How to prepare aromatic and tasty melon and orange jam for the winter
Jam is the most popular winter preparation made from fruits, berries or even vegetables. Cooking in its own juice with added sugar allows you to maintain the shape of the slices and improve the taste of the fruit. In this article we will reveal the secrets of making fragrant and tasty melon and orange jam in different ways.
Features of making jam and preparing products
The classic technology for making jam involves boiling products in concentrated sugar syrup. In this way, it is possible to create an environment that is harmful to bacteria and mold. The jars are sealed with airtight lids and additionally sterilized by steam. They can be stored at room temperature.
The second method of making jam eliminates cooking and sterilization. In this case, the amount of sugar is increased, the glass container is covered with parchment paper and sealed with lids. Store this jam in the refrigerator or cellar. The peculiarity of the cold preparation method is that the products retain their vitamins and beneficial properties.
Try melon jam or jam, and you will not be able to forget the taste of the aromatic delicacy. To prepare a tasty and healthy winter preparation from melon and oranges, turning it into a delicacy, choose fruits with dense and juicy pulp, not overripe, without cracks or signs of rot. Otherwise, the jam will look more like jam.
Before cutting, the fruits are washed with warm water. The melon is peeled, the core and seeds are removed, and the pulp is cut into pieces.To get thick jam, part of the pulp is pureed using a blender. There are equally delicious recipes for making jam from melon skins. To do this, they are pre-soaked in water with the addition of soda.
Advice. Before adding to the cooking mixture, oranges are peeled, since the zest gives unnecessary bitterness. The pulp is peeled from the partitions, if they are hard, and cut into pieces.
To enhance the taste of melon-orange jam, it is recommended to add nuts, honey, other berries, fruits, seeds, poppy seeds or sesame seeds. For example, lemon slices or lemon zest help highlight the taste of melon and make the jam richer.
Best Recipes
When choosing an option for making melon jam, it’s easy to get confused. There are a lot of recipes, and every housewife tries to improve the taste of the product by adding certain components.
Melon jam with citrus notes is especially popular. Slices of orange or lemon enrich the neutral taste of melon and add a slight sourness. This delicacy will appeal to lovers of unusual combinations.
Simple recipe
This is the simplest and most time-consuming jam recipe with a minimum set of ingredients.
You will need:
- melon pulp without rind - 2 kg;
- orange – 2 pcs.;
- water – 3 tbsp.;
- sugar – 2 kg.
Preparation:
- Cut the melon into pieces. If desired, use a curved knife for slicing.
- Place in an aluminum bowl and add sugar (500 g). Leave for two hours. During this time, the pulp will release a lot of juice.
- Make syrup from water and remaining sugar, boil and pour into a container with melon.
- Place on the stove and cook over low heat until it boils.
- Peel the oranges, cut the pulp into pieces and add to the melon. Cook the mixture for 10-15 minutes.
- Cool and serve or roll into jars in any usual way.
Melon jam with orange peels
Try making unusual jam with orange zest, which adds a rich citrus aroma without overpowering the taste of the melon.
You will need:
- melon pulp – 1.5 kg;
- sugar – 1.2 kg;
- liquid pectin – 125 ml;
- ginger (root) – 30 g;
- zest of three oranges.
Preparation:
- Wash the fruits, cut and remove seeds, remove the rind. Cut into arbitrary pieces.
- Pour in 600 g of granulated sugar and leave overnight.
- In the morning, pour the liquid into a saucepan, add the remaining sugar and bring to a boil.
- Place orange zest and ginger pieces in a cheesecloth bag and add to the boiling liquid. Transfer the melon to the syrup, add pectin, and cook until thick. Skim off the foam periodically - this will make the jam transparent. At the end of cooking, remove the bag and discard.
- The jam can be consumed immediately or poured into jars, sealed with tin lids.
There is another recipe for jam with orange peel. It will take longer to cook. To eliminate the bitterness that orange zest produces in the finished product, it must be properly prepared.
You will need:
- melon – 1 kg;
- sugar – 500 g;
- water – 500 ml;
- lemon juice – 1 tbsp. l.;
- orange – 3 pcs.
Preparation:
- Peel the oranges, leaving a minimum of the white part. Cut into strips and cover with cold water. Leave it overnight.
- Wash and peel the melon, cut into slices, cover with sugar and leave until morning. Soaking will remove the bitterness from the orange peel.
- In the morning, drain the water and twist the crusts into spirals, stringing them on a thread. You will get original beads.Place them in a saucepan, cover with cold water and cook for 15-20 minutes from the moment of boiling.
- Drain the boiling water and fill the crusts with cold water again. Repeat the procedure three more times.
- Now let's get to the syrup. Overnight, the melon pieces will have time to release juice. Pour it into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Remove the orange peels from the string and place in the syrup. Cook for 40 minutes, then add melon and lemon juice. Cook for another 10 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture into sterilized jars and seal with airtight lids.
This is interesting:
How to make delicious and healthy melon jam: the best recipes.
Early ripening yellow melon “Fairy Tale F1”: cultivation and care.
With orange and lemon
To make jam you will need:
- melon – 700 g;
- brown sugar – 130 g;
- lemon – 1 pc.;
- orange – 1 pc.;
- pectin (optional) – 1 tsp.
This recipe uses only citrus juice. You will need pectin if you want to get a product with a thicker consistency and reduce cooking time.
Advice. To squeeze more juice out of lemons and oranges, microwave the fruit for 30-40 seconds.
