Watermelon is unsweetened. Watermelon blanks: what can be prepared for the winter not only from watermelon pulp, but also from peels

Decided to apply a watermelon diet or just love watermelon? Then you will be interested to learn about the dishes that can be prepared from it. By itself, the pulp of a watermelon is amazing delicious treat, but I didn’t know, for example, that it can be used somehow else than just cut into pieces. During the watermelon season, I tried to cook something, I concluded: any watermelon dishes are healthy, simple, fast, tasty, unusual and beautiful!

Yours will pass faster and more fun if you try to cook various dishes from watermelon (there are not so many of them, but still better than eating the same thing every day in the same form). What people didn’t come up with to do with watermelon pulp - from simple drinks, ice cream and fruit "sandwiches" to savory fried and savory snack dishes.

Watermelons are salted, pickled, preserved, jams are made from it, marmalade, candied fruits, marshmallows, mousses, jelly, desserts are made from it. chocolate icing and coconut flakes, prepare cold soups-puree or gazpacho, stuffing for pancakes and pies. "Fried watermelon" sounds and looks unusual, such watermelon dishes taste amazing too: "kebab" under a sweet crust with a light smoky aroma - a juicy and crispy middle.

Variety of watermelon dishes

Watermelon dishes are especially well combined with cheese (both hard varieties and soft ones, for example, Feta, as well as cottage cheese, low-fat cheese mass). Those who love sweets, but cannot afford pastries and pastries, will like it, with such a dessert you are not in danger of a catastrophic weight gain.

Here are some watermelon dishes that can be prepared very quickly and easily.

Roasted Watermelon Salad with Grilled Cheese and Mint

What is needed for the recipe:

watermelon (remove the seeds) - 8 small slices;
olive or refined sunflower oil- 2 tablespoons;
lime juice - 3 tablespoons;
Feta cheese - 100 g;
mint leaves (fresh) - about a handful;
greens (cress salad, arugula, lettuce) - 1 plate;
pumpkin seeds (raw or roasted) - 1 tablespoon;
salt, pepper - to your taste.

Cooking process

We heat the grill, dry the watermelon with a paper kitchen towel, put the slices on the grill grate.
Fry on both sides (a couple of minutes on each side), turn over if necessary, so as not to burn, put on a large flat plate sprinkled with lightly chopped herbs.
Mix the oil with lime juice, salt, pour the fried watermelon slices on top. Add chopped cheese on top, sprinkle with pepper, pumpkin seeds, decorate with mint - a refreshing watermelon dish is ready.

Watermelon dessert with cottage cheese

Curd dishes with watermelon are easy to digest, easy to prepare, they will definitely appeal to both adults and children (even those who do not really like cottage cheese). By the way, if in curd mass add spices, salt, spicy herbs to taste, you get a savory snack.

Required products:

watermelon pulp - 0.5 kg;
cottage cheese (soft, not dry, low-fat) or ready-made curd (cheese mass) - 0.3-0.4 kg;
sugar, honey, jam, fresh fruits or crushed berries - to taste);
vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
mint greens, berries or fruits for decoration.

Cooking process

From the pulp of the watermelon we cut out cubes or sticks (you can use special curly molds with a hollow center, if there is none, then with a knife or spoon we make a recess for the curd filling).
We combine cottage cheese with vanilla, sugar (if desired - fruits, honey, jam), knead into a homogeneous soft mass with a fork or blender. If ready-made purchased curd or curd mass, then we use it immediately for the filling.
We form a dish of watermelon: put the pulp on a plate, fill the indentations with cottage cheese, decorate with mint, fruits or berries, cool in the refrigerator.

Salad of watermelon, ham and grain cottage cheese

Another unusual recipe dishes - with ham, in original recipe they advise Parma, I did it several times with different types ham, the tastiest thing really comes out with dry-cured ham, only the secret lies in thin cut ham, the thinner the better).

Product set:

watermelon pulp - 0.5 kg;
ham (raw-cured) - 100-150 g;
grain cottage cheese - 3 tablespoons;
mint - a few leaves;
olive oil - 1 tablespoon;
salt - a small pinch;
lemon juice - 1 teaspoon;
ground black pepper - on the tip of a knife.

Cooking:

We take out the pulp of the watermelon with an ice cream spoon (to form balls) or cut into small portioned pieces.
We throw the cottage cheese into a colander, let all the liquid drain.
Ham, if it is bought in a piece, and not in ready-made slices, we cut it into very thin slices (dishes to which dry-cured ham is added only benefit from this).
Prepare dressing: mix lemon juice with salt, pepper, oil.
Put balls or pieces of watermelon in a salad bowl along with cottage cheese and ham, pour dressing, decorate with mint, cool before serving.

Watermelon and tomato salad

Bright vitamin dishes are a charge of positive and health. Minimum calories, but maximum taste. The watermelon and tomato in this salad is toned down with tender cheese. At the same time, others summer vegetables will also be appropriate on the table along with this salad, it can be as an independent dish or serve as a side dish for meat or fish.

What are we preparing from:

cucumber (peeled) - 1 pc.;
red onion (cut into half rings) - 1 pc.;
tomato - 3 pcs. (cut into pieces)
watermelon pulp (remove the bones, cut into pieces) - 1 plate;
Bulgarian pepper of any color (grind into cubes) - 1 pc.;
soft cheese (cut into small cubes, it is better to put soft cheeses, cheese or cottage cheese in watermelon dishes) - 200 g;
olive oil or other vegetable oil - 3-4 tablespoons;
wine vinegar (3 tablespoons);
salt - a pinch (or to your taste);
black pepper (grind peas) - ¼ teaspoon;
mint leaves (fresh, finely chopped) - 1 handful.

Cooking process:

First, prepare the dressing: combine salt, pepper, vinegar, vegetable oil in a separate bowl, beat the ingredients thoroughly.
Next, remove the seeds from the cucumber, cut into thin strips.
In a deep bowl, place the cucumber, onion half rings, chopped tomatoes, watermelon, bell pepper, cheese, mint. Pour in the dressing, mix gently, put in a salad bowl, serve immediately.

Cold watermelon soup

Almost all watermelon dishes come out low in calories. Soups can be both sweet (fruit and berry) and savory with the addition of vegetables (with salt, seasonings, spices, herbs).

Food set for 4 servings:

watermelon pulp - 500 g;
tomatoes - 800 g;
zucchini (small young zucchini, without seeds) - 1 pc.;
cucumbers - 2 pcs.;
basil (leaves) - 5 pcs.;
lemon juice - 2 tablespoons;
salt - ½ teaspoon;
green onions - a few feathers;
celery (fresh, grated) - a third of a teaspoon.

How to cook:

Beat 400 g of watermelon pulp in a blender at low speed, put the mass in a deep plate.
Beat with a blender 1 cucumber, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, lemon juice, salt. Pour the mixture into the watermelon puree.
Cut the remaining 100 g of watermelon together with the cucumber into small cubes, combine with the rest of the whipped products.
Finely chop the green onion, sprinkle with celery, cover tightly with cling film, leave for half an hour in the refrigerator.

This is very unusual dish from watermelon, for an amateur. Not everyone likes the taste of celery, you can put your favorite spices instead. But sweet watermelon dishes will surely please both the child and the adult, try to cook

Desserts and drinks from watermelon

Watermelon cocktail with strawberry and banana

The recipe is quite simple: mix 300 g of watermelon, 200 g of strawberries, 1 banana in a blender bowl. You will get a nutritious, very tasty mixture. The amount of ingredients can be changed to your liking, you can even add something of your own.

For example, my friend added some sour cream or cream and froze, it turned out homemade popsicles. I have not yet conducted such an experiment, but I will certainly try it next watermelon season.

If you are on a diet, then the cocktail mixture can be frozen without increasing nutritional value dishes of additives, it will turn out fruit ice or ice cream sherbet (depending on the products in the recipe). However, it should be remembered that mousses, smoothies, cocktails and ice cream are watermelon dishes that will help you move the diet without starvation and not exceed the daily calorie content of the menu only in case of moderate consumption.

You can invent your own watermelon dishes, improvise, and then treat your friends and family. Recipes with vegetables, salt and pepper, of course, are not for everyone, but with fruits and berries it’s hard to make a mistake, it will certainly turn out delicious. Bon appetit and harmony!

At the end of summer comes the time for watermelons. This is the largest and most beloved by many berries. Unfortunately, the watermelon season is too short - just a couple of months and it is over. But even in winter, among snowdrifts, frosts and blizzards, one wants not just to remember a warm summer, but to feast on a piece of fragrant watermelon. And there is such an opportunity - you can make watermelon blanks and then serve them when you want to immerse yourself in summer memories.

Basic rules for choosing berries and preparing for work

But before you start preparing for the winter, you need to remember a few important rules. Only their observance will allow you to choose the right watermelon, which will become the basis of the taste and aroma of future blanks.

Unripe watermelon is suitable for blanks

If a watermelon is chosen for salting, it is necessary that it be intact, medium-sized and slightly underripe. If you do the opposite, then in the winter there will be a jelly-like mass in the banks. The optimal weight of each fruit is up to 2 kg.
Cracks on the surface of a watermelon are evidence that it is an overripe fruit. You should not buy those fruits on the peel of which there are dents, dark spots - this product is not suitable for harvesting. If a piece of such a fruit gets into the jar, it will be possible to throw away the entire jar, since the taste will hopelessly deteriorate.
For salting, you can use only berries with pink pulp. Those that have a sugar crumbly middle are not suitable either.
It is best to give preference to thin-skinned berries.

Well, now a few tips from experienced hostesses regarding the process of harvesting:

Berries should always be thoroughly washed, even if they seem clean.
When piercing the crust (if indicated in the recipe), it is necessary to ensure that the punctures are located symmetrically.
Salt for blanks must be chosen only not iodized.
When salting, watermelons should be completely covered with marinade.

Features and types of blanks

A variety of blanks can be made from watermelon - it can be:

wet;
preserve;
marinate;
salt;
to cook jam, confiture.

Of course, every housewife is primarily interested in the question - how to ferment watermelons. This can be done in several ways, but regardless of the type of recipe, the initial fermentation process should not be longer than two to three days. Then the container (usually a barrel) with watermelons must be transferred to a cool place and stored there until it is empty. If you leave watermelons warm, they will turn sour very quickly.

If you follow all the tips, then the watermelons will retain their shape and remain intact all the time, and they will have excellent taste.

soaked watermelon

Workpiece with pricking

They pierce the skin of watermelons so that lactic acid fermentation takes place faster. To do this, you need to pierce the berry with a wooden skewer. It is best to make no more than 10-12 punctures. The fruits prepared in this way are placed in a container, covered with a lid on top.

Now you need to prepare a solution of salt (0.6 kg of salt per 10 liters of water). Using the tongue hole, pour the brine into the container. Store at 20°C for two or three days, then transfer to a place where the temperature is constant - from 2 to 8-10°C. Add brine, close tightly. After two or three weeks, you can taste the taste of the workpiece.

Workpiece without pricking

Pour sand into the bottom of the prepared tub. Layer - about 10 cm. Lay watermelons on it. Sprinkle sand on top and lay the fruits again. When the tub is full, pour in the brine prepared as in the previous recipe.

Salting in jars

For such a preparation, it is necessary to take red berries. The main thing is that they are not overripe. Each fruit must be cut on both sides, divided into layers about 15 cm thick, and then into such pieces that they fit into jars with a capacity of 3 liters.

Transfer the jars to a table or board.
Pour boiling water over and cover with a sterilized lid. Wrap with a towel. Leave for 10 minutes.
Drain the water, boil and refill the jars, wrap.
After 8-10 minutes, remove the water from the jars and pour the brine over the watermelons, seal tightly and refrigerate.
The brine is prepared based on one three liter jar- 1 liter of brine. To prepare it, dissolve 300 g of salt in 10 liters of water, boil. Then strain the brine through gauze in 4-6 layers, boil again. Now it remains to add 10-15 g of ordinary vinegar (9%). If unripe watermelons are used, then add sugar. It needs 200 g for 10 liters of water.
Store stock in the basement. If there is no such place in the house, you can sterilize the jars before rolling. This will allow you to store blanks in the room.

Important! Many housewives write in reviews that the lids on some jars swell. This is evidence that the watermelons were poorly heated. This happens if they are cut too large. You don't have to wait for the lid to pop off. Saving the workpiece is very simple: remove the lid, drain the brine, boil it, adding 30 g of salt for each liter of liquid, pour and roll up.

Watermelon blanks with aspirin

Prepare fruits, cut. Put in banks.
Prepare brine. For 0.6 liters of water - 1 tbsp. l. salt, twice as much granulated sugar.
Separately, boil water and pour it over watermelons in jars.
After 8-10 minutes, drain the water.
Put 2 aspirin tablets in each jar.
Pour in boiling brine.
Seize banks.

Watermelon jam

Both the pulp and the rinds can be used to make jam.

Watermelon rind jam

Prepare for 1 kg of crusts:

2 g citric acid;
2 stack water;
1.5 kg of granulated sugar.

Watermelon rinds for jam

Cooking:

Remove the remaining pulp and skin from the peels.
Cut into thin pieces of any shape.
Boil a little.
Drain the water. Dip the peels into the syrup.
Boil until each piece becomes transparent.
Throw in citric acid.
Pour jam into jars and seal tightly.

Pulp jam

The main condition is the presence of a multicooker, otherwise it is unlikely that it will work. For 1 kg of pulp, you need to prepare 1 kg of sugar. Further:

Cut the pulp, peeled from seeds and peel, into pieces with an edge of about 2 cm.
Cover with sugar for 2-2.5 hours.
Pour into a slow cooker, turn on the "Extinguishing" mode and leave for one hour.
At the end of the stew, flavor the workpiece with orange and lemon zest.
Immediately transfer the jam to sterilized jars and seal tightly.
Leave to cool upside down, and then take out for storage.

Watermelon confiture

You can prepare a delicacy from the pulp or peels.

Pulp preparation

For 1 kg of pulp you will need:

sugar - 450 g;
mint - a bunch;
zest of ½ lemon;
lemon juice - 2 tbsp;
wine or balsamic vinegar - 80 ml;
ginger - a small piece;
black peppercorns - 0.5 tsp

Watermelon Confiture

Cooking:

Puree the pulp using a blender.
Add pepper and boil until half the volume.
Blend the rest of the ingredients except for the ginger in a blender and add to the boiling marmalade.
Put ginger.
Boil the mixture over high heat for 10-12 minutes to reduce the mixture by another quarter.
When the confiture becomes thick, transfer to prepared jars and roll up.

Attention! If boiled down to the consistency of watery jelly, then confiture is great for spreading on buns, muffins, bread. Pairs perfectly with cheese.

Cooking from crusts

For 500 g of granulated sugar - 800 g of crusts.

Cut the peeled crusts into pieces about 2x2 cm, prick with a fork, cover with sugar. Leave overnight.
In the morning, add ground cinnamon and cook over low heat.
Boil for about 3 hours, stirring often. Do not cover.
Transfer the finished confiture to jars and roll up.

Pickled watermelons for the winter: video

Watermelon blanks: photo

Huge, striped, bright scarlet inside, watermelon, oddly enough, is a berry. He, like melon, belongs to the pumpkin family. Its closest relatives are cucumber and pumpkin.

A bit of history

The watermelon traces its pedigree from wild ancestors from where in and now you can find uncultivated thickets of this plant. Even in ancient Egypt, almost four thousand years ago, watermelon was already eaten, and it was brought to the territory of Russia around the tenth century from India along trade routes. The giant berry took root in the Volga region, and in the seventeenth century - in the central regions.

What can be cooked from watermelon?

It turns out that quite a lot of dishes can be sculpted from it. First of all, pulp is valued in watermelon. It is eaten fresh. It also makes an excellent base for smoothies and smoothies, salads and snacks. From the peel of the plant, delicious candied fruit and jam are prepared. If you are seriously thinking about the question of what can be prepared from watermelon, treat your guests to a delicious salad.

"Cheese" watermelon

Ingredients: pitted watermelon pulp - 300 grams, feta cheese - 100 grams, olive oil - one large spoon, basil - two or three sprigs, balsamic vinegar - one small spoon.

We take a small and ripe (not overripe) watermelon. Cut out the pulp, remove the bones. The pulp is cut into cubes of 1x1 cm. We cut the cheese into approximately the same cubes. Chop the basil and add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Pour the mixture over our salad, carefully (so that the cubes remain intact), mix and set aside in the refrigerator for half an hour. This is one of the recipes for what can be prepared from watermelon - an original and delicious cheese salad. In the absence of components, you can replace feta with cheese, and olive oil with simple sunflower oil, but then the taste will be slightly different.

"Wine" watermelon (sweet dessert)

Ingredients: medium berry for 4-5 kilograms, puff pastry ready - half a kilo, two-thirds of a glass of sugar, a little vanilla powder, a glass of cream, ground walnuts for decoration, juice of one lemon, gelatin - 40 grams, dry white wine - a glass.

We roll out half of the dough according to the size of the baking dish available. The second part is cut into small squares and folded in the form of triangles. Bake in the oven until golden brown. Mix gelatin with warm water, dissolve, gradually pour in the wine and juice of one lemon, cook for about five minutes, stirring constantly. Cool down. On the baked shortbread lay out the watermelon, peeled and seeds (cut into pieces). Pour it with a mixture of wine and gelatin, put it in the refrigerator to solidify. Then we spread cream whipped with sugar, test triangles for dessert, sprinkle with powder, decorate walnuts and grated lemon zest. This is another option for making watermelon. The cake recipe is quite laborious, but the dish turns out to be original and very tasty.

Peel jam

What can be prepared from the best preservation - jam from berry peels. To do this, the peels remaining from eating numerous watermelons must be peeled from the topmost skin - green. And cut the white part into cubes or strips. Then you need to pour them with hot water and cook for half an hour in sugar syrup prepared in advance. Set the jam aside for an hour or two. Repeat the operation several times. As a result, watermelon peels become transparent. Then the jam is ready. To prepare it, you need: one part of crusts, one part of water, one and a half parts of sugar, lemon (add to syrup).

After cooking, roll the jam into sterilized half-liter or liter jars, like any other. Store in a dark cool place. In winter, this jam is good to use with tea infused with herbs, so that the aroma of a hot summer is fully revealed in the fierce February frost.

Soaked in a barrel

What can be prepared from watermelon for the winter? If you have an oak (or, at worst, plastic) barrel idle idle, you can try to cook salty product. However, first of all, take care of storage. Because so many salty watermelons are hard to eat at once. Well, such a pickle is stored in the basement of a private house at a fairly low temperature. The lower part of the refrigerator will also work if you have a large one. The recipe will require large quantities of watermelons (to fill a barrel with them), salt and water.

small ripe berries wash and completely put in a container, filling it two-thirds. For ten liters of water we take almost a kilogram of table salt. We make a pickle. Pour it into a barrel to cover the product. We stand two or three days. To speed up the process, watermelons are recommended to be pierced with a sharp wooden stick. Ready in three days. Now you need to hide it for storage in a cellar or on a glacier, or put it in the refrigerator, distributing it into suitable containers. This is another option for what can be prepared from watermelon (pictured below) - pickles in a barrel. And then even in winter, the product will delight you original taste and nourish the body with useful vitamins.

What can be cooked from watermelon with a blender?

Its pulp, peeled from seeds, is traditionally used as the basis for the preparation of mixes and smoothies, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. If you have a blender, you only need to mix half a kilogram of pulp with the same amount of juice (for example, cherry or orange), add spices, grated chocolate, nuts - a little bit of everything.

You can - ice cream ice cream. If the cocktail is planned to be alcoholic, pour in 50 grams of cognac. In general, don't be afraid to experiment. Bon appetit everyone!

Ingredients

¼ of a medium watermelon;
2 bunches of fresh cilantro;
2 bunches of arugula;
2 bunches of fresh mint;
1 small radish;
100 g feta cheese;
some peanuts or shelled sunflower seeds.

For sauce

1 small ginger root, peeled and chopped
1 red, 1 yellow (guero) and 1 green chili (de-seeded and finely chopped)
1 st. l. soy sauce;
6 art. l. olive oil;
1 tsp sesame oil;
juice of 3-4 limes;

Cooking

Peel the pulp of the watermelon and cut into cubes. Chop cilantro, arugula and mint and place in a bowl along with chopped radish, watermelon and mint. In another bowl, combine the ginger, chili peppers, soy sauce, olive and sesame oil, lime juice, ground pepper and salt (to taste). Fry peanuts or sunflower seeds in a pan or baking sheet in the oven (you can buy already fried ones). After that, crush the seeds or grind them with a blender or coffee grinder. Pour dressing over salad, top with feta cheese and sprinkle with peanuts (sunflower seeds).

Fried watermelon with cheese and prosciutto

Ingredients

3-5 small (about 3 cm thick) pieces of watermelon;
1 st. l. olive oil;
100 g prosciutto;
100 g blue cheese;
1 tsp balsamic vinegar;
a bunch of fresh basil;
coarse salt;
ground black pepper.

Cooking

Preheat the barbecue to 350-400 degrees. Brush watermelon slices with olive oil (on both sides), salt and pepper. Grill the watermelon slices (1 minute per side) with the lid off the BBQ until a characteristic crust appears. Cut the prosciutto into thin slices. Drizzle each slice of watermelon with balsamic vinegar and serve alongside prosciutto, cheese and fresh basil.

watermelon shake

Ingredients

500 g of ripe watermelon pulp;
100 g of condensed milk;
2 tbsp. l. Sahara;
cocktail umbrellas for decoration, tubules.

Cooking

A shake is a cocktail, most often a milkshake, based on the mixing and shaking of the components. To prepare it, remove the stones from the watermelon. Beat it in a blender with condensed milk and sugar until smooth. Pour the cocktail into a decanter and chill in the refrigerator. Then pour into glasses (from the indicated amount of ingredients you get 4-6 servings) and decorate to your taste.

watermelon soup

Ingredients

500 g of watermelon pulp;
1 fresh cucumber;
1 green chili pepper;
1 green onion feather;
1 lime;
a bunch of mint;
2 tbsp. l. champagne vinegar;
1 st. l. olive oil;
sea salt and ground black pepper.

Cooking

Remove pits from watermelon and chop finely. Finely chop the pepper too. green onion and mint. Cut the cucumber into small cubes. Take a deep bowl and mix all the chopped ingredients, sprinkling them with lime juice (by the way, you can also crumble the zest into a bowl), vinegar and olive oil. Mix well. Then grind the contents of the bowl with a blender until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve, season the resulting puree with salt and ground pepper. Cool in the refrigerator for an hour. Then serve on the table, pouring into deep plates and garnish with mint.

watermelon salsa

Ingredients

400 g of watermelon pulp;
2 jalapeno peppers;
a bunch of cilantro;
60 ml lime juice;
half a small purple onion;
salt to taste.

