Tips for making jam
- When cooking jam, stir it constantly so that it does not burn. It is better to use a wooden spoon or spatula.
- To make jam from the pulp, choose ripe berries of late varieties. Such watermelons contain more sugars, which, when cooked, will allow the mass to become thicker. And they have fewer seeds.
- To make jam from watermelon pulp, select a larger container, since the watermelon mass foams a lot.
- Watermelon jam will be more attractive if you cut the rinds with a curly knife.
- If you want the watermelon jam from the rinds to be light and the watermelon pieces to be transparent, use only the white part. In order for the jam to acquire a white-pink color, it is recommended to use white crusts with remnants of pink pulp for preparation.
- Jam made from pulp takes longer to prepare than from rinds, but the taste of watermelon is better felt.
How to make watermelon jam for the winter
How to make jam from watermelon pulp so that it can be stored for a long time? To do this, you need to sterilize it: fill a large saucepan with a few centimeters of water, put jars of jam in it and cook for 10-15 minutes. Citric acid will serve as an excellent preservative. You will need 2 g per 1 kg of jam.
After sterilization, roll up the jars and cool to room temperature. Store in a cool place.
Cooking tips
To make the perfect watermelon jam or preserves, follow our recommendations:
- It is better to choose later varieties of watermelon: they contain more sucrose and glucose.
- The watermelon mass foams a lot, so the cooking container must be large. At the same time, the foam in the jam is dangerous for the workpiece: specks that accidentally got into the mixture accumulate in it. To prolong the shelf life of the treat, you need to carefully remove it.
- When using peels, it is necessary to get rid of nitrates: to do this, the cut pieces should be soaked in a soda solution for several hours.
- Opened watermelon jam will not mold and will keep for several months if you sprinkle it with powdered sugar on top.
- Watermelon jam burns quickly, so the mixture should be thoroughly mixed using a wooden or silicone spatula.
- It is recommended to use water that has already been boiled or purified to reduce the risk of product spoilage.
Important ! Whenever possible, choose watermelon that has been grown without nitrates. A “harmful” watermelon has a bright red unnatural hue and a smooth, glossy cut, while the flesh that is “clean” of nitrates has a loose structure and sparkles with sugar. The fibers of a proper watermelon are white, while those spoiled by fertilizers are yellow.
Recipe for jam from watermelon pulp
You can make aromatic jam from watermelon pulp, the taste of which you can enjoy until the next watermelon season. We present several cooking methods.
Watermelon jam
- 1 kg. watermelon pulp;
- vanillin;
- 1 kg. Sahara;
- lemon;
- a bag of pectin for thick jam.
Remove the rinds, including the white ones, from the watermelon. Remove the remaining pulp from the seeds and cut into cubes. Place in a container, cover with granulated sugar and leave for 1-2 hours to allow the juice to release from the berries.
Put the mixture on the fire and boil after boiling for half an hour, let it stand for a couple of hours and boil again. You need to make 3 passes. Before cooking the watermelon for the last time, grind it through a sieve or grind it in a blender, add lemon juice and vanillin. To make the jam thicker, you can add a bag of pectin.
Watermelon pulp jam for the winter
This jam is made from watermelon pulp. Ideally, you should use a seedless variety, but you can also take a regular watermelon, but carefully remove the seeds. You can make this jam from unripe watermelon, but then you need to take more sugar (one and a half times). And to make the jam more aromatic, you can add spices - cardamom, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, vanillin.
- 2 kg of watermelon pulp;
- 2 kg of sugar (or 3 kg if the watermelon is unripe)
- 0.5 teaspoon of citric acid;
- spices - optional.
Cut off the rinds from the watermelon, cut the seedless pulp into cubes with a side length of about 2 cm. When cutting, juice will be released, try to collect it. We transfer the chopped pulp along with the juice into a cooking basin or pan, add half the amount of sugar. Leave for a couple of hours to release more juice.
Then carefully drain the watermelon juice, mix it with the remaining sugar and put on fire. Cook, stirring the syrup constantly. When the syrup begins to thicken noticeably, add the watermelon pulp into it, mix very carefully and continue cooking. Cook for about 20 minutes at medium heat. During the cooking process, skim off the foam and stir occasionally.
