What can be made from watermelon to please your household, surprise guests, and enjoy the fragrant aromas of summer on cold winter evenings? From a large striped berry, which, like you and me, consists of 80% water, you can prepare a lot of goodies.

Excellent berry - virtually waste-free! You shouldn't throw away the crusts - you need to... fry them! Like regular potatoes, just cut off the thin outer green skin before cooking. Cook with pleasure and discover new tastes of familiar products.

Wonderful aroma of green peels

Fragrant jam from watermelon rinds “Naslazhdenie”

What you need: granulated sugar – 950 g, fruit crust – 1-1.2 kg.

How to prepare: Remove the tough skin from the crusts with a sharp knife. Cut them into small pieces (1.5 by 1.5 cm), rinse with cool water. To prevent them from boiling, soak for half an hour in a 3% salt solution.

Next, immerse them for 10 minutes in water heated to 85-95 degrees C. Place in a saucepan (excellent - in a pressure cooker, multicooker), pour in cooled sweet syrup (400 g sugar - 600 ml water). Boil the mixture 4 times for 15 minutes. Count the time from the moment the syrup boils. The container should be removed from the burner (turned off) and cooled every 3 hours after the next welding. Roll up the finished jam.

This wonderful sweetness can be spread on fresh bread, or served with pancakes and pancakes, or used in pies and cakes. Even capricious children will like the curd with aromatic pieces. Have you ever eaten ice cream topped with jam from a fragrant “ball”? The taste is amazing!

Candied fruits with pear flavor

Surprise your guests with fragrant candied fruits. Such a treat will be a real delight during winter tea parties or just a get-together with friends.

What you need: granulated sugar - 1.2 kg, crusts (peeled) - 1 kg.

How to prepare: Remove the green dense top from the skins. Cut the pulp into small triangles or strips. These will be the candied fruits. Pour cool water over the chopped pieces and boil for 10-15 minutes. Drain in a colander and place in very cold (ice) water.

Dip the cooled slices into boiling syrup (200 g sugar - 400 ml water). Boil for 5 minutes, leave for 10-12 hours. Repeat the process 4-5 times until the pieces become transparent. During the last cooking, add a pinch citric acid. Dry the boiled candied fruits in the oven, sprinkle powdered sugar. Store in parchment paper.

Tip: Decorate your favorite cake with crispy and aromatic candied fruits.

We salt, ferment and pickle... berries!

Are you deciding what you can make from watermelon for the winter? Prepare salted watermelons! Crispy and aromatic, salty and sour, they go perfectly with boiled potatoes, meat, and are also suitable as a dessert dish. At any time of the year, you can easily decorate the table with striped gifts of nature. In addition, it can also be preserved in salted form - it will be an excellent natural diuretic in the house.

So, let's master salting watermelons in a barrel.

Salty stripes

Select fruits weighing 4-5 kg. Using a wooden knitting needle, pierce their rounded “barrels” in 12-15 places to speed up the fermentation process. Carefully place the “balls” in a wooden barrel and fill with brine (500 g sugar – 200 g salt – 10 liters of water). The first day the barrel is kept at room temperature, and then moved to the cellar. After three weeks, the salty delicacies can be served.

Tip: To prevent the fruits from floating in the barrel, cover them with a clean cloth, place a wooden circle on top and press down with a heavy stone, previously washed and scalded.

You already know how to pickle green “balls” for the winter, but soaked fruits are no less tasty. own juice. A savory snack would be appropriate for festive table, and for a regular family dinner. People often ask, salted and soaked? The answer is clear: yes! This is an excellent and healthy component of the diet menu.

Soaked watermelons

We place small fruits in rows in a barrel - wooden or plastic. Every two rows we alternate them with juicy pulp. The alternation continues until it is completely filled. Next, the barrel is sealed and filled with juice through the shunt hole. The berries “ferment” for a week. Containers should be stored in a cool place.

Have you prepared pickled watermelons for the winter? Surprise your guests with an unusual dish! Recipes can be selected to suit every taste. Canning watermelons is easy even for very young housewives. We offer a simple option that requires very little money and effort. The result will please you.