Cooking

Salsa is Mexican vegetable snack from finely chopped vegetables (not to be confused with the sauce of the same name!). To make an extravagant watermelon salsa, wash, deseed and cut all the necessary vegetables and fruits. Pour lime juice, salt. Mix well and let the snack brew a little. Serve chilled.

Watermelon and shrimp skewers

Ingredients

450 g large shrimp;
26 pieces (3 cm thick) ripe watermelon;
80 ml lime juice;
60 ml of olive oil;
2 tbsp. l. honey;
a pinch of garlic powder;
basil (preferably Thai).

Cooking

First, prepare the marinade: mix lime juice, oil, chopped basil, honey and garlic powder. Pour a quarter of the resulting marinade into a separate bowl. Then soak the peeled shrimp in the marinade for 15 minutes. Thread the shrimp and watermelon pieces onto wooden skewers, alternating between them. Grill the skewers over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink. Serve the kebab directly on the skewers, pouring it with the remaining marinade. From the indicated amount of products, about 13 servings will be obtained.

Watermelon rind jam

Ingredients

1 kg of watermelon peels;
1.2 kg of sugar;
600 ml of water;
1 lemon;
3 tsp baking soda;
vanilla.

Cooking

Cut the green skin off the watermelon rinds (only the white part should remain) and cut them into small pieces (3–4 cm). Dissolve soda in 3 liters of water and place the peels in the resulting solution. Leave them to soak overnight. Rinse thoroughly with clean water in the morning. Next, boil the sugar syrup: 600 ml of water per 600 g of sugar. When the syrup begins to thicken, lower the crusts into it, bring to a boil and cook for another 30 minutes over low heat. After that, turn off and leave to infuse (5-8 hours). Then add the remaining sugar, bring to a boil again and cook for half an hour. Leave for another 5-8 hours. Repeat the procedure a third time. At the end of the third boil, add lemon juice and vanilla. When the jam has cooled, pour it into jars and store in a cool place.

watermelon popsicles

Ingredients

500 g of watermelon;
2 tbsp. l. lime juice;
mint.

Cooking

Peel the pulp of the watermelon. Using a blender, combine watermelon, lime juice and mint leaves. You can add some sugar to taste. Then pour the resulting cocktail into molds (it is convenient to use yogurt cups), stick in the sticks, as for a popsicle, and send it to the refrigerator for several hours. To easily remove the watermelon ice from the molds, dip the mold with it in warm water for a few seconds.

watermelon pudding

Ingredients

2 kg of watermelon pulp;
50 g cornstarch;
100 g of sugar;
1 tsp anise seeds;
2 tsp lemon juice.

Cooking

Peel the watermelon and puree with a blender. Strain through a sieve to get rid of the pulp. Mix ¼ of the resulting watermelon juice with cornstarch. Pour the remaining juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil along with sugar and anise seeds. Then pour the reserved watermelon juice with starch into the pan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Then add lemon juice and remove the pan from heat. Pour the watermelon mass through a sieve into cups and let cool until room temperature. After that, send the pudding to the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Serve topped with chopped pistachios, chocolate chips, cinnamon, or topped with whipped cream.

watermelon sorbet

Ingredients

4 kg of watermelon;
130 g of sugar;
180 ml of water;
2 tbsp. l. lime juice.

Cooking

Pour water into a small saucepan, add sugar to it and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Then reduce the heat and cook the syrup for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Then cover the pot with a lid and refrigerate for an hour. Meanwhile, blend the watermelon and lime juice with a blender until smooth. Then strain the watermelon mass through a sieve to get rid of the seeds, and beat it with the cooled sugar syrup. Pour the watermelon-sugar mixture into a shallow frying pan and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. During this time, the future sorbet should “grab” around the edges. Take a spoon and stir it. Put it back in the refrigerator. Repeat the procedure after half an hour. Sorbet should have a consistency of watermelon-ice crystals. After that, freeze the dessert for another 1.5–2 hours.

Common watermelon is an annual herbaceous plant with a creeping branching stem 2-3 meters long, a species of the genus Watermelon (Citrullus) of the Cucurbitaceae family.

The fruit of the watermelon is a large spherical false berry with a smooth surface and pink or red juicy sweet pulp. Some varieties have white or yellowish white flesh.
Watermelon is native to South and Central Africa. Watermelon is cultivated in many areas of the Earth with a dry and hot climate. Currently, watermelons are grown in 96 countries in more than 1200 varieties.

The pulp of watermelon contains from 5.5 to 13% sugars (glucose, fructose and some sucrose). By the time of ripening, glucose and fructose predominate, sucrose accumulates during the storage of watermelon. Fructose makes up about half of all sugars and is responsible for the sweetness of watermelon. A fruit weighing 3-4 kg contains up to 150 g of pure fructose.

Watermelon is a source of pectin, fiber, vitamins B1, B2, C, PP, folic acid and provitamin A, as well as salts of manganese, nickel, iron, magnesium and potassium.
The pulp contains: pectin substances - 0.68%, proteins - 0.7%; calcium - 14 mg /%, magnesium - 224 mg /%, sodium - 16 mg /%, potassium - 64 mg /%, phosphorus - 7 mg /%, iron in organic form - 1 mg /%; vitamins - thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, carotene - 0.1-0.7 mg /%, ascorbic acid - 0.7-20 mg /%, alkaline substances.

100 grams of the edible part of the fruit contains 38 kilocalories.

Watermelon seeds contain up to 25% fatty oil, similar in physicochemical properties to almond and rich in vitamin D.

Watermelons are eaten fresh. The pulp of watermelon quenches thirst well. The fruits of small watermelons are used for pickling and canning.

Evaporating watermelon juice, prepare thick watermelon "honey" (nardek), which contains up to 90% sugars. (The grape "honey" obtained in this way from grape juice is called bekmes or doshab; boiled juices are also called bekmes different fruits, berries and vegetables)

Made from watermelon rind delicious jam and candied fruit.

Table oil is obtained from the seeds.

Watermelon is good for people of all ages.

Hot appetizer salad with fried watermelon, mint and feta cheese

Fried watermelon - sounds unusual, but in fact - juicy and crispy inside, with smoke and a sweet crust on the outside. Add to it salted cheese Feta, a touch of lime zest and a touch of mint freshness. And you have a wonderful salad for a picnic!

Ingredients:
8 slices of rindless and pitted watermelon (each the size of a deck of cards) 2 tablespoons of olive oil 5 teaspoons of lime juice 5 slices of feta cheese (about 120 grams) a handful of fresh mint leaves 3 cups of herbs (arugula, lettuce, watercress) salt , pepper - roasted pumpkin seeds to taste

Cooking:
Preheat the grill. Pat the watermelon pieces dry with paper towels and place them on the grill. Fry on one side only, without flipping, for 2 minutes. Toss the greens with 2 tablespoons lime juice, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Arrange the greens on a large platter, top with grilled watermelon slices, toasted side up. Add Feta and a few fried watermelon pieces. Pour the remaining lime juice over them and sprinkle lightly with salt (pepper to taste). Garnish with mint and pumpkin seeds.

Dessert "Watermelon bunch"

Ingredients:
watermelon - 1 pc. flour - 50 g fresh egg white - 2 pcs. sugar - 1 teaspoon starch - 50 g water - 1/2 cup powdered sugar(for sprinkling)

Cooking:
With a watermelon noisette spoon, cut into balls (in the absence of a noisette, you can cut into cubes).

For batter dilute the starch in water, beat 2 proteins with 1 teaspoon of sugar into a strong foam and mix them gently.

Roll the watermelon balls in flour, then in batter.

Fry quickly in a pre-heated deep-fryer. Then let the balls cool, put on a dish and decorate with powdered sugar.

Summer watermelon salad with mint and feta cheese

Ingredients:
watermelon lime for juice - 2 pcs. feta cheese - 300 g 1 head of red onion olive oil - 100 ml mint leaves ground black pepper salt

Cooking:
watermelon salad, you need to cook no more than 20-30 minutes before serving. From a pre-chilled watermelon, cut off the rind and cut the flesh into pieces. Put the pieces of watermelon in a colander to drain excess juice. For the sauce in a cup, mix olive oil and lime juice, then add a little salt and black pepper. Put slices of watermelon in a salad bowl and pour over the prepared sauce. Due to the juice released, the amount of sauce will increase - this is quite normal. Sprinkle with chopped mint leaves, grated cheese, mix lightly and serve immediately.

Appetizing watermelon slices with mint and lime

Ingredients:
slices of 1 chilled pitted watermelon; 1/2 bunch fresh mint 4 limes (from 2 - zest, from 2 - juice) 3/4 cup sugar

Cooking:
Cut the chilled watermelon into 4 pieces, then cut into slices about 5 cm thick (see photo). Chop the mint leaves and mix in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of lime zest. Add sugar and mix well. Place the watermelon slices on a large flat dish and pour the lime juice over them. Then sprinkle the pieces with the made mint-lime sugar.

watermelon granite

Ingredients:
1 watermelon, cut into pieces, peeled and pitted Juice 2 limes 1/3 cup sugar 1 tbsp. a spoon good cognac or Roma

Cooking:
Place half of the watermelon, half of the lemon juice and half of the sugar in a blender, mix thoroughly until smooth and pour into a bowl. Repeat the same with the other half of the ingredients. Add rum to the resulting mass, mix, pour everything into a saucepan and place in freezer for freezing.
Grated chocolate can be added to the mixture to taste.
We freeze for 2-3 hours, after which the mixture is quickly actively mixed and returned to the freezer. We will repeat this process in a couple of hours. Then again.
Let it completely freeze for another 3-4 hours, divide into portions in pre-chilled glasses and serve.

Note: to separate the seeds, beat the peeled pieces of watermelon for a few seconds in a blender, and then rub through a colander or coarse sieve.

Ingredients:
watermelon (about 2 kg, cut into pieces and de-seeded) 1 tbsp mixed sugar + 1 tsp sugar for decoration juice of 3 limes 3 tbsp rum a pinch of salt 1 tbsp mint leaves mixed + 1 tsp mint leaves for decoration

Cooking:
Pieces of watermelon, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar, lime juice and rum are loaded into a blender and brought to a puree state. Add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of mint and mix until smooth, when the mint leaves are not visible. For greater tenderness of the future ice cream, it is useful to add 3-4 tbsp to the mixture. tablespoons of saturated gelatin solution.

Then the mixture is packed in an airtight container and frozen for several hours. The presence of an ice cream maker greatly facilitates the process. If it is not available, every hour we take the mixture out of the freezer and mix thoroughly with a spoon or mixer, as long as possible. Stirring is necessary so that large ice crystals do not form in the ice cream.

To completely freeze the sherbet, we keep it in the freezer for 6-8 hours (no longer is necessary, otherwise the mixture will freeze).

Serve to the table, lightly sprinkled with sugar and garnished with mint leaves.

Refreshing watermelon water

Ingredients:
half a large watermelon (no rind, cut into large chunks) 4 cups water 8 fresh mint leaves (quantity can be adjusted to taste) juice of half a lime (about 1.5 tablespoons) 3 tablespoons sugar or honey

Cooking:
Place half of the watermelon pulp, half of the water and half of the mint in a blender and turn into a smooth puree. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a pitcher or large bowl. Repeat the procedure with the remaining pieces of watermelon, mint and water. Mix both portions and strain again. Add lime juice, sugar or honey. Refrigerate before serving.

