For many, watermelon is almost a symbol of summer. It is very refreshing on hot days and quenches thirst, while having a unique juicy taste. To preserve its fruits for the winter without conservation is a simple undertaking. You can take a piece of summer with you in winter, but for this you have to tinker a little over the delicious preparations. Watermelon can be salted, boiled jam from its crusts. One of the most popular blanks - watermelon compote for the winter. It is sweet and refreshing, especially if you add mint to it when cooking or before serving. On icy days, he will remind you of the sunny summer and will lift your spirits.
Cooking Features
In order for the watermelon drink to meet expectations and stand for a long time, when cooking watermelon compote for the winter, certain rules should be followed.
- To make compote you should choose ripe watermelons, but not overripe ones, because if the pulp is too loose, it will simply “disperse” in the drink and it will look unappetizing at best.
- Despite the fact that only the flesh of watermelon is needed for compote, it should be washed thoroughly from all sides.
- The watermelon rind does not have to be thrown away - it can be useful for making delicious jam.
- The flesh of the watermelon is first cut into large pieces, then all the seeds are removed. This work is painstaking, but necessary. The process will go faster if the watermelon will be selected the right variety - with a small amount of seeds.
- After extraction from the pulp of seeds, it should be cut into smaller pieces, but it is not necessary to be too shallow. The best look pieces in the size of 3 to 4 centimeters or a little more.
Watermelon compote - the drink is quite sweet. If mint, lemon, and sour berries were not used when preserving it for the winter, it will not hurt to add a sprig of mint and some lemon juice to it before serving. Serve watermelon compote chilled.
The classic recipe for watermelon compote
Composition:
- watermelon pulp - 1 kg;
- water - 2 l;
- sugar - 0.5 kg.
Method of preparation:
- Wash the watermelon, cut the flesh, cut it into slices and remove the seeds. Cut slices from 3 to 5 cm.
- Sterilize a three-liter jar and fold the watermelon pieces into it.
- Boil water, pour watermelon. On the three-liter jar will take about 2 liters of water. Wait 20 minutes and pour the water from the jar into the pan.
- Add sugar to the watermelon water at the rate of 0, 25 kg per 1 liter.
- Boil the syrup, boil it for about five minutes and pour it into a jar of watermelon slices.
- Having rolled the jar, turn it over and wrap it with a blanket.
- After 24 hours, put the watermelon compote in a cool room, where it will be stored until winter or even until spring.
Before serving, add a sprig of mint, a couple of ice cubes, pour a few drops of lemon juice into each glass of watermelon compote.
Compote of watermelon and melon
Composition:
- watermelon (pulp) - 0, 5 kg;
- melon (pulp) - 0.5 kg;
- sugar - 1 kg;
- water - 5 l;
- citric acid - 6 g.
Method of preparation:
- Prepare the watermelon and melon, peeling them from the peel and seeds, cutting them into equal pieces.
- Sterilize the jars, boil the lids with which to close them for 5 minutes.
- Boil water, add sugar and cook for 5 minutes.
- Put the melon and watermelon pieces into the syrup, cook them for a quarter of an hour.
- Pour in citric acid, cook for another couple of minutes.
- Remove the watermelon and melon pulp with a noisy skimmer, spread it out over the cans, pour syrup over it.
- Roll up the jars and leave to cool up with bottoms. For better preservation, wrap them with something warm at this time.
This compote has a pleasant sweet-sour taste and an incredible aroma. You can store it in the closet or other unheated premises throughout the winter.
Compote of watermelon and apples
Composition:
- watermelon pulp - 1, 5 kg;
- apples - 0.5 kg;
- water - 1, 5 l;
- sugar - 0, 25 kg.
Method of preparation:
- Wash the watermelon. When the water is drained, cut it lengthwise.
- Remove all seeds from the watermelon, separate the flesh from the peel with a knife.
- Cut the flesh into equal sized pieces.
- Wash apples, cut a core out of them. Apples themselves, not peeling, cut into medium-sized slices.
- Boil water in a stainless or enamel saucepan. Add granulated sugar to it and boil, stirring, until it is completely dissolved.
- Dip the apple slices into the syrup and continue cooking the compote over low heat for a quarter of an hour.
- Place the watermelon slices next to the apples.
- Boil it all together for 5 minutes, remove from heat.
- Spill the compote on previously prepared, necessarily sterilized banks.
- Close the cans tightly and turn over.
- Cover with a blanket until it is completely cool.
- Remove for the winter.
Compote will be pleasant to the taste, with a slight sourness, which is given to it by apples.
Compote of watermelon, melon and plums
Composition:
- watermelon pulp - 0, 5 kg;
- melon pulp - 0, 5 kg;
- plums (without stones) - 0, 3 kg;
- sugar - 0, 75 kg;
- water - 2 l.
Method of preparation:
- Prepare the watermelon and melon flesh by slicing it.
- Wash plums, cut lengthwise and remove bones from them.
- Pour sugar into boiling water, boil until it dissolves.
- Add the plums, boil them in the syrup for 10 minutes.
- Put the melon and watermelon pieces into the syrup. Remove from heat, leave for an hour, so that compote is infused.
- Remove the watermelon, melon and plums with a slotted spoon, and place them in sterilized jars.
- Bring the syrup to a boil and pour it into the cans.
- Roll up the banks. Roll up, flip. Cover with something warm.
- When the banks are cool, remove them for winter storage.
This compote has a rich color, a pleasant taste and a fresh aroma.
In any compote of watermelon in the preparation, you can add a few sprigs of mint, cinnamon sticks or other spices. Some even add cloves to it. Spices give compote a brighter aroma, and mint turns it into a soft drink that refreshes in any weather. It will be even more pleasant to the taste if you put a few ice cubes at the bottom of a glass, the size of watermelon slices in compote, or pour ice crumbs.
