How to make delicious jam from unripe melon for the winter

Melon is a healthy and nutritious food product. When consumed regularly, it has a beneficial effect on the body: removes waste and toxins, relieves swelling, normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and strengthens the immune system. During the ripening season, melon is usually eaten raw: cut into slices, without peel. To increase the preservation of the fruit, the fruit pulp is dried, dried, and processed into jam.

Melon jam is considered a traditional dessert. His use as an independent sweet product, served with cottage cheese, pancakes, pancakes, and used as a filling for pies and cakes. Unripe melon fruits are ideal for harvesting. From the article you will learn the features of preparing jam for the winter from unripe melon, recipe options, what other products can it be combined with.

Is it possible to make jam from unripe melon?

Unripe fruit ideal for making jam. The fact is that during the cooking process, the unripe parts of the melon retain their shape and do not become soft. This jam has a heterogeneous consistency: it consists of syrup and individual pieces of fruit.

The taste of the melon is affected by the variety. For jam with a pronounced melon taste, choose varieties Medovaya, Kolkhoznitsa, Torpeda.

Cooking features

During cooking, some of the beneficial properties of melon are lost and the chemical composition changes.. To preserve vitamins, micro- and macroelements as much as possible, choose recipes where heat treatment time is minimized.

Prepare the melon thoroughly: wash with soapy water, rinse off the solution, and blot off any remaining water with a paper towel. Cut the fruit lengthwise into two halves, remove the seeds and peel.

For reference. Jam can also be made from melon peels.

Recipes for unripe melon jam for the winter

There are many recipe options for making unripe melon jam for the winter. Melon goes well with other fruits. Apples, lemons, oranges, bananas are ideal for a delicious sweet preparation.

So, recipes for melon jam:

Classical

Ingredients:

• water - 400 ml;
• fruit pulp - 1 kg;
• sugar - 1200 g;
• vanillin - 1 sachet;
• lemon - 1 pc. (can be replaced with 3 g of citric acid).

Recipe:

1. Peel the melon and cut into portions of any shape.
2. Place in boiling water for 5 minutes, then transfer to a colander to drain.
3. Prepare syrup from water, vanillin, juice of one lemon (or citric acid). If desired, you can add cinnamon, lemon zest, and anise stars.
4. Pour hot syrup over the melon pulp, cover with gauze, and leave for 6 hours at room temperature.
5. Place the container with the jam on the fire, and after boiling, cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Place the jam in sterile jars and preserve with metal lids.

With banana

This jam has a denser and more uniform consistency. Sweetness dominates in the recipe, but it is moderate, not cloying, diluted with the sour taste of citrus fruits.

Ingredients:

• unripe melon pulp - 1 kg;
• ripe bananas - 1 kg;
• lemon - 4 pcs.;
• sugar - 1.5 kg.

Recipe:

1. Peel the melon, cut into portions, sprinkle with sugar. Cover with gauze and leave in the room overnight.
2. In the morning, add the juice of one lemon, boil, simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes.
3. At this time, peel the bananas and cut into slices. Wash the lemons and cut into thin slices along with the zest. Add to melon. Simmer over low heat until the fruit is soft to form a puree mixture.
4. Place hot jam into glass jars. Cut circles out of paper according to the shape of the neck, dip in a strong alcoholic drink (vodka, cognac), place on top. Seal with metal lids. Store in a cool place.

Melon-orange jam

Orange gives the jam an original, pleasant taste and beautiful color. To prepare you will need:

• melon pulp - 1.5 kg;
• orange - 2-3 pcs.;
• sugar - 0.5 kg.

For the syrup:

• sugar - 1.5 kg;
• water - 700 g.

Recipe:

1. Cut the melon without peel into portioned pieces of arbitrary shape. Add sugar and leave for 5-6 hours (overnight possible) so that the fruits release their juice.
2. Prepare syrup from water and sugar. Pour the hot solution over the berries. Leave covered for 8-10 hours.
3. Cut the orange thinly, add to the melon pulp, and put on fire. After boiling, cook the jam over medium heat until thickened, stirring occasionally and skimming off the foam.
4. Pour hot jam into sterile dry jars and close with metal lids.

With lemon

The sweet flavor of the melon provides a wonderful contrast to the tartness of the lemon. Sweetness dominates the dessert, while citrus gives piquancy and balances the acidity. The lemon in this recipe can be replaced with lime, grapefruit or orange.

Ingredients:

• melon fruit pulp - 1 kg;
• lemon - 2 pcs.;
• sugar - 600-700 g.

How to make jam from unripe melon with lemon:

1. Cut the melon, peeled and seeded, into small slices, place in a clean, dry container, and cover with sugar. Leave for 4-6 hours.
2. After the berries release their juice, mix the melon pieces well and boil. Cook over low heat from the moment of boiling for 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
3. Leave in a cool place to cool for 6-8 hours, or overnight.
4. In the morning, add sliced ​​lemon along with the peel to the berries. Bring the mixture to a boil, simmer for 10-15 minutes.
5. After complete cooling, after 4-5 hours, boil the jam for the last time for 5-10 minutes, pour into glass jars for further storage.

With watermelon

Melon and watermelon They combine perfectly in taste and complement each other. In addition, watermelon is a good diuretic, has anti-inflammatory, restorative properties, removes waste and toxins, and promotes weight loss. Melon-watermelon jam in moderation is an excellent alternative for those who have a sweet tooth without worrying about their figure.

To prepare the dessert, you will need not fruit pulp, but melon and watermelon rinds in an amount of 500 g each. Other ingredients: 600 ml of water, 400 g of granulated sugar.

Recipe:

1. Cut the peel off the melon and watermelon rinds in a thin layer and cut into cubes.
2. Blanch the peels in boiling water for five minutes, then strain off the excess liquid through a colander.
3. Prepare syrup from water and sugar. Pour the boiling solution over the fruit. Leave covered for 6-8 hours, or overnight.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, cool for 3-4 hours. Then boil again and cool, and so on four times.
5. After the jam boils for the last time, remove from heat, pour into dry, sterile jars, and seal.Turn the jars upside down and wrap them in a warm blanket until they cool completely.

In a slow cooker

The product preparation stage does not change. Peel the unripe melon pulp, remove the seeds, cut into portions to yield 1 kg. Add 500 g of granulated sugar. Leave for 4 hours so that the melon releases its juice.

Next, grind one lemon and its peel through a meat grinder and add it to the melon pulp. Stir the lemon-melon mixture and place on the fire until it boils. Place the hot mixture into the multicooker bowl and set the “Baking” mode for 40 minutes. Cook with the lid open so that the water evaporates and the fruits retain their integrity and shape.

Tips and tricks on the topic

How to choose the right melon, what external signs to pay attention to? Ideally, the fruits will be grown independently, without the use of pesticides. Then you can be confident in the quality and usefulness of the product. If a person purchases fruit in stores, it is important to correctly assess their quality and ripeness.

Advice. Experts recommend buying melons near the field where they grew. At the same time, pay attention to storage conditions. Points of sale should be under a canopy, berries should be stored in special pallets, 20 cm above ground level.

The unripe fruit is large, but not heavy, spherical in shape or slightly elongated towards the base, without cuts, cracks, or signs of damage by pests, with a pronounced aroma of vanilla, pineapple, honey, pear. An unripe fruit has a fresh green stalk; a dry stalk indicates that the melon is ripe.

Before preparing jam from unripe melon for the winter, take note of useful tips and life hacks from experienced housewives:

1. Regarding the creation of portioned pieces.You can make the chopped fruit pulp beautiful and original using a knife with a figured blade.
2. Melon jam can be stored at temperatures from +5 to +20 °C for no more than two years.
3. If the jam is sugared, just heat the jar in boiling water to dissolve the sugar.
4. If mold or mildew has formed on the surface, conservation will cause bad smell - You can’t use this kind of jam.
5. To destroy bacterial spores and prevent fermentation and mold, it is necessary to use sterilized jars and lids. Dishes are sterilized in a convenient way: in the oven, microwave, or using steam.
6. Thick jam will last longer. To do this, the ingredients must be boiled several times, maintaining an interval of 4-6 hours after each cooking.
7. The readiness of the melon is determined by the color of the fruit: they will become transparent and the syrup will be thick.
8. Spices such as cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, and anise help add a piquant taste to the jam. They need to be added very little so as not to interrupt the aroma of melon.
9. Peaches, apples, pears, pineapple, raspberries, red rowan, and strawberries are added to melon jam.
10. Sugar in the recipe can be replaced with honey. Such jam will be more beneficial for the human body without compromising its taste.

Conclusion

Unripe melon jam is a tasty and healthy delicacy. It contains no components harmful to the human body, but it is recommended to use it in moderation.

This kind of jam is difficult to spoil, it is prepared quickly and simply, and does not require any special culinary skills. A wide variety of recipes will allow you to choose the most delicious option for you and your family.