So, sweet and sour delicacies

Cut the watermelon into pieces - squares or slices. Place in the prepared jar up to the neck. Pour boiling water over it. Drain it immediately and add salt, sugar, vinegar and boil again. Pour the aromatic marinade over the slices and roll up. Proportions on three liter jar: sugar – 4 tbsp. spoons, salt - 2 tbsp. spoons and vinegar - 70 gr.

Watermelon canned for the winter is an interesting addition to meat dishes. Do not roll up the jars or add vinegar. You will have a wonderful lightly salted snack. It is especially good with tender rabbit or turkey meat. Lightly salted watermelon diabetes mellitus It won't hurt either, but you'll have to use it instead of sugar. Is it possible to get poisoned by watermelon if you smell sour? Yes. This product should not be eaten.

Delicious cool treats

Do you know that you can even make homemade ice cream from watermelon? I always want to eat ice cream - and... quick breakfast, and for a romantic dinner... In the summer heat - this is the hit of the season! Making watermelon ice cream is easier than you think. It is very, very tasty, healthy and cheaper than store bought...

Pink ice cream

Peel the striped “ball” from the crust and seeds, cut into pieces. Mix flavorful pieces, orange and lemon juice, blend in a blender or food processor. Freeze a little and beat again, and so on 3-4 times. Then place the delicacy in the molds and freeze a little again. Enjoy!

Exotic watermelon smoothie

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of seedless fruit pieces,
• 2 cups of yogurt (preferably without additives),
• 2 pieces of kiwi,
• ice cubes,
• mint leaves.

Preparation: Mix all ingredients and beat with a blender at the lowest speed. Pour the delicious mixture into tall glasses and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Refreshing cocktail

The rich taste of the cocktail will perfectly complement any festive event, even true gourmets will enjoy it. Everyone knows how beneficial melon is for the body. In combination with aromatic berries, its taste acquires new shades, melting the smell of sun and summer.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of berry pulp,
• 1 cup melon pulp,
• 220 ml cream

Preparation: Beat the ingredients until smooth. The cocktail goes perfectly with creamy ice cream.

We make jam and compote, prepare wine

Jam made from the pulp of sunny gifts is a very delicate and incredibly tasty dessert. The “glowing” pieces and light texture will delight your guests and will please your loved ones. It is much less common than traditional jam made from strawberries and raspberries, apples, plums and apricots. However, it is very easy to prepare and has a wonderful taste and pleasant aroma.

“Amber” watermelon jam for the winter

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of ripe pulp,
• 800 g sugar,
• 2 glasses of water,
• 2 tbsp. spoons of lemon juice,
• vanillin.

Peel the juicy crumb from the seeds and cut into small cubes. Fill them with water, put on low heat and cook for exactly 5 minutes. Cool the pieces in ice water, keep it in it for 6-7 hours.

Boil syrup from water and sugar, pour it over the cooled chopped core. After 10 hours, drain the syrup, add lemon juice, vanillin and boil. Pour over the pieces again and place on low heat for 5 minutes. Repeat the cooling and boiling procedure 3 times until the pieces become elastic and transparent. Pour the product into jars and roll up.

Compote

You can cook from this wonderful fruit delicious compote for the winter.

Ingredients:

• 600 g sugar,
• 0.5 kg chopped berries,
• 600 ml water.

Make a thick syrup from water and sugar. Place the chopped striped pulp into it and bring it to 90 degrees C. Pour into jars and roll up.

Tip: Add a few sprigs of lemon balm or mint to the syrup, 1 dessert spoon of lemon juice - this will refresh the drink and give it a little tartness.

Homemade watermelon wine

From the southern “guest” you can cook delicious light wine. The main feature is that the drink must mature for at least 1 year.

Ingredients:

• 10 kg pulp (red and ripe),
• 1.2 kg sugar,
• 4.5 g tartaric acid,
• 1 teaspoon of ammonia.

