Melon - a wonderful melon culture, which has a pleasant characteristic taste and a specific flavor. It contains many useful substances, vitamins and trace elements, and naturally, it is necessary to choose a melon correctly. It's no wonder that many people would like to learn how to prepare melons for the winter. This can be done in various ways. Of course, we are most interested in those methods of melon harvesting, in which the maximum of its useful properties is preserved.
The best ways
Sun-dried melons are a wonderful treat. For drying, we choose only mature, healthy and not damaged fruits of sweet, not watery varieties. First, the fruits should lie in the sun for 2-5 days.
After that, we sort them, choosing the best ones. Mine melons and dried them in the air. Cut each half in length along and remove the seeds with a spoon, preferably wooden. Each of the halves is cut into slices with a thickness of 2-4 centimeters. The peel and the adjacent green layer are usually removed. Next, lay out slices on clean baking trays or plywood, cover with gauze and knead with turning 3-4 times a day. For the night we put in the room or under a canopy. Spinning usually lasts about 2 weeks, and maybe a little longer. Ready-made slices of dried melon should be elastic and have a color from light yellow to light brown.
Cured slices can be weaved into braids and put in prepared cardboard or wooden containers with air access. Layers are better to overdone with paper.
If the weather does not allow, you can dry slices of melon on paper baking trays in the oven with a slightly ajar door in a few receptions with overturning and interruptions for cooling.
How to freeze a melon for the winter?
If your refrigerator has a large freezer compartment, you can freeze a melon cut into small cubes or cubes. We put them on the board in one layer so that they do not touch and freeze. Then we drop it into a plastic bag and freeze the next portion, which is dropped there. You can store for 4-5 months. With this method of storage, almost all useful substances are well preserved.
The recipes listed below, in some ways, are less useful, but also quite good.Melon in syrup for the winter
Ingredients:
- melon - 5-6 kg;
- sugar - 700-900 g;
- lemon - 1-2 pcs.
Preparation
Melons, sliced, put into clean glass jars. We add on a slice of a lemon (it is possible and hardly more). Fill with boiling water, cover with metal covers and after 5 minutes merge the infusion into the pan.
Add sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Bring to a boil and again pour melon boiling syrup. Sterilize the cans in the basin with liquid for 20 minutes, roll up and turn over. We cover the jars with an old blanket for a day. Such canned melon can be stored for up to 1 year.
Melon juice for the winter
Ingredients:
- melon - 2 kg (peeled and cut into pieces);
- water - about 1.5 liters;
- sugar - 200 g;
- lemon - 3-4 pcs.
Preparation
Pieces of melon are scraped in a blender along with peeled lemons. The resulting mashed potatoes are filtered through a frequent sieve (stainless steel grill or plastic).