How to make jam from watermelon pulp: recipes for delicious and aromatic desserts
Juicy, sweet, fresh - all this is about watermelon. You don't have to wait until summer to enjoy its taste. Clever housewives make jam and jelly from watermelon pulp, and soft candied fruits from the peels. Even the remains of watermelon syrup are used in cooking. Surprised? Next, we will look at several ways to turn watermelon into a year-round delicacy, give the best jam recipes and reveal little cooking tricks.
Best Watermelon Jam Recipes
All recipes given in the article can be changed at your discretion. The main thing is to follow the basic principles of cooking and the ratio of ingredients: pulp, water and sugar. But you can improvise with spices.
Thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, vanillin, ginger and cloves go well with watermelon.. For fruit combinations, you can take apples, oranges, lemon or melon. Strawberries and blueberries also go well with watermelon flavors.
Watermelon jam is a great addition to baked goods or a loaf, and some people like to eat it simply with a spoon, washed down with tea.
Interesting! Our housewives love watermelon jam, and in China and African countries watermelon is dried, dried and fried.
Watermelon jam with lemon
The recipe is very simple. The above products should yield two 200 ml jars.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of watermelon pulp;
- 1 kg sugar;
- 1 tsp. lemon zest;
- 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice.
Preparation:
- Remove the seeds from the watermelon pulp and cut into pieces of any size.
- Place in a saucepan. Add lemon juice and zest.
- Add sugar. Leave for 40-60 minutes.
- Cook over low heat for an hour.
- Puree the resulting mass. You can use an immersion blender for this.
- Place the prepared jam into jars.
Jam from pulp and crusts
The crusts in this jam acquire a pleasant structure and aroma.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of watermelon rinds;
- 1 kg pulp;
- 2.5 kg of sugar;
- 1 tbsp. water;
- 1 medium lemon.
Preparation:
- Rinse the watermelon thoroughly, as the rinds will go into food.
- Cut into small pieces, removing seeds.
- Place the chopped rinds and pulp into two separate bowls.
- Pour water over the pulp and place on low heat.
- Grate the zest from the lemon.
- When the watermelon pieces are soft, drain the water into a separate pan.
- Pour 1 kg of sugar and zest into it. Boil. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Pour the syrup back into the pulp. Cook until thickened.
- Peel the crusts from the top peel. Add the remaining sugar and leave in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
- Put on fire and cook for 20 minutes.
- Cut the remaining lemon without zest into small pieces and add to the peels. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Let it sit for 4 hours and put it back on the stove. Cook for 15 minutes from the moment of boiling. The crusts should become transparent and slightly golden.
- Pour the jam into jars.
Important! Watermelon consists almost entirely of water, the remaining 10% is sucrose, glucose and vitamins. Thickening watermelon juice during cooking it is possible thanks to sugar and thickeners. Adding crusts also thickens the consistency.
Watermelon with rosemary
This recipe makes a spicy and very unusual jam.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 kg watermelon;
- 3 tsp. dried rosemary;
- 20 g pectin;
- zest from two lemons;
- 1.5 kg of sugar.
Preparation:
- Remove the seeds from the watermelon pulp, cut into arbitrary pieces and puree. Place in a saucepan.
- Add the zest to the mixture.
- Place rosemary in a gauze sachet. Tie firmly. This is necessary so that it gives off its aroma, and not pieces of grass, which then have to be caught from the jam. Place the sachet in a saucepan.
- Mix pectin with 2 tbsp. l. Sahara. Add to watermelon.
- Put the mixture on fire. Bring to a boil and add the remaining sugar.
- Cook for 3 minutes.
- Pour dessert into jars.
- After two weeks, the jam will reach the desired consistency and will be ready for use.
Important! You need to cook for no more than 3 minutes, otherwise the pectin will lose its gelling properties. Subsequent sterilization is also not suitable in this case.
Jam with gelatin
Using a thickener allows you to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe. Lemon juice can be replaced with ¼ tsp. citric acid.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 kg watermelon;
- 1 tbsp. water;
- 1 tbsp. Sahara;
- 25 g edible gelatin;
- juice from half a lemon;
- 1 sprig of thyme;
- 1 g vanillin.
Preparation:
- Cut the pulp into small pieces. Remove seeds.
- Add ½ part of sugar and leave for 3-4 hours.
- Pour water into the pan and add the remaining sugar. Boil.
- Place the watermelon and juice into the pan. Cook for 15-20 minutes over low heat.
- Cool to room temperature.
- Place the resulting jam in a colander to drain excess moisture.
- Pour gelatin into the cooled syrup and let it swell.
- At this time, add thyme and vanillin to the fruit pieces. Grind into a homogeneous mass in a blender.
- Mix the resulting mass, lemon juice and frozen syrup in an enamel bowl and put on fire. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Pour the jelly into jars. Cool completely.
- After 3 hours the jelly will harden and be ready for use.
Advice. Excess drained syrup can be saved: it is good for soaking cake or roll layers.
Watermelon with agar-agar
This recipe uses a plant-based gelatin substitute.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. finely chopped watermelon pulp;
- 10 basil leaves;
- ¾ tbsp. Sahara;
- 2 tbsp. boiled water;
- 3 tsp. agar-agar.
Preparation:
- Wash the basil, place in a blender bowl and blend with 125 ml of water.
- Pour the remaining water into a small saucepan. Add sugar and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour agar-agar into the hot syrup. Mix thoroughly until the thickener is completely dissolved.
- Add the basil and water mixture to the syrup. Place in the refrigerator.
- When the liquid begins to harden, mix it with watermelon cubes.
- Pour the dessert into molds or into a jar.
- Place in the refrigerator until the confiture has completely hardened.
Watermelon jam in a slow cooker
The most convenient option, as it does not require constant supervision. You can add spices if desired.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of watermelon pulp;
- 1 kg sugar.
Preparation:
- Cut the watermelon into small pieces, removing the seeds.
- Add sugar and let stand for 2 hours.
- Place the mixture into the multicooker bowl.
- Set the “Stewing” program, cooking time - 60 minutes.
Read also:
How to make pumpkin jam correctly.
A tasty and healthy treatment with natural ingredients - pumpkin and honey for the liver.
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.
Conclusion
Making jam from watermelon pulp is very simple. This results in an original dessert that will definitely surprise everyone. Don't be afraid to experiment and try new combinations with spices and fruits.Use agar-agar or gelatin, make aromatic jam based on pulp or with the addition of peels - there are many recipes, and the watermelon beloved by many is almost impossible to spoil.