Mash the pulp quickly and pour into a prepared glass bottle (10 l). Add the remaining ingredients and wait until the sugar is completely dissolved. Cover the neck of the vessel with three layers of gauze and place in warm place for three days.

Pour the fermented juice into another container, squeeze out the pulp here, and install a water lock. After fermentation is complete, pour the young wine into another bottle and place it in the cellar (cellar) until fully matured. After about a year you can enjoy it to your heart's content.

We tried to tell you what can be made from watermelon. Experiment, create, and then a wonderful product will nourish the body with useful substances and delight with a pleasant taste at any time of the year.

Prepare interesting dishes making watermelon is not as difficult as it seems. You just need to really want it and use your imagination. Many people believe that berries are only suitable for jam, but this is a very big mistake.

Unusual drink

Everyone is accustomed to the fact that watermelon should be eaten without pre-processing, simply cutting it into slices and savoring the juicy, tender pulp. But few people know that this unusual berry can be used to prepare a huge number of the most unexpected dishes. Some recipes don't even fit into my head. For example, the simplest version of a watermelon dish is a drink. It's not difficult to prepare. For 4 servings you will need:

120 grams of watermelon pulp, ½ lime, a tablespoon of sugar, 60 milliliters of white rum, 4 mint leaves and a little ice.

Preparation is carried out in several stages:

1. Cut the lime into pieces and crush in a specially prepared container along with sugar and mint.
2. Add watermelon and mash everything again.
3. Pour rum and throw pieces of ice into the container.
4. Mix the contents well and pour into glasses.

No one will refuse such an exquisite drink, which is reminiscent of Mojito in composition. But if you suddenly find guests who do not drink, then the rum can easily be replaced with Sprite.

"Magic" salad

There is another option for preparing a watermelon dish. This is a salad. A rather unusual combination of components ultimately gives a surprisingly pleasant taste. To prepare this salad you will need:

1.5 kilograms of watermelon pulp, 100 grams of pumpkin seeds, 300 grams of Feta cheese, 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and a little ground black pepper.

An unusual culinary “miracle” is prepared as follows:

1. To begin, preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Send the seeds into it for 10 minutes, after mixing them with two tablespoons of oil.
3. Cut the watermelon randomly into medium-sized pieces and place them on plates.
4. Grind the cheese using a large-mesh grater and sprinkle the resulting crumbs on top of the watermelon.
5. Then scatter the seeds on a plate.
6. The resulting mass remains to be peppered and sprinkled with the remaining oil.

When serving such a watermelon dish on the table, you must also remember to place a small plate with lemon slices next to it.

For the little ones

When choosing watermelon dishes, you can choose recipes for everyone: both adults and children. Kids should especially like popsicles. This delicacy gives them special pleasure. It requires very little:

For half a watermelon, take 1 lemon, 3 oranges and a little sugar to taste.

In order to prepare such ice cream, you need to follow a few simple steps:

1. Cut the peeled watermelon pulp into arbitrary pieces and place them in a blender.
2. Pour in the juice squeezed from the fruit and add sugar.
3. Mix the products well, pour the resulting mixture into prepared molds and place in the freezer for 3 hours. This time will be quite enough.

Children will definitely like this fragrant dessert. You can prepare other watermelon dishes for them. The recipes and technology for their preparation are not complicated, and the original taste and unusual appearance will definitely bring pleasure to the kids.

Medicinal mixtures

Watermelon and melon dishes are not only delicious. They are also very useful for humans. These products can boost immunity, remove harmful toxins from the body and simply lift your spirits. For example, a summer salad of fragrant melon and juicy watermelon looks very impressive on the table. It consists of the following components:

0.5 kilograms each of watermelon and melon pulp, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, 4 tablespoons of blackberries and several sprigs of mint.

You can prepare the salad as follows:

1. Using a special spoon, cut out balls from the pulp of both products. Such devices are sold in hardware stores. Otherwise, you can just cut cubes of the same size.
2. Mash the blackberries with a fork along with the juice into a paste. If the berries taste a little sour, you can add a little powdered sugar or honey.
3. Combine the prepared products, mix and place in the refrigerator to cool.