Watermelon rind jam

Ingredients:
watermelon peels - 1 kg juice of 1/2 lemon and zest sugar - 1 kg vanillin - 1/2 teaspoon water - 2 cups

Cooking:
We take out the pulp from the watermelon, remove the thin green upper peel. Cut the remaining white peel into small pieces. We prick each piece in several places and cook in boiling water until soft. Drain the water, and dry the pieces with a napkin and dip in syrup. With short breaks, on a very low heat, cook them until tender.
Before removing from heat, add vanillin, citric acid or finely chopped zest.
You can also add 1-2 tbsp. spoons of cognac or rum and mix quickly.

Pour the finished hot jam without delay into dry, sterilized jars and close the lids.

Candied watermelon rinds

These candied fruits decorate the cake "Fairy Tale"

Ingredients:
- 1 kg of watermelon peels - 1.2 kg of sugar - 3-3.5 cups of water - 1 lemon - a little vanilla or vanilla sugar - cardamom (to taste)

According to tradition, watermelon rind for these candied fruits, cut into pieces with such a knife with curly edges.

We take a thick-skinned watermelon, carefully cut off the remaining pink pulp from the crusts - you can scrape it white with a spoon. Then we cut the greens from the crusts (it is convenient to do this with a potato peeler) and cut into elongated pieces. We make the pieces small, approximately, so that you need to bite off once.

We prick the pieces with a fork, send them to a soda solution (3 teaspoons per 3 liters of cold water) for 4-6 hours. Then we rinse thoroughly, let it soak a couple of times for 30 minutes in clean water.

From water and half of the sugar, boil the syrup, lower the crusts there, bring to a boil and boil over low heat for about 20 minutes. Turn off and let stand for 8 hours or more. Bring to a boil again, pour in the remaining sugar, boil for 20-30 minutes and leave for another 8 hours. For the third time, boil until translucent, the slices should be easy to bite off, slightly crunchy. If there is little juice left, add about 1 cup of boiling water.

Before the end of the 3rd cooking, you will need to add lemon or orange zest to the candied fruits. We will put it in advance in a paper or gauze bag so that later we do not have to separate the zest from the candied fruit.

Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the finished candied fruit (you can also use 2), add vanilla, let it cool and put it into jars along with the syrup.

It is advisable to store in the refrigerator. To decorate the cake, strain the syrup and let the candied watermelon dry.

These candied fruits (along with syrup) can be served with tea or dry wine.

Watermelon honey (bekmes)

Ingredients:
watermelon - 8 kg sugar - 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice - 1 tsp

Cooking:
It is prepared from ripe sweet watermelons. The pulp is selected, rubbed through a sieve, filtered through two layers of gauze, squeezing well almost to dryness. The resulting juice is brought to a boil, while stirring continuously and removing the reddish foam. Then the juice is filtered again and, stirring, so as not to burn, boil over low heat. "Honey" is ready when the volume decreases by 5-6 times. In this case, the juice will become thick, slightly stretchy. At the very end of cooking, add sugar and pour in lemon juice. pour honey into glass jars, cool and enjoy. From this amount, 1 small can of goodies is obtained, but the work is worth it.

ATTENTION!
Watermelon "honey" is not recommended for patients diabetes and obesity, as it contains a lot of sugars - up to 90%. Diabetics should eat watermelon very little, and in small doses it is even useful.
Watermelon is contraindicated in large quantities with flatulence, as it contributes to the formation of gases in the colon.

Bekmes or pekmez (tur. pekmez) - condensed juice (syrup) of fruits, berries and vegetables. Grape is also known as nardek or doshab. The main methods of cooking: - heating on fire (usually in a water bath, in industry - in tinned copper boilers or special bekmesovochny installations) - evaporation in the sun (gives more fragrant and healthy bekmesy, but is possible only in the climatic conditions of Central Asia and similar to them where the air is hot and dry).

They are prepared without adding sugar - which distinguishes bekmes from kiems. The juice squeezed from overripe fruits is brought to a boil, boiled, not allowing to boil, then settled and filtered. After evaporation of a certain part of the volume (depending on the feedstock - from 50 to 80%), the consistency becomes similar to honey. Contains sugar, organic acids and vitamins.

It is used in confectionery and winemaking as well as a nutritious and medicinal product.

In winemaking, it is usually produced by boiling the must, it is used to increase the sugar content of ordinary fortified wines (it is clarified after boiling).

In the confectionery industry - a semi-finished product for the preparation of other types of sweets - jams, sherbets, irchal, figs, for additives in Turkish delight and other products.

WATERMELON - canned, marinated, soaked ...

Canned watermelons

Brine:
salt - 30 g water - 1 l

Cooking:
For such salting, red (but not overripe) and brown thin-skinned or thick-skinned watermelons are suitable, the diameter of which is approximately equal to the diameter three-liter jar. Watermelons are washed with cold water, circles are cut to the edible part both from the side of the stalk and from the side of the inflorescence. Banks are thoroughly washed, steam sterilized and cooled.

Watermelons are first cut in circles 15-20 mm thick, and then cut into pieces that are convenient for laying in jars. The filled jar is placed on a kitchen board and boiling water is poured into it. First, a small jet is sent to the center so that the can does not burst. A sterilized lid is placed on the neck of the prepared jar, the jar is wrapped with a towel on top and kept for 8-10 minutes.

Then the water is drained and the watermelons are poured with boiling water again, covered with a towel and after 8-10 minutes the water is drained, and boiling brine is poured. For one jar with a capacity of 3 liters. you need about 1 liter of brine.

The brine is prepared as follows: Pour salt into the water (30 g per 1 liter of water), boil for 8-10 minutes until the salt is completely dissolved, filter through 3-4 layers of gauze, bring the brine to a boil again, add 10-15 ml of 9% vinegar. If the watermelons are brown, then sugar is added to the brine (20 g per 1 liter of water).

