Simple recipes for canning melon like pineapple in jars for the winter

Fragrant melon jam for the winter

A simple recipe for this sweet will preserve the enchanting melon aroma and its honey taste and will not take much of your time and effort. To get jam-like jam, choose the most ripe melon; for classic jam, slightly unripe, hard varieties are suitable.

The standard ratio of melon to sugar is 1:0.5. That is, for 1 kilogram of melon you need 500 grams of sugar. You can also add bananas for thickness, and lemon zest for flavor.

Recipe five: spicy salting

The syrup in this recipe is prepared with the addition of port wine and table spices, which gives the original melon aroma and extraordinary taste of the preserve. Gourmets will appreciate the presentation of such a dish at the table.

• two medium melons;
• several cloves;
• 500 ml water;
• 250 ml port wine;
• cinnamon (powder) - 1 tbsp. l. (or 1 stick);
• vanilla bean - 1 pc. (or a bag of vanilla powder).

Wash the melon and use a special spoon to cut the pulp into balls. Place cloves, granulated sugar, cinnamon and vanilla stick into a saucepan with water. After boiling, the syrup is boiled until the sugar crystals dissolve.

Then put the chopped balls into the same pan and pour in the wine. Turning off the heat, cover the pan with a lid and allow the melon balls to soak in the original syrup. This process takes 15 minutes.

The balls are removed with a slotted spoon into a separate container, and the syrup is boiled again. The balls are placed in the thickened syrup and kept until it cools completely.

Using a sterile slotted spoon, place the melon mugs into prepared sterile jars and fill them with syrup. The next step is sterilization for 30 minutes in boiling water. After this, remove, preserve and put on shelves for storage.

Read also: Melon liqueur: how to prepare it correctly and what to drink with it

Step by step description

1. Remove peel and seeds from well-washed and dried melon.
2. Cut the pulp into medium-sized pieces, add sugar and leave for half an hour.
3. Add zest and bananas to the melon and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, close the lid and turn off the gas.
4. After cooling completely, bring to a boil again and cook for 5-7 minutes.
5. Cool the finished jam completely and distribute into jars.

Agree, a rather simple recipe for melon jam for the winter? And most importantly, a very tasty and aromatic dessert will please even the most spoiled sweet tooth.

Terms and conditions of storage

The shelf life of this preparation for the winter is shorter than that of “classic” melon jam. The characteristic aroma of pineapple lasts for 6-9 months, the taste and benefits last for up to a year. Optimal conditions are temperature 12-15 ºС, air humidity up to 70%, protection from direct sunlight.

That is, you can store melon like pineapple not only in the refrigerator. The jars are put away in the cellar, basement, glassed-in loggia, pantry. At room temperature, the “shelf life” is reduced to 1.5-2 months. If it falls below zero, the defrosted preparation for the winter loses its typical pineapple pulp consistency, taste and aroma.

Only melon will be preserved for a long time if it is placed in thoroughly washed and sterilized jars and closed with disinfected lids. It is equally important to cool it properly. Having rolled up the containers, they are immediately turned upside down and covered with a blanket. In this form they should cool completely. Only after this cans can be transferred to a place of permanent storage.

Amber jam recipe

To prepare a tender, homogeneous jam, you will need a kilogram of melon, one and a half kilograms of sugar, a little vanillin, citric acid and fresh ginger. As for classic jam, the melon is peeled and cut into pieces. Only in the case of jam, you need to cut it as finely as possible or even grind it in a meat grinder or grind it in a blender. Yes, it will take a little longer than we would like, but the result will eclipse all memories of the troubles.

The grated melon is mixed with sugar and left for half an hour to release the juice. After this, add citric acid, vanillin and ginger and boil for no more than ten minutes. The jam is cooled and placed in sterilized jars.

Recipe with ginger

This recipe is for lovers of bright, rich taste. Preservation will differ from ordinary jam or preserves with special flavor accents; gourmets will appreciate this preparation.

Ingredients for 2 half-liter jars:

• 1 medium sized melon;
• 100 grams of granulated sugar;
• 2 pieces of ginger (fresh root);
• a few grains of citric acid;
• water.

Preparation and canning of melon with ginger:

1. Rinse the melon. Carefully cut it into two parts, and then cut into slices. Make several cross cuts on each slice. Then it will be easy to cut the pulp from the rind. As a result, the product will be cut into medium-sized cubes.
2. Peel the ginger root using a vegetable peeler. Now you can cut off several small slices.
3. Wash and sterilize the jars, place pieces of ginger on the bottom, then fill the glass container with melon pulp. Sprinkle everything with granulated sugar, do not forget to add citric acid to each jar.
4. Pour boiling water up to the shoulders, leaving a little space for air in the jars.
5. Place the filled glass container into a large saucepan, the bottom of which is covered with thick cloth.
6. Pour enough warm water into the pan so that the level reaches the hangers of the jars. Please note that the temperature of the liquid in the glass container and in the pan should be almost the same.
7. Bring the water in the pan to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cover the jars with sterile lids. Sterilize the workpiece for 7 minutes.
8. Now complete the canning by sealing each jar with a key.
9. Wrap the workpiece in a blanket, placing the cans upside down. After complete cooling, the preservation can be transferred to the pantry for storage.

