What can you cook from frozen watermelon? Hot appetizer salad with fried watermelon, mint and Feta cheese

Have you decided to try the watermelon diet or just love watermelon? Then you will be interested to know about the dishes that can be prepared from it. The watermelon pulp itself is amazing. tasty treat, but I didn’t know, for example, that it could be used in any other way other than just cutting it into pieces. During the watermelon season, I tried to cook something, and I came to the conclusion: any watermelon dish is healthy, simple, fast, tasty, unusual and beautiful!

Yours will go faster and more fun if you try to cook various dishes from watermelon (you can’t make so many of them, but it’s still better than eating the same thing every day in the same form). What people haven't thought of doing with watermelon pulp - from simple drinks, ice cream and fruit sandwiches to savory fried and salty snacks.

Watermelons are salted, pickled, canned, made into jam, marmalade, candied fruits, marshmallows, mousses, jellies, desserts with chocolate icing And coconut flakes, prepare cold puree soups or gazpacho, filling for pancakes and pies. “Fried watermelon” sounds and looks unusual; such watermelon dishes also taste amazing: “shish kebab” under a sweet crust with a light smoky aroma - a juicy and crispy middle.

Variety of watermelon dishes

Watermelon dishes go especially well with cheese (like durum varieties, and soft, for example, Feta, as well as cottage cheese, low-fat curd mass). Those who love sweets, but cannot afford muffins and baked goods, will enjoy this dessert; with such a dessert you will not be in danger of catastrophic weight gain.

Here are some watermelon dishes that can be prepared very quickly and easily.

Fried watermelon salad with grilled cheese and mint

What you need for the recipe:

watermelon (seeds removed) – 8 small slices;
olive or refined sunflower oil– 2 tablespoons;
lime juice – 3 tablespoons;
Feta cheese – 100 g;
mint leaves (fresh) – about a handful;
greens (cress, arugula, lettuce) - 1 plate;
pumpkin seeds (raw or roasted) – 1 tablespoon;
salt and pepper - to your taste.

Cooking process

Heat the grill, dry the watermelon with a paper kitchen towel, and place the slices on the grill grate.
Fry on both sides (a couple of minutes on each side), turn over if necessary so as not to burn, place on a large flat plate sprinkled with lightly chopped herbs.
Mix the butter with lime juice, salt, pour over the toasted watermelon slices. Add chopped cheese on top, sprinkle with pepper, pumpkin seeds, garnish with mint - a refreshing watermelon dish is ready.

Watermelon dessert with cottage cheese

Cottage cheese dishes with watermelon are easy to digest, simple to prepare, and both adults and children will definitely like them (even those who don’t really like cottage cheese). By the way, if in curd mass add spices, salt, spicy herbs according to taste, it will turn out to be a savory snack.

Required Products:

watermelon pulp – 0.5 kg;
cottage cheese (soft, not dry, low-fat) or ready-made cottage cheese ( curd mass) – 0.3-0.4 kg;
sugar, honey, jam, fresh fruit or chopped berries - to taste);
vanillin - on the tip of a knife;
mint greens, berries or fruits for decoration.

Cooking process

We cut out cubes or sticks from the watermelon pulp (you can use special shaped molds with a hollow center, if you don’t have one, then use a knife or spoon to make a hole for the curd filling).
Combine cottage cheese with vanilla, sugar (if desired - fruit, honey, jam), knead into a homogeneous soft mass with a fork or blender. If you have a ready-made store-bought curd or cheese mass, then use it directly for the filling.
We form a watermelon dish: put the pulp on a plate, fill the indentations with cottage cheese, decorate with mint, fruits or berries, and cool in the refrigerator.

Salad with watermelon, ham and grain cottage cheese

Another unusual recipe dishes – with ham, in original recipe They recommend Parma, I made it several times with different types ham, it really tastes best with dry-cured ham, but the secret lies in thinly slicing the ham, the thinner the better).