Leave the jam to cool completely, for 5-6 hours, or overnight.
Then put the jam back on low heat, add citric acid, and add spices if desired. Continue cooking until fully cooked. You will have to cook for about 40-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The readiness of the jam is determined by testing the syrup. To do this, you need to drop some syrup on a saucer. If the jam is ready, the syrup will not spread. Pour the finished jam hot into sterilized jars, close hermetically, and cool “under a fur coat.”
Watermelon jam with lemon
- lemon;
- watermelon pulp – 400 gr.;
- 1.25 glasses of water;
- sugar – 400 gr.
Remove and cut the watermelon into cubes, removing the seeds. Place in a suitable container, add 0.25 tbsp. water and simmer until softened for half an hour.
Scrape the zest from the lemon and squeeze out the juice. From lemon juice, 250 gr. sugar and remaining water, prepare syrup.
Pour the remaining sugar into the watermelon; when it dissolves, add the zest and syrup. Cook the mixture, remembering to stir regularly, until it thickens - about 40 minutes.
Pack the finished jam into jars.
Watermelon jam with mint
If you like unusual spicy flavors, you can try making watermelon jam for the winter using the following recipe.
- 4 cups chopped watermelon pulp;
- 2 tbsp each lemon juice and zest;
- 1/3 glass of wine;
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint;
- 1 tbsp. spoon of ginger;
- 0.5 tsp black pepper;
- 1.5 cups sugar.
Place mint, lemon zest, sugar in the bowl of a blender and beat everything. Using a blender, combine the pepper and watermelon pulp. Place the crushed ingredients in a container and cook the mass until it is reduced by half: to speed up the process, after chopping, drain the juice from the watermelon mass. Add wine, ginger and lemon juice. Once boiling, simmer the mixture for 6-8 minutes until it becomes darker and thicker. Place the finished jam into jars and seal with lids.
Fragrant jam with orange
This jam will appeal to all citrus lovers. The peels themselves are invisible; they turn into a base for candied orange peels. To prepare this version of jam you need to take the following ingredients:
- kilogram of crusts;
- 500 grams of sugar;
- a quarter glass of water;
- juice of a quarter of a lemon;
- a tablespoon of chopped orange peel.
How to make watermelon and orange jam? To start, the crust of the main ingredient needs to be cleared of the green layer. Cut the white part into thin strips. Pour water into the pan and add sugar. Boil syrup. After the sugar has completely dissolved, add the crusts. Cook over low heat for about forty minutes, stirring occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Afterwards, the still hot workpiece needs to be rubbed through a sieve, add lemon juice and pieces of orange peel to the base. Mix everything and put it back on the fire. Cook for about twenty minutes more.
This jam is placed in sterile jars and sealed. Let the jam stand at room temperature until it cools completely. Afterwards you can put it in a cooler place.
Watermelon Rind Recipes
Many people throw away watermelon rinds, not seeing their value. But you can make a wonderful delicacy from this useless product.
Watermelon rind jam
- lemon, you can also have orange;
- 1.2 kg. granulated sugar;
- 1 kg watermelon rinds;
- vanillin;
- 3 tbsp. water.
Remove the white rind from the watermelon. You need to get rid of the dense peel and pink pulp. Using a curly or regular knife, cut the peel into small, elongated pieces. Prick each piece with a fork and place them in a 1 liter soda solution for at least 4 hours. water 1 tsp. soda This is necessary so that the slices do not lose their shape after cooking. Rinse the peel, cover with water, leave for 30 minutes, rinse again, cover and leave to soak for half an hour.
Cooking recipes
Housewives offer several options for healthy treats. Optimal: make two or three 0.5 liter containers of each type to diversify desserts for winter tea parties. It is important to adhere to the norm for each component, otherwise the mass will be liquid or very thick; with an excess of citrus fruits, bitter notes will appear.
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Simple recipe
How to make watermelon jam? You will need a juicy berry, preferably red, sugary, ripe. The watermelon should not be broken or greenish: the dessert will be tasteless.