The jars filled with boiling brine are hermetically sealed and cooled. Banks with watermelons are stored in a cool room (basement, cellar) at a temperature below +18°C. If they are sterilized at 100 ° C, then such watermelons can be stored under normal conditions.

As experience has shown, the lids of some chilled cans swell, which indicates insufficient heating of the watermelons with boiling water.
You should not wait until the lids are torn off, they need to be removed, drain the brine into a saucepan, heat it to a boil, pour over the jars and hermetically cork with other lids.

Pickled watermelons

Brine for a 3-liter jar:
1.5 liters of water 2 tbsp. l. salt 1 tbsp. l. Sahara

Cooking:
Watermelons are better to take unripe - pink. Cut them into slices, remove the seeds and cut off the peels. Cut into pieces of 3-5 cm, tightly fill the jars and pour boiling brine. Sterilize 10 minutes from the moment of boiling, add 1 tsp before rolling. vinegar essence. Cut into pieces of 3-5 cm, tightly fill the jars and pour boiling brine.

For flavor use: sweet peas, cloves, bay leaves and black peppercorns. Cut into pieces of 3-5 cm, tightly fill the jars and pour boiling brine. This is a recipe that has been tried and tested over the years. During the holidays, these watermelons always enjoy the increased attention of guests. Try to cook, you won't regret it.

Watermelon marinated with spices

For marinade:
water - 1 liter salt - 1 tbsp. l. sugar - 1 tbsp. l. vinegar essence - 2 tsp hot pepper, horseradish, bay leaf, cinnamon, lovage - to taste

Cooking:
You can pickle watermelons ripe and unripe. Watermelon is washed, cut into slices. Crusts and grains can not be removed. The slices are placed in jars. Add hot pepper, horseradish, bay leaf, cinnamon, lovage. Pour in the marinade. Sterilize half-liter jars for 15 minutes, liter - 20 minutes.

pickled watermelon

Ingredients:
800 g of watermelon; 800 ml of water; 2-3 bay leaves; 3-6 peas of allspice; 1.5 tbsp salt; 1.5 st. l. granulated sugar; 2-3 tbsp vinegar 9%; 50 g dill; 2 celery stalks

Cooking:
Cut the watermelon into slices. Separate the pulp from the crusts and cut into small pieces. Cut the stalk of celery into cubes.

Put dill on the bottom of the jar, then a layer of watermelon, a layer of celery, again a layer of watermelon.

For the brine, in a saucepan, combine water, salt, pepper, vinegar, bay leaf, granulated sugar. Bring to a boil, cool slightly and pour into watermelon jars. Close the lids and store in the refrigerator.

Salted or, as it is also called, soaked watermelon is an excellent appetizer for an aperitif.
We offer a recipe alcoholic drink using fresh ripe watermelon. We tightly wrap the watermelon with wide tape so that it does not burst, and with the help of a large syringe we pump vodka into it. After a couple of weeks, you can get a flavored drink with a strength of 21 ° and higher. The alcohol contained in vodka "eats" the watermelon pulp, turning it into a liquid. We filter the drink through gauze and fill the decanter with pink liqueur. Why immediately in a decanter, and not in a bottle? Yes, because it will not stagnate for a long time ...

(+) Image is clickable

Canned watermelons

For brine in a 3-liter jar:
watermelon sugar - 1 tbsp. l. salt - 1 tbsp. l. aspirin - 2 tablets

Cooking:
Cut the watermelon into circles, then each circle into four parts. Place in a sterilized jar. Add salt, sugar and two aspirin tablets, pour boiling water, roll up. Keep refrigerated.

Tomatoes marinated with watermelon

Ingredients for a 3 liter jar:
1 liter of water 1.5 kg of tomatoes watermelon, peeled and pitted 5-7 cloves of garlic 3-5 sprigs of celery 1 heaping tablespoon of salt 2.5 tablespoons of sugar 1 dessert spoon of vinegar essence

Cooking:
In a 3-liter jar, put a few cloves of garlic, celery sprigs on the bottom, then layers of tomatoes and watermelon cut into large pieces. Top with celery and garlic. Pour two times for 10 minutes with boiling water, the third time on the drained water we will make a marinade: add salt, sugar, vinegar essence. Pour tomatoes with marinade, roll up and wrap for pasteurization.

Watermelons soaked

For brine:
salt - 600-800 g water - 10 l

Cooking:
Wash small and ripe medium-sized watermelons, put in a barrel, pour 6-8% brine (600-800 g of salt per 10 liters of water, depending on the size of the watermelons) and soak for 2 days. Then top up the barrel with the same brine and put it in a cellar or glacier. To speed up fermentation, watermelons are recommended to be pierced in several places with a sharp wooden stick. Small watermelons are pierced with a wooden pin in several places, put in a barrel or a large enamel pan and fill with brine. Cover with a circle on top and put oppression so that the fruits do not float (the brine should cover them). Fermentation lasts about 1 month. Salted watermelons are used as an appetizer or side dish for meat and fish dishes.

Watermelon-apple confiture

Very beautiful jam with an original taste bouquet. It's worth cooking.

Ingredients:
3 apples 1.5 kg watermelon 2 tsp. lemon zest 6 tbsp. lemon juice a little vanilla or 1/4 tsp. cinnamon - to taste 2 packs of "Confiture" 600 g sugar

Cooking:
We clean the watermelon from the peel and seeds.

Process in a blender into a homogeneous mass.

Apples peel and seeds, cut into small pieces, sprinkle lemon juice, add sugar, cinnamon (if we add vanillin instead of cinnamon, then put it at the very end of cooking), zest, a little watermelon mixture and boil for 5-6 minutes.

Add the "jam", the entire watermelon mass and cook for another 5 minutes.

Pour hot into sterilized jars and close tightly with lids. Wrap in a blanket and leave to cool completely.