At the right moment, all that remains is to put everything on plates and decorate the dish on top with mint leaves.

Preparations for the winter

Surprisingly, watermelons, like other products, can be prepared for the winter. Of course, because to the human body need vitamins all year round. How else can you preserve this delicate product? As a rule, watermelons are prepared in jars. To do this, you first need to prepare all the ingredients:

for 1 watermelon 50 grams of salt, 4 tablespoons of sugar and 100 grams of vinegar.

The cooking process is very similar to canning tomatoes:

1. First you need to prepare the jars and lids.
2. Then cut the watermelon into large slices along with the rind and place them tightly in jars.
3. Pour boiling water over the products and wait 20 minutes.
4. Then you need to drain the water into a separate pan and prepare the marinade. To do this, add salt and sugar and boil for 3 minutes.
5. First pour vinegar into each jar, then fill it to the top with the prepared marinade and roll it up.

In winter this unusual, but very delicious product It will be like a godsend. And if you remember about the benefits that watermelon brings, you will want to eat it more and more often.

Unusual delicacy

It should be noted that jam is still the most common way of preparing berries and fruits for future use. True, few people make watermelon jam. But in vain. It tastes no worse than cherry or strawberry. You can prepare this delicacy in two ways: from the pulp or from watermelon rinds. In the first case, the mixture turns out to be very tender and more homogeneous. To prepare it you will definitely need:

700 grams of pulp ripe watermelon, a kilogram of sugar, 10 grams of citric acid and vanilla sugar.

You need to prepare this jam slowly:

1. Cut the watermelon pulp into pieces, place in a basin, sprinkle with sugar and leave it in this state for a couple of hours. During this time, the juice should stand out.
2. Place the bowl on the fire, bring the mixture to a boil and boil it over medium heat for about 15 minutes. After that, remove and leave to cool completely.
3. These steps must be repeated 3 times.
4. The last time at the end of cooking, pour the remaining ingredients into the basin and boil the mixture for another 5 minutes.

Watermelon is a berry with a hard, smooth rind and juicy red flesh. The homeland of watermelon is South and Central Africa. Watermelon was known back in Ancient Egypt. IN Ancient Rome it was grown at the beginning of our era, and in Western Europe it appeared thanks to the crusading knights in the 11th-12th centuries.
Watermelons were brought to Russia by the Tatars. Russian name"Watermelon" comes from the Iranian word "harbuza", which means "melon" or "large cucumber".

Watermelons are rich in vitamins C, B1, B2, B6, PP, D, provitamin A, folic acid. Watermelon pulp contains up to 12% sugar - glucose, fructose, sucrose (half of all sugars are fructose). It also contains fiber, pectin, a lot of salts of potassium, calcium, iron, copper, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, and nickel. Watermelons are useful for people of any age, including children, for whom they are an excellent dessert food. Medicinal properties Watermelon is widely known in medicine. But the main one is the strongest diuretic effect. Watermelon is useful for cystitis, nephritis, urolithiasis, for edema associated with cardiovascular diseases, kidney and liver diseases.

Watermelons must have an intact surface. When tapping, a dull sound should be heard.

Watermelon is eaten fresh and added to fruit salads. Watermelons can be salted, and watermelon juice can be made into watermelon “honey” by evaporation, which contains up to 89% sugar. You can make delicious candied fruits, preserves and jams from watermelon rinds.

Pickled watermelon
It is best to pickle and salt watermelons at a time when they are not yet ripe, namely from the end of July to mid-August. Later preparations are no longer as successful: overripe watermelons do not have such a delicate taste and juiciness as unripe ones.
Marinating is done in this way: cut off the thin green rind from an unripe watermelon, remove the seeds and chop in large pieces. Then put them in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar mixed with ground ginger.
For a watermelon weighing 2 kg, take 11/2 cups of sugar and 11/2 teaspoons of ginger. Sprinkle the watermelon pieces with this mixture, add table vinegar and leave overnight. In the morning, pour the vinegar into a saucepan and put 50 g of cloves in it, bring to a boil and place the pieces of watermelon in the boiling vinegar. Cook until soft, making sure that the pieces are just soft and not falling apart. To do this, watermelon should be boiled no more than twice.
Carefully place the finished watermelon on a plate and let cool. Then also carefully transfer into glass jars and fill with the cooled and strained broth, without adding 7 cm jars to the brim. Fill the jars to the top with olive oil, close with lids and store in a cool, dry place.