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How to make jam from the pulp:
- wash the watermelon, immediately cut into several parts, select the seeds, cut the pulp into cubes about 2 cm in size;
- transfer the natural raw materials into a basin, add sugar (for 1.5 kg of ripe watermelon, take 2 kg of sweets);
- let the mixture stand for 2 hours so that the juice is actively released;
- add 100 ml of water to the watermelon pulp jam, place the container on low heat, and boil;
- simmer the dessert over the fire for 15 minutes, then take a break until the mixture cools down. Repeat the operation three times, after the fourth use, close the dessert in a sterilized glass container;
- 5 minutes before the end of the cooking process, add 1 tsp. citric acid crystals or add freshly squeezed citrus juice, add the same amount of vanillin.
With lemon
Recipe:
- you will need 800 g of watermelon pulp and sugar, a medium lemon, a glass of water;
- remove the seeds, cut the juicy, sugary berries into small cubes;
- Boil the pulp over low heat for 40 minutes, to which add a third of water;
- Peel the zest from the lemon, grind the pulp in a blender, add lemon juice, sugar, and the remaining water;
- cook the watermelon mixture with citrus for another 40 minutes: the jam should thicken;
- sterilize glass containers, pour the sweet mass into jars, seal with Euro-lids or roll up;
- keep watermelon dessert in a cool room.
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With orange
Recipe for watermelon rind jam:
- wash, cut the watermelon, remove the pulp;
- cut off the dark green top layer from the peels, and also remove the red or pink part of the pulp;
- to create an interesting look for the finished product, cut the crust into shapes using a knife with a ribbed edge;
- For 1 kg of watermelon rinds, take 1200 g of sugar, 1 medium orange and ½ lemon;
- Remove zest and white membranes from citrus fruits and grind in a blender;
- Cut the watermelon rinds, put them in a basin, pour in a soda solution: take no more than a teaspoon of soda for 1 liter of lukewarm water;
- after 4 hours, rinse the natural raw materials, rinse the soda solution completely, soak in clean water for 30 minutes, then rinse well again to remove the soda. If the housewife refuses this stage of processing, the crusts will become too soft during cooking and the original shape will be lost;
- While the green part of the watermelon is soaking, there is time to prepare a syrup from half the amount of water and sugar;
- pour the washed watermelon greens into pieces with thick sugar liquid and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes;
- leave the pan for 7–8 hours, then repeat the cooking, add the rest of the liquid and sugar, boil, remove the container from the heat again;
- the third run is the final one. During cooking, the crusts should become translucent;
- Place the zest and grated pulp of citrus fruits in cheesecloth, lower into the boiling sweet mass, and boil for the third batch. The addition of grated peel and pulp gives watermelon rind jam a pleasant yellowish color and delicate aroma;
- remove the gauze bag with citrus fruits, package the finished product in small jars;
- Be sure to sterilize Euro-lids and containers in a convenient way. You can use not only screw lids, but also traditional tin lids, although threaded plates are much more convenient.
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In a slow cooker
Note to housewives:
- the preparation of watermelon pulp is the same as in the recipe with lemon;
- It’s convenient that the jam burns less in a multicooker; there is no heat in the kitchen from the stove being turned on when cooking desserts for a long time;
- proportions: 1 kg red sugar watermelon, 1.3 kg sugar, 1 tsp. lemon juice or acid, 200 g of water;
- first boil the syrup, then add cubes of watermelon pulp, set the “stewing” or “cooking” mode, time – 1 hour;
- during this period, stir the watermelon mass several times;
- some housewives add 3-4 mint leaves to a healthy dessert: the taste is beyond praise;
- 10 minutes before the end of the process, pour in lemon juice or add crystals - a natural preservative;
- Pour the hot product into 500 g jars. Watermelon jam in a slow cooker is an exquisite dessert of a pleasant color with a delicate, characteristic smell;
- be sure to sterilize jars and lids to avoid the development of rotting bacteria;
- A pantry or cellar is suitable for storing delicacies made from watermelon pulp.
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Video - recipe for making watermelon jam. This unusual delicacy is not difficult to prepare, it turns out fragrant, transparent and has a beautiful soft pink color: