Most people are used to eating watermelon only in fresh form, however, with proper processing, this pumpkin can be an excellent preparation for the winter period, you just have to choose the right recipe. Homemade pickling from the Ogonyok variety is an excellent example of such dishes, and what popular recipes should be given special attention and what is especially worth considering is further in the description.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
For pickling, you can choose not very mature large pumpkins, however if you like very sweet preparations, then buy the ripe fruits as much as possible. There are always several criteria for choosing a quality product:
- The size. The optimal weight range is 5–7 kg, since larger berries are more likely to be unripe, and in a smaller instance there is very little sweetness.
- Tail - A mandatory addition to any quality watermelon. To assess the maturity of the fetus, just look at its appearance: yellow indicates readiness for use, but green indicates an unripe state.
- Sound when tapping the surface of a watermelon. Most likely you will hear a booming sound, and if you squeeze the fruit from above or below, it will crack (this is the main characteristics of a ripe pumpkin).
- Grade. Ideal in this regard will be only the sweetest varieties, the cultivation of which took place with sufficient moisture.
When cutting a quality watermelon, the pulp should not have any yellowish veins, since they indicate a chemical treatment of the plant during cultivation. How long this watermelon will be stored is a big question, so in order not to risk it, you should choose only evenly pink flesh of a uniform consistency, which will crunch well.
As for the other possible ingredients of each recipe used, the general selection criteria apply to them: any product should always be as fresh or ripe as possible, and you can pickle it only after preliminary cleaning so as not to impair the taste of the finished workpiece.
Did you know? According to archaeological excavations, people grew watermelons in the twentieth century BC. e. This is evidenced by watermelon seeds found in the buildings of Ancient Egypt.
Pickling watermelons for winter
There are a lot of recipes for pickled watermelons for the winter, but each housewife wants to choose the simplest and most delicious option for herself, and it is desirable that the creation of a snack does not take a lot of time. You can achieve the desired and make a delicious workpiece using the following recipes.
Classic recipe
7 cans per 3 liters 2 hours
hot pepper
4 long pods
Nutritional value per 100 g:
Sterilize seven 3-liter cans with lids. On the bottom of each of them lay half of hot pepper, several branches of dill and 2 garlic cloves (it is most convenient to cut them into plates).
Wash the watermelons and cut into triangles, cutting the pumpkin into 8 pieces.
Peel each triangle from the crust and firmly lay the sliced watermelon in jars.
Pour boiling water over each jar, cover and cover with a blanket, leaving to warm for 20-30 minutes.
After the specified time, drain the water from the cans back into the pan, boil the liquid and pour into the cans again, repeating the heating procedure under the covers again.
Again, pour the infused water into the pan and after it boils, add 7 tbsp. To the marinade. l salt (one for each jar), 14 tbsp. sugar, 21 tbsp. vinegar. Stir the mixture and let it boil for another 5 minutes.
Pour the watermelons remaining in the cans with the prepared marinade and roll the container with metal lids. Turn the blanks upside down and cover them with a warm blanket, leaving it until the brine cools completely.
Sterilize seven 3-liter cans with lids. On the bottom of each of them lay half of hot pepper, several branches of dill and 2 garlic cloves (it is most convenient to cut them into plates).
Wash the watermelons and cut into triangles, cutting the pumpkin into 8 pieces.
Peel each triangle from the crust and firmly lay the sliced watermelon in jars.
Pour boiling water over each jar, cover and cover with a blanket, leaving to warm for 20-30 minutes.
After the specified time, drain the water from the cans back into the pan, boil the liquid and pour into the cans again, repeating the heating procedure under the covers again.
Again, pour the infused water into the pan and after it boils, add 7 tbsp. To the marinade. l salt (one for each jar), 14 tbsp. sugar, 21 tbsp. vinegar. Stir the mixture and let it boil for another 5 minutes.
Pour the watermelons remaining in the cans with the prepared marinade and roll the container with metal lids. Turn the blanks upside down and cover them with a warm blanket, leaving it until the brine cools completely.As soon as they become room temperature, it will be possible to take containers with watermelons into the cellar or pantry. If desired, the list of ingredients of this recipe can be supplemented with bay leaf.