Melon prepared in this way has a special aroma and delicate taste. It can be used as a filling for baked goods and a variety of desserts.

Amazing golden berry jam

In all the recipes, you probably noticed that only the peeled pulp of ripe berries is used. Have you ever tried jam made from melon crusts? If not, we strongly advise you to enjoy this dessert.

For such a dessert you will need hard melon crusts, from which the skin is peeled off in a very thin layer. The crusts are cut into small cubes, covered with sugar in equal proportions and left for several hours to release the juice.

Boil the finished mass over low heat for literally 7-8 minutes, until the melon pieces look like marmalade. The jam is cooled and boiled again for 5 minutes to thicken. When hot, it is placed in sterilized jars and sealed.

Fragrant melon compote

Another simple way to prepare melon for the winter is to cook compote. The fragrant and sweet drink is much tastier and healthier than any juice from the store. The recipe for melon compote for the winter is quite simple. To begin, a kilogram of melon must be peeled, seeds removed and cut into large pieces. In a separate bowl, boil syrup from a liter of water, 500 grams of sugar and a teaspoon of citric acid. The syrup cooking time should not exceed 10 minutes. Melon pieces are added to the syrup and boiled in it for several minutes. The finished melon is placed on the bottom of the jars and filled with hot syrup. The jars are sterilized and sealed. That's all - melon compote is ready for the winter! Jars of compote are cooled and stored.

Selection and preparation of main ingredients

There are often only a few popular varieties of juicy berries on sale. It is recommended to select weighty, elongated fruits. This variety is better suited for preservation and long-term storage.

You need to be guided by volume - the largest fruits are much sweeter.

Sometimes you may encounter a problem when cooking - the melon quickly loses its shape and becomes mushy. To prevent this from happening, it is better to choose fruits with orange flesh. They are much harder and denser. For winter harvesting, berries that are not too ripe or varieties with fibrous and loose pulp are suitable. The melon needs to be brushed, cut into slices and seeds removed.

Canned melon for the winter

An excellent option for preparing melon, which will taste like canned pineapple. The process of preserving melon for the winter is similar to preparing compote from it. Peeled and chopped melon is placed tightly in jars and poured with boiling sweet syrup. Syrup for preservation is prepared according to a fairly standard recipe - from sugar, water and citric acid. You can determine the proportions yourself, to your taste. It all depends on how sweet the melon is and what concentration of sugar you prefer in juices and compotes. Jars of melon filled with hot syrup are sterilized and rolled up. This canned melon for the winter will not only be a delicious dessert, but also an excellent ingredient for salads.

Secrets of cooking melon like pineapple

The characteristic aroma and delicate taste of melon does not require the addition of other products when canning. Combining yellow fruits with fruits or berries can easily drown out their natural smell and delicate taste. Therefore, melon is most often prepared separately in jars.

Important! The sweet fruit is very reminiscent of pineapple, which they try to emphasize with the help of additional ingredients.

When canned for the winter, melons go well with various spices. By adding cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, and cloves, you can get new shades of taste in familiar preparations.

General principles for preparing melon like pineapple for the winter in jars:

1. The quality of the starting products has a direct impact on the taste of the finished dessert. For winter preparations with pineapple flavor, only fully ripened melons are suitable: sweet, dense, without softened areas. Overripe specimens are left for other desserts that require a viscous consistency.
2. Varieties with large, elongated fruits (like “Torpedo”), when stored in jars, give the best taste. For desserts stored for the winter, it is often recommended to choose melons with orange flesh, as they are denser and hold their shape better when cooked. Such fruits are not suitable for a complete imitation of pineapple, although the taste is also difficult to distinguish when tasting.
3. Glass, metal utensils and all kitchen utensils that come into contact with food must be sterilized. It is convenient to disinfect jars in a hot oven or by pouring boiling water over them. Metal, plastic, glass lids are also sterilized.
4. The shelf life of preparations in jars depends on compliance with all stages of preparation, adherence to the proportions of recipes and the quality of preparation of raw materials.

Advice! If it is impossible to ensure optimal storage conditions, desserts must be pasteurized.

For heat treatment, small jars are placed in a bowl with boiling water for 15 minutes, containers of about 1 liter capacity - for 20 minutes. Large glass cylinders (about 3 liters) are sterilized in about half an hour.

