Melon for the winter: 8 simple recipes for canning in jars

Melons, beloved since childhood, are a tasty and healthy product, but they have one serious drawback. You can enjoy the fresh aromatic pulp only during the harvest season, which occurs at the end of summer - autumn. Melon can be stored for the winter in different ways. Moreover, it is not at all necessary to make a sweet dish. Spicy appetizers made from yellow pumpkin will also provide real gastronomic pleasure.

How to choose the best melon

Not fully ripened melons with dense and aromatic pulp are suitable for making jam. To make jam, you need ripe, juicy fruits. For melon in its own juice, you will need very ripe and overripe fruits.

It is necessary to adhere to the requirements of the recipe when selecting raw materials: do not use ripe or overripe fruit, where dense pulp is required. When cooked, such pieces will lose their shape, which will reduce the attractiveness of the product.

Signs of a ripe fruit:

• noticeable sweet aroma;
• springs when pressed;
• large mass;
• uniform bright color;
• dull sound when tapped;
• dry ponytail;
• the peel has a rugged appearance.

Unripe fruits:

• do not smell;
• have a greenish tint;
• inferior in weight to ripe ones;
• not elastic;
• make a ringing sound;
• the tail is tight.

Overripe ones have soft skin and a very strong aroma.

Which varieties should you prefer?

The variety of melon varieties makes it difficult to choose for preservation. The fruits differ not only in size, but also in pulp density and sugar content. The varieties Livadia, Zolotistaya, Yuzhanka have dense, sweet pulp. Plants grown in the southern regions have a natural advantage over pumpkins from the Moscow region, Siberia, and European Russia in terms of sweetness.

Varieties zoned for cooler regions have a dense structure, with a lower percentage of sugar. Autumn-winter varieties are the sweetest, as the ripening period lasts 95-100 days. Early ripening ones contain 8-15% sugar, mid-ripening ones – 14-15%.

When choosing a fruit for canning, you must take into account the requirements of the recipe. If the purchased melon turns out to be of a different quality, then you need to select a suitable harvesting option in this case.

Melon for the winter “Like fresh”

There is no need to sterilize the finished product, but you will have to pour the berries three times. Please note that each time you need to cool the boiling water a little. This method allows you to keep the pieces unchanged, and the taste of the melon will be fresh, like in summer.

Ingredients for 1 liter:

• 800 g melon pulp;
• 3 tbsp. l. heaped sugar;
• 0.5 tsp. citric acid;
• 1 aspirin tablet.

How to cook:

1. Cut a clean melon in half and remove the seeds.
2. Cut each half into slices, cut off the crust from each.
3. Cut the pulp into cubes.
4. Wash the jars and sterilize. Make sure there are no chips or scratches.
5. While the containers are being sterilized, grind the aspirin.
6. Place melon pulp in dry jars.
7. Put the water on fire.
8. Cool the boiling water for 4 minutes and pour into jars.
9. Cover with lids and leave for 15 minutes.
10. Drain the water back and boil again.
11. Cool the boiling water again for 3-4 minutes and pour into containers.
12. Cover with a lid and cool for 10 minutes.
13. Drain the water back into the pan again. Boil it.
14. Add aspirin to the jars.
15. Add sugar to almost boiling water and stir well.
16. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes.
17. After 5 minutes, add citric acid and remove from heat.
18. Cool the syrup for 3 minutes.
19. Pour carefully into jars.
20. Immediately seal, invert and cover for 72 hours.

A crushed aspirin tablet allows you to use less citric acid, which makes the melon taste fresher.

How to store at home

Melon is not a perishable product; by following certain storage rules, you can make it meet the winter and serve as a table decoration.

First you need to select the right fruits. Immediately set aside anything wrinkled, with spots or barely noticeable defects. They themselves will not be preserved and will not be given to others. Choose firm, slightly unripe fruits.