Candied watermelon rinds
200 g watermelon rinds
2 cups sugar
0.5 glasses of water
zest and juice of 1 lemon
You can make candied fruits from watermelon rinds. Cut off the green rind and cut the remaining white part of the rind into strips. Place watermelon rinds in cold water and cook until soft, without boiling. Prepare syrup from 1 cup sugar with 0.5 cup water, add juice and zest of 1 lemon, bring to a boil, add watermelon rinds and cook over low heat, sprinkling with the remaining sugar. Place candied watermelon on a baking sheet, let dry at room temperature and transfer to jars for storage.

It is not always possible to buy ripe sweet fruit, often ideal appearance berries skillfully hides the shortcomings of the internal contents. Often, fruits that look ripe actually turn out to be green; of course, they cannot be eaten without heat treatment, but then what to do with an unripe watermelon? It’s simple - you need to prepare various delicacies from it, and fortunately there are enough such recipes, hurry up to write them down and start preparing unusual treats as soon as possible.

And for those readers who want to learn how to choose a tasty and ripe watermelon in the future, we suggest reading tips on how to do it correctly.

Watermelon pulp jam: step-by-step recipe

We all know that an unripe watermelon does not taste particularly sweet. To fix this, let's make it delicious jam, which the whole family will enjoy.

It will take about half an hour to prepare, but already on the same day you can enjoy aromatic homemade watermelon jam with a cup of tea.

Ingredients

• Watermelon pulp – 400 g;
• Water – 0.5-0.75 cups;
• Sugar – 800 g;
• Lemon – 1 pc.

Preparation

1. Wash the watermelon and lemon thoroughly with a food brush.
2. Cut the washed berries into pieces, then remove the peel and seeds. It is very important that the pieces are small, no more than 2-3 cm in size.
3. Place the slices in a saucepan and fill the watermelon pulp with water (about ¼ cup).
4. Place unripe watermelon jam on low heat, add 250 g of sugar to it and cook the fruit for about 45 minutes. Cooking time may vary, depending on how quickly the pieces soften.
5. While the watermelon pulp is cooking, let's get to the citrus fruit. Peel the lemon and squeeze the juice out of it. We also use the zest to make jam - grate it on a fine grater and add it to the watermelons at the end of cooking.
6. Prepare syrup from lemon juice, the remaining amount of water and 150 g of sugar in a separate container.
7. Pour the chopped zest into a saucepan, pour hot syrup over everything and continue to cook the jam over low heat for 30-40 minutes. During the cooking process, gradually add the remaining half of the sugar (400 g) into the pan, waiting until the syrup thickens.

That's all - jam from unripe watermelon is ready. Let it cool a little and you can try it.

Winter option

If you and your family like a watermelon treat made with your own hands, then you can prepare it for the winter.

You need to do everything the same as in the above recipe. The only difference is that before rolling the jam will need to be boiled not for 40 minutes, but for an hour or even an hour and a half. After that, pour it into pre-sterilized jars and seal.

Recipe for making candied fruit from unripe watermelon

From one berry you can prepare several dishes at once, for example, make jam from the pulp (as described in the recipe above), and delicious candied fruits from the peel. Therefore, if after making jam from watermelon pulp you still have melon berry peels, do not throw them away, but use them as the main ingredient for making candied fruits.

It won’t take much time to cook, but you will find a useful and reasonable use for an unsuitable watermelon.

Ingredients

• Watermelon – 1 pc. small size;
• Water ≈ 0.5-0.8 l. (the quantity is determined by the container in which the crusts will be cooked);
• Sugar – 100-150 g (but more is possible, depending on taste preferences).