Preparation:
- Wash the melon, peel off the rind and remove the core. Cut into pieces, place in a saucepan and add a glass of cold water.
- Place on low heat. Mash the pulp with a masher or fork, leaving intact pieces.
- Add sugar, orange and lemon juice, cook until boiling. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
- Two minutes before readiness, add a pinch of salt and pectin, stirring vigorously.
- Pour the jam into jars and close the lids or serve after cooling.
Orange-melon jam with sesame seeds
Sesame in this recipe acts as a thickener and fills the delicacy with a subtle aroma.Jam is perfect as a filling for sweet open pies and buns, since it does not flow during baking.
You will need:
- melon – 800 g;
- sugar – 500 g;
- vanillin to taste;
- sesame – 30 g;
- orange – 1 pc.
Preparation:
- Wash the fruits and remove the peels. Cut the melon into cubes, divide the orange into slices, removing the partitions.
- Place everything in a saucepan and add sugar. Place on low heat, cook for 20-30 minutes. During the cooking process, the fruit will release juice.
- Add vanilla and sesame seeds, cook for another 15 minutes. Don't forget to stir the mixture periodically. Bring to a boil and turn off the stove.
- Pour into clean jars and seal with airtight lids.
From orange and melon in a slow cooker
Making jam in a slow cooker will take a minimum of time and effort, because the miracle technology will do everything for you.
You will need:
- melon – 1 kg;
- orange pulp – 400 g;
- water – 120 ml;
- sugar – 800 g.
Preparation:
- Wash the melon, remove the peel, remove the seeds and cut into pieces. Remove the skin from the orange and cut the pulp into cubes.
- Place the fruit in a bowl and add 200 g of sugar, wait for the juice to release.
- Pour water into the multicooker bowl, add fruit, and add juice. Add the remaining sugar and press the "Stew" button. Some models have a “Jam” program.
- Wait for the beep when cooking is complete. Check the thickness of the jam. If necessary, set the previous mode and boil to the desired thickness. Do not close the lid of the device - this will allow the moisture to evaporate faster.
- Pour the mixture into jars and close the lids. No additional sterilization is required.
How to prepare melon-orange jam for the winter
Any recipe for melon and citrus jam can be adapted to prepare for the winter.For this purpose, the method of additional sterilization is used. Cover the jars with lids and place them in a wide pan, with a waffle towel placed on the bottom. Sterilization time depends on the container. For a half-liter container, 10 minutes is enough.
More sugar is added to winter jam without sterilization, and the fruit mass is boiled to a thick consistency. Store in a cool place.
Prepare a delicious treat using a recipe that requires a minimum of ingredients.
You will need:
- melon pulp – 1 kg;
- sugar – 500 g;
- medium-sized orange - 1 pc.;
- natural vanilla in a pod.
Preparation:
- Prepare the fruits in the usual way, cut into pieces.
- Place them in a stainless steel or aluminum bowl and cover with sugar. Leave it overnight.
- In the morning, place the container on the stove and add orange juice. Cook for five minutes. Turn off the heat and let it brew until evening.
- Bring to a boil again, add vanilla, simmer for another 10 minutes and turn off.
- Pour into jars, cover with tin lids and place in a large container to sterilize for 10 minutes.
- Roll it up with a key, turn the container upside down and wrap it in a blanket.
Recipe without sterilization
You will need:
- melon – 1 kg;
- sugar – 800 g;
- water – 500 ml;
- a pinch of citric acid.
Preparation:
- Wash the melon, cut off the peel, remove the seeds and cut the pulp into pieces. Place in a bowl and cover with sugar overnight.
- In the morning, place on low heat, bring to a boil and cook for another 10 minutes. Leave to brew until evening.
- Repeat the boiling procedure again. And so on for two more days in a row.
- At the last stage of cooking, add citric acid, boil for another 10 minutes and pour into jars.
- Seal with airtight lids.
Useful tips and tricks
To prepare delicious melon jam without hassle and avoid unpleasant surprises in the form of exploded jars and spoiled food, use our tips:
- Get rid of the orange seeds during the cooking process, otherwise the jam will taste bitter.
- When slicing melons, use a shaped knife or a special small spoon that resembles a ball.
- Try replacing white granulated sugar with coconut sugar. It contains iron, zinc, sulfur and amino acids, which makes it much healthier. Depending on the processing method, the product tastes like caramel or nuts. 1 g refined sugar = 10 g coconut sugar.
- To sour the sugary jam, 15 minutes before the end of cooking, add sour lemon, cut into thin slices along with the zest.
- To keep jars of blanks longer, after sterilization, turn them upside down and cool under a blanket. Then move it to the pantry.
- To prepare the preparations, use utensils made of aluminum or stainless steel. In enamel bowls or pans, the mixture will burn to the bottom.
- A multicooker will help reduce cooking time to a minimum.
- To seal jars, use regular tin lids with threads or metal lids with a sealing key. Nylon lids are not suitable because air penetrates under them, which means that the product will be spoiled.
- Sterilize glass containers by microwave or steam before pouring jam.
Read also:
How to make simple and tasty jam from melon rinds.
Conclusion
Melon-orange jam, prepared according to any of the above recipes, will delight you with its rich taste and aroma. Citrus zest and pulp balance the sugary sweetness of the melon and add a sophisticated sour note. The preparations are used as an independent delicacy, added to tea and sweet pastries.