If you grew the melon on your own plot, then try specially preparing it for storage. Cut it off the stem, but it is advisable to keep 3 cm from the tail. After this, let the melon lie for 2 days on one side, then on the other, right in the garden bed under the sun.

It is best to store melon in a room with a humidity of 80% and a temperature slightly above zero. Treat the room with a smoke bomb before storage. Melon is stored well in a hanging net. Can be placed on shelves. The only limitation: melons do not tolerate being surrounded by potatoes and apples. The latter contribute to rapid ripening and shortening the shelf life of melon. But potatoes can destroy everything: taste and smell.

The above secrets will help you preserve and enjoy your melon throughout the year. It can be very tasty marshmallows, candied fruits, jam. Frozen fruits are suitable for making desserts.

Use pickled and canned products to surprise guests and decorate holiday tables. And leave the most delicious dried and dried melon pieces to the children.

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Autumn is the time for harvesting, including melons. These are very sweet fruits that almost all people like. To preserve the summer taste for the winter, various preparations are made from them.

This product can be prepared not only in the form of compote, jam or preserves, but also canned pieces that practically do not differ from the taste of fresh fruit.

Melons should be purchased in specialized stores or markets, where products are subject to mandatory inspections. Under no circumstances take melons along the routes, as they absorb harmful substances.

Before pickling, the fruits must be rinsed under cold water. Remember, if when you press on the peel with your finger it springs back, then the crop is unripe.

In today's article we will look at the most popular preparation recipes. This does not require sterilization, so the seaming process takes only a few minutes.

1. Preparing melon for the winter in jars, like pineapple
2. Simple recipe for canned melon
3. Finger-licking melon for the winter
4. How to preserve melon for the winter so that it is as fresh as possible
5. Miracle melon in syrup for the winter
6. Pickled melon pieces in a jar
7. Step-by-step recipe for canning sweet melon without sterilization
8. How to freeze melon at home

Classic canned melon

It’s simply impossible to spoil such a melon. This is a classic recipe with the most minimal set of ingredients. The result is aromatic, sweet melon pieces.

Ingredients for a liter jar:

• 700 g melon pulp;
• 1 tsp. citric acid;
• 4 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• liter of water.

Preparing melon for the winter in jars like pineapple

Preserving fruits using this method allows you to obtain a product that tastes almost indistinguishable from pickled pineapples. Therefore, take note of this method of preparing for the winter. Ingredients:

• 2.5 kg melon;
• 400 g granulated sugar;
• Vanillin;
• 1 liter of water;
• 1 tsp citric acid.

Preparation

1. First, dissolve sugar, citric acid and a pinch of vanillin in a saucepan with water. Mix everything thoroughly so that the granulated sugar crystals are completely dissolved. Place on the burner and bring to a boil.
2. Cut the ripe melon into two parts and remove all the seeds. Then cut out the rind and cut the flesh into small pieces of any shape.
3. Immediately distribute the chopped slices into clean and dry jars. When the syrup boils, pour it over the “pineapples”.
4. Cover the bottom of a thick-walled pan with a towel and place the filled jars into it. Place on the stove and fill with hot water up to the shoulders of the glass jars. Sterilize within 10 minutes after the liquid boils.
5. We roll up the workpiece using a special key, or tighten the lids.
6. The taste of the pieces really resembles the aroma of pineapples. And the syrup can be used to soak pies.

Storage conditions and periods

When pickling melon for the winter, the jars are hermetically sealed with glass or tin lids. Heat treatment allows for long-term storage of workpieces at +20 ⁰С and 75% humidity.

Important! It is unacceptable to keep glass jars in a room with sub-zero temperatures, since the contents may be damaged and the container may be bombed due to freezing of the liquid.

In winter, a cellar, pantry, glazed balcony or loggia with the ability to adjust the temperature is used for storage. In the room you need to create reliable ventilation to prevent the development of mold and mildew. The sun's rays should not fall on jars of pickled melon. In the apartment, shelves for workpieces are located away from heating devices and sources of high humidity.