Preparation

• pour a layer of sugar no more than 1 cm onto the bottom of the frying pan;
• add sugar in a small amount clean water. The amount of liquid should be just enough to wet the sugar just a little;
• Finally melt the sugar over low heat.

1. Boil sliced ​​unripe watermelon for 15-20 minutes. in clean water.
2. After this, transfer the peels into syrup and 5-10 minutes. cook them over low heat.
3. We dry candied watermelon in any convenient way, but it is better to use the oven. To do this, place the cooked crusts on a baking sheet and dry them at 50°C.
4. After drying, place the peels from the unripe fruit into a cooking pot. Boil the candied fruits for 5-10 minutes and dry them in the oven again. We do this 2 times.

After final drying, the watermelon rinds are ready for use. By taking a simple recipe into account, you will always know what to do with an unripe watermelon if one accidentally ends up in your basket.

Easy to prepare, candied fruits will go down a treat among those present at the table. They can be used as an addition to all kinds of drinks (tea, coffee, juices, etc.), and as components of various desserts, confectionery, etc.

Not only jam and candied fruits can be made from unripe striped fruit. Watermelon jam with orange peels.

Its preparation takes 1-1.5 hours, but what an unusual taste the treat turns out to be. It’s simply impossible to tear yourself away from this berry-citrus delicacy.

Ingredients

• Watermelon rind – 1 kg;
• Orange zest – 1 tbsp. l.;
• Sugar – 0.5 kg;
• Lemon – 0.25 pcs.;
• Water – 0.25 cups.

Preparation

1. Separate the watermelon rinds from the pulp and cut them into thin slices.
2. Prepare syrup from sugar and water:

• mix the ingredients together;
• bring the syrup to a boil;
• Finally, add slices of watermelon to the boiling mass.

1. Place the berries in the syrup on the fire and boil them for about 30-40 minutes, remembering to stir the contents periodically.
2. While still hot, rub the cooked watermelon mass through a sieve. Then mix everything with chopped orange peels and lemon juice.
3. Boil the unripe watermelon jam for 20 minutes and remove it from the stove. The watermelon jam is ready – serve the dish when slightly cooled.

The unique taste of the finished delicacy will surprise even the most sophisticated gourmets. The notes of sour lemon are ideally suited to the sweet aroma of melon berries, which allows the delicacy to leave an unforgettable aftertaste.

What can you cook from green watermelon?

The list of delicacies that are prepared from unripe striped berries is not limited to jam, jam and candied fruits.

You can prepare many dishes from green fruits, for example:

• ice cream;
• Dessert;
• cocktails;
• pickles;
• pies, casseroles and other baked goods.

In a word, you can create anything you want from an unripe fruit. You can use your imagination and figure out what to do with an unripe watermelon.

Thanks to your demonstrated culinary skills, you will be able to please yourself and your loved ones with a tasty and healthy summer product, which will only leave a pleasant memory in the cold season.

Apple-watermelon jam

Ingredients for Apple-Watermelon Jam:
Watermelon (red flesh only) - 1 kg
Apple (peeled and seeds removed) - 1 kg
Sugar - 1 kg
Lemon - 1 piece

Cut the watermelon pulp into cubes, peel and core the apples, cut into pieces. Place in a saucepan and heat until softened.
When the watermelon and apples become soft, turn them into a homogeneous mass in a blender. Put it back on the fire, adding sugar. Cook until medium thick, about min. thirty.
10 minutes before the end of cooking, add chopped lemon with peel.
Pour into sterilized jars and roll up.

Watermelon delicacies

Using watermelon in cooking does not end with simple operations, such as: bring it, wash it, cut it and eat it. Fresh juices are made from the giant berry and used to prepare lungs. summer salads and desserts, salted and even fried. Try the watermelon delicacies too.

Watermelon salad with tomatoes

Cut the watermelon pulp, from which the seeds have been removed, cut the cucumbers and tomatoes into cubes, mix, pour in vegetable oil, add a little cognac, lemon juice, season with salt and ground black pepper. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Before serving, carefully place in a salad bowl and garnish with dill.

