cut the flesh, trying to get medium-sized cubes or cubes.
2. Prepare for preservation liter or half liter containers to the very neck fill with melon slices and pour cool boiling water.
3. Strain the infusion in one pan, add the whole measure of granulated sugar and “lemon” with vanilla. Boil, boil for five minutes and, directly boiling, pour the syrup into cans. Cover them with prepared (boiled) metal caps, sterilize for eight minutes. Then remove and roll the caps with the preservation key.
Preparations for the winter from melon - "Refreshing compote"
Ingredients:
• kilogram of melon pulp;
• one liter of filtered drinking water;
• 2 gr. crystals of citric acid;
• 600 gr. Sahara.
Cooking method:
1. Cut the juicy pulp into centimeter cubes.
2. Boil the filtered water and pour sugar into it. As soon as the granules of sugar completely dissolve, immediately dip the melon slices into the syrup and wait for it to boil. Reduce the heat to medium, boil for five minutes and add the lemon. Stir well and immediately remove from heat.
3. When removing the slices with a slotted spoon, place them in dry cans treated with steam, and return the compote to the fire again and quickly bring to a boil.
4. Pour the hot compote into jars and sterilize them by covering them with sterile lids prepared for seaming.
5. Sterilize three-liter containers for 20 minutes, two-liter containers for a quarter of an hour, and 10 minutes will be enough for a liter.
6. Seal the jars tightly, taking them out of the pan, and place them on the covers under the covers for cooling.
Preparations for the winter from melon - jam "Sweet Amber"
Ingredients:
• pulp of a mature melon - 2 kg;
• 2.35 kg - sugar;
• a tablespoon of vanilla sugar;
• one liter of water;
• "lemon" is dry, crystalline - 1/2 tsp.
Cooking method:
1. Cut the melon pulp into large three-centimeter cubes and dip in boiling water for seven minutes. Gather in a colander, rinse quickly with a stream of cool running water and dry, leaving it in a colander.
2. Mix sugar syrup with water. On moderate heat, prepare a clear syrup, put the pulp into it and leave to insist.
3. After 4 hours, put the jam on the stove and slowly bring to a boil, boil it for ten minutes and set it again. Repeat this process three more times.
4. During the last cooking, add “lemon” with vanilla three minutes before the end of the process.
5. Pour the finished aromatic jam hot into clean, dry jars, roll it up.
Preparations for the winter from melon - jam from the peel "Golden Caviar"
Ingredients:
• peeled melon crusts - 3 kg;
• one and a half kilos of unrefined sugar;
• two small packs of vanilla crystalline sugar.
Cooking method:
1. Rigid flesh of melon peels, without peel, twist in a meat grinder and set to boil on a slow fire. Be sure to stir constantly so as not to burn.
2. As soon as all the moisture has left and the mass begins to darken, pour sugar into it, immediately stir and wait until it boils.
3. Boil, reducing heat to a minimum, six minutes, add vanillin and, after stirring well, continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
4. After this, the finished jam, without cooling, is packaged in prepared jars and hermetically sealed with tin lids.
Preparations for the winter from melon - "Chocolate jam"
Ingredients:
• 300 gr. peeled melon;
• sugar - 120 gr.;
• a quarter of a teaspoon of powdered cinnamon;
• natural dark chocolate - 100 gr.
Cooking method:
1. Peeled and peeled melon, cut into small pieces into a suitable basin, cover with sugar and mix well, leave alone.
2. After three hours, place the container on the stove, setting the average heating level, and boil it for about forty minutes.
3. Interrupt the slightly cooled mass until smooth with a blender. If not, grind on a metal sieve. Add finely grated chocolate with cinnamon, mix and bring to readiness for 20 minutes at minimum temperature.
4. Chocolate jam, pack in steamed jars, and seal them tightly.
Preparations for the winter from melon - "Marmalade"
Ingredients:
• ripe melon - 1.2 kg;
• one kilogram of sugar;
• two drops of mint essence.
Cooking method:
1. Cut the melon in half to select seeds. Do this carefully, without touching the pulp as much as possible, and cut the remaining - cut into slices. Gently cut the skin from each piece, and cut the remaining pulp into cubes.
2. Put them in a wide bowl, fill with water so that it is flush, and set to cook.
3. Once the flesh is soft, fold it into a colander and do not pour the broth, it will come in handy.
4. Rub the softened pieces through a rare metal sieve or beat with a blender until a mushy mass.
5. The left broth mix with sugar and prepare syrup.
6. Mash the mashed potatoes with hot syrup and boil twice over low heat. In two minutes before readiness enter mint essence and mix thoroughly.
7. Arrange the prepared homemade marmalade in suitable dry jars and roll them up.
The easiest preparation for the winter melon - drying
Ingredients:
• ripe melons.
Cooking method:
1. Fruits prepared for drying, be sure to soak for two days on the balcony or in the yard. Then wash them thoroughly with soapy water and air dry. You can, of course, remove the remaining moisture with a disposable towel, but after that they will still need to be dried in the air for several hours.
2. Cut the prepared fruits in half and, having selected the seeds, cut into 3 cm slices. After that, the peel is cut from pieces, trying to capture the green layer of pulp adjacent to it.
3. After that, lay the melon pieces on a wire rack so that they do not touch and cover them with gauze.
4. Blow for at least 14 days, turning the pieces every two days so that the moisture evaporates evenly.
5. Interweave the well-sunken strips with each other with pigtails and put them in wooden boxes covered with parchment.
Melon preparations for the winter - cooking tricks and useful tips
• Buy melons in specialized markets or supermarkets, where the sold agricultural products pass all the necessary checks. Do not buy melons, sold along the tracks, they well absorb toxic substances contained in car exhausts. Fruits with rot spots, cracks or dents should not be acquired.
• Pay attention to the smell. In a ripe melon, even the peel has a delicate aroma of vanilla or honey. Its absence indicates that the fetus is immature.
• If you press on the peel of a well-ripened melon, it will slightly “spring”, when you press the overripe fruit, your fingers will fail.
• Overripe fruits for billets are not suitable, their flesh is usually bitter. It is better to take a slightly immature, and marinades and syrups will improve their taste.