The recommended storage period is ten months, provided that the necessary rules are followed.

Before eating pickled melon for the winter, you should pay attention to the appearance of the product. If there is mold, cloudiness of the syrup, discoloration of the slices, damage to the integrity or deformation of the lid, you should stop using canned food.

Once opened, the product can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than three days.

Jam “Sweet Amber”

Ingredients:

• ripe melon pulp – 2 kg;
• 2.35 kg – sugar;
• a tablespoon of vanilla sugar;
• one liter of water;
• “lemon” dry, crystalline – 1/2 tsp.

Cooking method:

1. Cut the melon pulp into large three-centimeter cubes and place in boiling water for seven minutes. Collect in a colander, rinse quickly with a stream of cool running water and dry, leaving in a colander.
2. Mix sugar syrup with water. Prepare a clear syrup over moderate heat, add the pulp to it and leave to infuse.
3. After 4 hours, put the jam on the stove and, slowly bringing it to a boil, simmer for ten minutes and set aside again. Repeat this procedure three more times.
4. During the last cooking, three minutes before the end of the process, add lemon and vanilla.
5. Pour the finished aromatic jam hot into clean, dry jars and roll up.

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.

Simple recipe for canned melon

If you want to prepare a tasty preparation, then do not use overripe fruits, otherwise the snack will resemble jam more than canned pieces. Let's consider another simple way to prepare fruit for the winter.

Ingredients:

• Melon;
• 0.5 kg white sugar;
• 1 tbsp citric acid;
• 1 liter of water.

Preparation

1. We wash the melon with a dense structure under running water. Then we cut it in half, remove the seeds and cut into the usual slices. Cut off the peel and chop the pulp into small cubes.
2. Place the prepared pieces tightly into sterilized jars to the very top.
3. To prepare the syrup, pour citric acid and sugar into a saucepan with cold water. Place the container on the burner and bring the mixture to a boil.
4. Pour hot syrup into jars of melon.
5. Sterilize the workpiece in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. The time depends on the volume of the cans.
6. All that remains is to roll up the lids and wrap the jars upside down. Leave until completely cool, then put in the refrigerator or pantry.

Selection and preparation of ingredients

Only fruits of medium ripeness, which already have a characteristic taste and aroma, but do not become soft after heat treatment, should be pickled for the winter. Their stalk should be healthy and juicy, the skin should be dry, free of stains, rot and mold.

Before you start pickling, you need to carefully prepare:

1. Wash the melon under running water.
2. Cut lengthwise into two halves.
3. Remove the seeds along with the fibers with a tablespoon.
4. Cut off the skin.
5. Cut the pulp into cubes.

Melon jam

This melon culture produces excellent aromatic jam with a delicate jelly-like consistency.

It requires:

• melon (pulp) – 1 kilogram;
• sugar – 1 kilogram;
• juice of 1 lemon or 1 teaspoon of citric acid;
• fresh ginger root - 1 piece.

The dessert is prepared as follows:

1. vegetable cubes are sprinkled with 0.5 kilograms of sugar and left overnight so that the fruits release juice;
2. add the rest of the sugar, lemon juice or acid, and finely grated fresh ginger to the mass;
3. the jam is cooked over low heat for about an hour (if the melon is very juicy, the cooking time increases, and additional components are added at the end of the process), it is important to stir the mass periodically.

Pickled melon

The fruits of this melon crop are pickled quite rarely, although using this method of harvesting you can achieve excellent results. For such an unusual dessert you will need:

• melon – 1 kilogram;
• water – 1 glass;
• honey – 4 tablespoons;
• vinegar – 0.5 cups (both grape and apple vinegar can be used);
• a pinch of salt.