Watermelon salad with avocado and feta cheese

Peel the avocado, halve, remove the pit, and cut into slices. Cut the watermelon pulp, from which the seeds have been removed, into small wedges. Place the watermelon and avocado in a salad bowl, sprinkle crumbled feta on top, and drizzle with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and ground black pepper. Garnish the salad with arugula leaves and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve chilled.

Watermelon and ham salad

Cut 200-300 g of watermelon pulp, 100 g of feta cheese and one medium-sized unsweetened apple into cubes (watermelon cubes should be larger), cut 150-200 g of ham into strips and add red sweet onion or 1-2 coarsely torn green lettuce leaves. For the dressing, mix vegetable oil with lemon juice, ground black pepper and salt.

Watermelon and strawberry “soup”

Grind the strawberries and watermelon pulp in a blender (set aside a third of it). Cut the reserved watermelon pulp into small cubes and mix with watermelon-strawberry puree. Add candied watermelon rinds to the “soup” and stir. Pour the watermelon “soup” into bowls and top each bowl with a scoop of ice cream or a spoonful of whipped cream. This delicacy, of course, is best eaten for dessert. You can use raspberries instead of strawberries.

Watermelon “soup” in a glass

Cut 500 g of watermelon pulp into cubes, grind another 500 g of watermelon pulp in a blender and strain. Cut 1-2 stalks of celery and 1 apple into thin strips. Pour the strained watermelon juice into martini glasses, add watermelon cubes, celery, apple, season with 1 tbsp. a spoonful of olive oil, a pinch of black pepper and a drop of balsamic vinegar.

Fried watermelon

To prepare this unusual delicious dessert cut the watermelon into cubes about 2 cm thick, roll in flour, then in beaten egg white, repeating the operation twice, and fry in boiling refined vegetable oil until a light brown crust forms. Place the pieces of fried watermelon on a plate, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve immediately.

Watermelon cocktail

Cut the watermelon pulp into pieces and place in a blender. Beat for 30 seconds until smooth. Add dry champagne. Add ice and stir. Pour the cocktail into glasses and garnish with mint sprigs and a slice of watermelon.

Cruchon

Cut from a ripe watermelon top part, and scoop out the pulp with a spoon. After removing all the seeds from the pulp, add 0.5 cups of cognac, 2 cups of dry wine or champagne, orange slices, peach slices, mango or grapes. Place the resulting mixture in the watermelon and cover with the previously cut “lid”. Put the watermelon in the refrigerator, after 2 hours you can treat yourself to a cup.

Watermelon sorbet

To prepare this refreshing hot weather For dessert, remove the seeds from the watermelon pulp, cut it into small pieces, grind in a blender, add lemon juice and put the sorbet in the freezer. After 3 hours, remove from the refrigerator and blend again in a blender. Serve the finished sorbet in bowls.

Watermelon honey

Watermelon honey (nardek, bekmes) is obtained by evaporating watermelon juice until honey becomes thick. It contains up to 20% sucrose and 40% inverted (that is, broken down sugar). To prepare this wonderful delicacy, washed watermelons are divided into 4 parts over a basin, the pulp is separated with a spoon, then squeezed out under a weight through a napkin. The resulting juice should be brought to a boil, stirring constantly and skimming off the foam, and strain through gauze folded in 3-4 layers. After this, cook again until you get thick brown honey. Honey is ready when a drop of it does not spread on a cold plate. Watermelon honey is very aromatic, tasty and sweet. Store honey in a cool place, preferably in jars with tin lids.

Watermelon honey is contraindicated for patients with diabetes and obesity.

Watermelon marshmallow

At the same time as preparing watermelon honey, you can make a delicious marshmallow. For 1 part of honey, put 2 parts of squeezed watermelon pulp and cook over low heat until thick, then add 4-5 drops of any fruit essence, 4 egg whites per 1 kilogram of mass and stir quickly. Place the hot mixture on a cutting board to cool. Cut the cooled marshmallow into pieces and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Store marshmallows in glass jars or cardboard boxes.