Melon in a spicy marinade

Quite an unusual way of preparing this sweet berry for the winter. It is unusual due to the addition of spices and vinegar to the sweet marinade. This is what gives melon its special piquancy and unusualness. For marinade for ten half-liter jars you will need one and a half liters of water, half a kilo of sugar, two tablespoons of vinegar essence. In each jar you need to place a couple of black peppercorns, cloves and a pinch of cinnamon. Melon pieces are boiled in boiling water for several minutes and placed in jars. The syrup is boiled from water and sugar for ten minutes, to which vinegar is later added. The marinade is poured into jars, after which they, along with the contents, are sterilized and sealed.

Freezing

Do you like to freeze berries, fruits and vegetables for the winter? Then you've probably wondered at least once whether it's possible to freeze melon for the winter? Of course you can! But this method of preparing melon for the winter has its own nuances.

• For freezing, varieties with dense pulp are selected, which are less susceptible to losing their appetizing appearance after defrosting.
• The melon is cut into portions and frozen on plates or trays. For best quality frozen food, keep a small distance between cut pieces. This way they will freeze faster, which will preserve all the vitamins and nutrients.
• Frozen pieces are stored in special bags or plastic containers with a tight-fitting lid.

Frozen melon is used for various cocktails and smoothies. Once defrosted, it is ready to eat, despite a slight loss of appearance.

Juicy melon sorbet at home

A great way to preserve all the best qualities of melon is by making homemade sorbet. The result is delicious homemade ice cream, which is made from absolutely natural ingredients with your own hands.

First you need to cook the syrup from a glass of sugar and a glass of water. Chilled syrup, melon pieces (about four cups of pulp) and a little citrus zest are crushed in a blender to a smooth puree. The finished mass is placed in containers and frozen. As it freezes, you need to stir the sorbet so that it freezes evenly and pieces of ice do not form.

To obtain a more delicate taste, you can add cream and vanillin to the sorbet before freezing. This way you will get a real melon ice cream, made with your own hands.

Melon for the winter in its own juice

Melon prepared in its own juice is considered no less tasty. This method allows you to preserve the taste and aroma of melon in an undiluted form. This recipe requires ripe juicy melon, sugar and citric acid. For a kilogram of sugar, take 3-4 kilograms of melon and a couple of teaspoons of citric acid. Pieces of peeled and seeded melon are covered with sugar and left for several hours. The ideal option would be to leave the melon under sugar all night - this will give more juice. As soon as enough syrup is formed, the melon is boiled in juice with the addition of citric acid for literally five minutes, placed in jars and canned. Before preservation, all jars and lids are thoroughly sterilized.

Recipe six: without boiling

This is the fastest method of canning. Despite the fact that without sterilization it takes less time to prepare, this does not affect the shelf life.

• melon - 0.5 kg;
• 2 liters of clean drinking water;
• lemon - 0.5 pcs.;
• 200 g sugar.

Cut melon cubes into 2 cm pieces, heat the water to boiling and add them there. Boil for 3 minutes and add the juice squeezed from half a lemon to the pan. Then add sugar and cook for about a quarter of an hour. Pour everything into sterile jars and seal with airtight lids. Then turn the jars over and let them cool completely. Now you can take the twist for storage.

Dried melon

You can dry the melon for the winter. More precisely, it is dried. Not many varieties are suitable for this, namely: “torpedo”, “collective farmer” and “gulyabi”. First, the melon is allowed to ripen for several days at room temperature. Then peel, remove the seeds and cut into thin slices. The thickness of such strips should not be more than four centimeters. The cut melon slices are hung on ropes or wires in a well-ventilated room. This drying process lasts at least two weeks, provided that the slices are constantly turned over for better ventilation. Thanks to the uniform evaporation of moisture, the weight of the melon will decrease by about 10-12 times compared to the original.

Ready dried melon slices are quite elastic, which allows them to be braided for convenient and aesthetic storage. Dried melon can also be stored in glass jars with airtight lids.

Dried melon makes very tasty and healthy natural candies. Simply roll the dried slice into a ball and roll it in sesame seeds or ground nuts. Melon and nut rolls are delicious. You will definitely surprise your family and guests with these homemade sweets.

The benefits of melon preparations

Did you know that melon is not only sweet and fragrant, but also an incredibly healthy berry? In this section we will talk about how valuable melon preparations for the winter are. After all, it can be consumed not only fresh, but also preserve all the vitamins and microelements almost all year round.

Vitamins A, PP, B1 and B2 are what melon is rich in. It is also ahead of lemons and oranges in terms of vitamin C content. In terms of the amount of iron, melon is 17 times higher than milk. And thanks to the high content of potassium and magnesium, the melon diet is indicated for people suffering from rheumatism, anemia and diseases of the joints, kidneys and liver.

The pulp of this fragrant berry contains a large amount of starch, pectin, fiber and mineral salts. The high silicon content in melon fruits helps improve the condition of facial skin and increase brain activity.

Just a couple of slices of this ripe berry can instantly lift your mood. All this is thanks to substances that promote the production of the “happiness hormone” - serotonin.