Video recipe
Important! You can’t abruptly cool hot jars. When the temperature changes, the glass will crack, and the covers on the workpiece may tear.
Simple recipe
3 L1.5 hours
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Wash the prepared watermelon, cut it into 4 parts and cut into slices to make triangles (the seed can not be removed).
- Divide each triangle into 2 more parts, making the pieces not so big.
- Fold the sliced pumpkin tightly in sterilized jars and pour boiling water to the top (peeling from the slices does not need to be removed).
- Cover the jar with the workpiece with a lid, wrap it on top with a towel and leave it in this form for 10-15 minutes.
- After this time, pour the infused liquid into a saucepan and boil it for at least 5 minutes.
- Pour boiling water over the watermelons again and reheat them with a lid and a towel for 15 minutes.
- The third time, drain the water and prepare the marinade, pouring 150 g of granulated sugar and 50 g of salt into the liquid. Mix everything well and put the mixture on fire, bringing to a boil.
- Pour 50 ml of vinegar into the filled jar and then the drained liquid, right up to the top of the container.
- Roll the container with a metal cover, turn it upside down and leave it to cool completely under a warm blanket.
Video recipe
With dill
3 L 1 hour
acetic acid (70%)
1 tsp
Nutritional value per 100 g:
Wash the watermelon, cut it into small pieces and peel it off (the result should be small triangles, which are very easy to put in a jar).
Disinfect the jars and their lids (sterilization takes no more than 10 minutes), and then fill the container with chopped pumpkin, tightly packing each piece.
Pour boiling water over the watermelon and let cool for 5–7 minutes under a slightly covered lid.
Drain the water back into the pan and throw the prepared dill umbrellas into the liquid.
Boil for 5-10 minutes. Pour salt and sugar into jars with watermelons, then refill the dill marinade (up to the shoulders of the container). Slightly adding liquid to the edge of the can, pour vinegar, and then fill the remaining space with the remaining water.
Roll up the cans with metal lids and turn the container upside down. Wrap preservation and wait for it to cool completely to transfer to a permanent storage. On this, the pickling process can be considered completed.
Wash the watermelon, cut it into small pieces and peel it off (the result should be small triangles, which are very easy to put in a jar).
Disinfect the jars and their lids (sterilization takes no more than 10 minutes), and then fill the container with chopped pumpkin, tightly packing each piece.
Pour boiling water over the watermelon and let cool for 5–7 minutes under a slightly covered lid.
Drain the water back into the pan and throw the prepared dill umbrellas into the liquid.
Boil for 5-10 minutes. Pour salt and sugar into jars with watermelons, then refill the dill marinade (up to the shoulders of the container). Slightly adding liquid to the edge of the can, pour vinegar, and then fill the remaining space with the remaining water.
Roll up the cans with metal lids and turn the container upside down. Wrap preservation and wait for it to cool completely to transfer to a permanent storage. On this, the pickling process can be considered completed.Important! When adding acetic acid, pour it into the marinade, and not onto the watermelon itself. So it is better distributed throughout the entire marinade.
Video recipe
Features of storage of blanks
You can pickle pumpkins in different ways, but the storage conditions for all such blanks will be the same. If you really chose a high-quality fruit and correctly performed all the manipulations when creating the workpiece, you can hope for a long shelf life (but not more than 1.5 years). The optimal placement is a cool cellar or pantry, but you can leave cans in the apartment on the insulated balcony. It is advisable to protect the swirls from sun exposure and not leave them near heating appliances, which will prevent the explosion of covers.
Did you know? The heaviest, officially registered, watermelon of recent decades was grown by an American farmer Chris Kant in 2013 and weighed as much as 158 kg 984.11 g.
Having carefully understood the step-by-step preparation of pickled watermelons for the winter, this process seems no longer so complicated, so you should not limit yourself to the pleasure of trying such an unusual product.