Watermelon rind jam

Wash and cut several thick-skinned watermelons into pieces. Peel the peels from the pulp and cut off the green layer from the peel in a thin layer. Cut these peels into small cubes, rinse and leave for 25-30 minutes in salt water(2-3 teaspoons per 1 liter of water) This is done to prevent the crusts from boiling. Then hold the peels in water heated to a boil (but not boiling!), after 10 minutes transfer them to a bowl with cold sugar syrup. Cook the jam in 3-4 batches, 10-15 minutes from the start of boiling, with breaks of 2-3 hours. The jam should be cooked over low heat, stirring constantly so that it does not burn.

For 1 kg of watermelon rinds you will need 1.2 kg of sugar and 1.5-2 glasses of water. The “correct” jam is transparent, golden, like amber, and the crusts crunch pleasantly, like candied fruits. You need to put the cooled jam into jars. It should be stored in a cool place.

This tasty, but high-calorie jam is strictly contraindicated for diabetes and obesity; it should not be included in the diet of people with chronic gastrointestinal diseases and a tendency to intestinal disorders. In limited quantities, it can be given to children from 10 years of age.

Candied watermelon rinds

Wash a watermelon with a thick rind weighing 3–4 kg and cut off the top green layer of skin no more than 2 mm thick. Cut the watermelon into pieces, remove the pulp with a spoon to a white layer. Cut the remaining peels into small cubes and cook for 3-4 minutes. blanch in boiling water with the addition of 2 tbsp. spoons of lemon juice. Place in a colander and pour over cold water and dry.

Boil syrup from 750 g of sugar and 0.5 liters of water until the sugar is completely dissolved and pour it over the watermelon rinds. Cook over low heat for 10–12 minutes, let steep for 8–10 hours.

Repeat this procedure twice more. The third time during cooking, add another 2 tbsp. l. lemon juice. Place the resulting mixture in a colander and let the liquid drain for 1 hour.

Place the crusts on a sieve and place to dry in a barely heated (up to 40ºC) oven for 1 hour. Roll the dried candied fruits in fine sugar, mix, shaking to remove excess sugar and leave at room temperature for 2-3 days. Store in a cardboard box or dry glass jar, covered with a lid.

Candied fruit syrup can be poured over cottage cheese, sweet casserole, oatmeal, ice cream, you can add it to baked goods or use it to make jam.

Salted watermelons

Watermelons can also be prepared for future use. Salted watermelons are a real delicacy! There are various ways to pickle watermelons.

Watermelons in a tub

It is better to salt small ripe watermelons of late varieties, if possible of the same size. Wash the watermelons, drain the water and, to speed up fermentation, pierce each one in several places with a sharp wooden pin or a sharpened splinter. Place tightly in a well-washed tub, scalded with boiling water, fill with brine (2 cups of salt per 1 bucket of water), cover with a cloth, a wooden circle and place a weight. After 2-3 days, put it in the cold. Fermentation at a temperature of +3 degrees lasts 25-30 days.

Watermelons in plastic bags

Place the weighed and washed watermelon in a thick bag. polyethylene film and fill with brine so that for every kilogram of watermelon there are 400 g of liquid. Add 1.5 tbsp to 1 liter of water in the brine. spoons of salt. The edges of the bag are melted: they are clamped with two metal strips and a candle flame is passed along them. The bags can be stored in a cold place (for example, in a cellar) for 10 months. For pickling, it is better to use watermelons with a thin rind, unripe or at least not overripe.

Watermelons in a jar

Cut the watermelon along with the rind into small triangular slices, place in a clean three-liter jar heated for 30 minutes in the oven and fill with brine (for 1 liter of water - 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of honey), previously boiled and slightly cooled. Immediately close the jar with a plastic lid. The jar should stand at room temperature for two to three days, then put it in the refrigerator. Salted watermelon stored until spring. It is an excellent source of magnesium, which is essential for the heart muscle.

You can also peel the skin from the green thin layer and cook it like zucchini. With onions and carrots.