Cooking method:

1. melon cubes are placed tightly in pre-sterilized containers;
2. The marinade is prepared: honey is diluted in water, salt is added and put on the stove until it boils;
3. pour vinegar into the marinade and bring to a boil;
4. the fruits are poured with hot marinade, and the jars should be sealed with heated lids.

The preparation acquires the most intense taste after standing in a cool place.

Melon compote with cinnamon and lemon

Ingredients for a 3-liter jar:

• 0.5 kg melon pulp;
• 1 lemon;
• 1 tsp. cinnamon;
• 2.5 tbsp. Sahara;
• 2 liters of water.

Cooking method:

1. Rinse the jars with soda solution and sterilize.
2. Cut the lemon into large slices (about 6 pieces).
3. Free the melon from seeds and crusts.
4. Finely chop the pulp.
5. Place melon cubes at the bottom of the jar.
6. Place lemon slices on top.
7. Add cinnamon.
8. Put the water on fire.
9. Add sugar to boiling water. Dissolve, mix well.
10. 5 minutes after boiling, remove the pan from the heat.
11. Gradually pour the syrup into the jar.
12. Bury with a seaming key.
13. Turn the jars over and make sure they are sealed.
14. Wrap it up.
15. After 40 hours, take it to the cellar or pantry.

Recipe "You'll lick your fingers"

Children love this melon; it turns out fragrant and sweet. Please note that the slices are poured not with boiling water, but with slightly cooled water, this allows them to maintain their shape.

What you will need for a 1.5 liter jar:

• 1.5 kg melon (not pulp);
• 300 g sugar;
• 1 tbsp. l. honey;
• 1 tsp. citric acid.

How to preserve:

1. Take a small melon, wash and dry with a towel.
2. Cut in half, remove all seeds, they don't add any flavor.
3. Cut the halves as you would normally serve.
4. Cut off the crust with a sharp knife.
5. Cut the melon pieces into small pieces.
6. Wash the jars with baking soda or dish soap. In both cases, rinse well.
7. Sterilize the containers and pour boiling water over the lids.
8. Fill the jars with melon slices.
9. Boil the water.
10. Cool the boiling water for 2-3 minutes and pour into jars. Cover with lids and cool for 10 minutes.
11. Drain the water back into the pan and add sugar.
12. Stir and bring to a boil.
13. While the syrup is boiling, add honey and citric acid directly to the jars.
14. Fill with syrup immediately.
15. Seal, turn over and wrap.
16. After 24 hours, put it in the cellar.

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.

Preparations for the winter from melon - “Marmalade”

Ingredients:

• ripe melon – 1.2 kg;
• one kilogram of sugar;
• two drops of mint essence.

Cooking method:

1. Cut the melon in half to remove the seeds. Do this carefully, avoiding touching the pulp if possible, and cut the remaining pulp into slices. Carefully remove the skin from each piece and cut the remaining pulp into cubes.

2. Place them in a wide bowl, fill with water so that it is level, and cook.

3. As soon as the pulp becomes soft, place it in a colander and do not pour out the broth, it will come in handy.

4. Grind the softened pieces through a thin metal sieve or blend with a blender until a mushy mass.

5. Mix the remaining broth with sugar and prepare syrup.

6. Mix the puree with hot syrup and reduce by half over low heat. Two minutes before readiness, add mint essence and stir thoroughly.

7. Place the finished homemade marmalade into suitable dry jars and roll them up.

Drying melon

Ingredients:

• ripe melons.

Cooking method:

1. Fruits prepared for drying must be kept on the balcony or in the yard for two days. Then wash them thoroughly with soapy water and air dry. You can, of course, remove any remaining moisture with a disposable towel, but after that you will still need to air dry them for several hours.

2. Cut the cooked fruits in half and, having selected the seeds, cut into slices 3 cm thick. After this, the peel is cut off from the pieces, trying to capture the green layer of pulp adjacent to it.

3. After this, place the melon pieces on the wire rack so that they do not touch and cover them with gauze.