Product set:

watermelon pulp – 0.5 kg;
ham (dry-cured) – 100-150 g;
grain cottage cheese – 3 tablespoons;
mint - a few leaves;
olive oil – 1 tablespoon;
salt - a small pinch;
lemon juice – 1 teaspoon;
ground black pepper - on the tip of a knife.

Preparation:

Scoop out the watermelon pulp with an ice cream spoon (to form balls) or cut it into small portions.
Place the cottage cheese in a colander and let all the liquid drain.
If you bought the ham in pieces and not ready-made, cut it into very thin slices (dishes to which dry-cured ham is added benefit from this).
Prepare the dressing: mix lemon juice with salt, pepper, and oil.
Place balls or pieces of watermelon in a salad bowl along with cottage cheese and ham, pour over dressing, garnish with mint, and cool before serving.

Watermelon and tomato salad

Bright vitamin dishes– a charge of positivity and health. Minimum calories, but maximum taste. The watermelon and tomato in this salad are softened by delicate cheese. At the same time others summer vegetables would also be appropriate on the table along with this salad, it can be like a separate dish or serve as a side dish for meat or fish.

What we cook from:

cucumber (peeled) – 1 pc.;
red onion (cut into half rings) – 1 pc.;
tomato – 3 pcs. (cut into pieces);
watermelon pulp (remove seeds, cut into pieces) – 1 plate;
bell pepper of any color (cut into cubes) – 1 pc.;
soft cheese (cut into small cubes; it is better to add it to watermelon dishes) soft varieties cheese, feta cheese or cottage cheese) – 200 g;
olive or other vegetable oil – 3-4 tablespoons;
wine vinegar (3 tablespoons);
salt - a pinch (or to your taste);
black pepper (grind peas) – ¼ teaspoon;
mint leaves (fresh, finely chopped) - 1 handful.

Cooking process:

First, prepare the dressing: combine salt, pepper, vinegar, vegetable oil in a separate bowl, whisk the ingredients thoroughly.
Next, remove the seeds from the cucumber and cut into thin strips.
Place cucumber, onion half rings, chopped tomatoes, watermelon in a deep bowl, bell pepper, cheese, mint. Pour in the dressing, mix gently, put in a salad bowl, and serve immediately.

Cold watermelon soup

Almost all watermelon dishes come out with low content calories. Soups can be either sweet (fruit and berries) or savory with the addition of vegetables (salt, seasonings, spices, herbs).

Set of products for 4 servings:

watermelon pulp – 500 g;
tomatoes – 800 g;
zucchini (small young zucchini, without seeds) – 1 pc.;
cucumbers – 2 pcs.;
basil (leaves) – 5 pcs.;
lemon juice – 2 tablespoons;
salt – ½ teaspoon;
green onions– several feathers;
celery (fresh, grated) - a third of a teaspoon.

How to cook:

400 g watermelon pulp beat in a blender at low speed, put the mixture in a deep plate.
Blend 1 cucumber, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, lemon juice, salt with a blender. Pour the prepared mixture into the watermelon puree.
Cut the remaining 100 g of watermelon together with the cucumber into small cubes, combine with the rest of the whipped products.
Finely chop the green onions, sprinkle with celery, cover tightly cling film, leave for half an hour in the refrigerator.

This is a very unusual watermelon dish, not for everyone. Not everyone likes the taste of celery; you can add your favorite spices instead. But both children and adults will surely like sweet watermelon dishes, try making them

Watermelon desserts and drinks

Watermelon cocktail with strawberries and banana

The recipe is very simple: mix 300 g of watermelon, 200 g of strawberries, 1 banana in a blender bowl. It will turn out nutritious, very delicious mixture. You can change the amount of ingredients to your taste, you can even add something of your own.

For example, my friend added a little sour cream or cream and froze it, making homemade fruit ice cream. I have not conducted such an experiment yet, but I will certainly try it next watermelon season.

If you are on a diet, then the cocktail mixture can be frozen as is, without increasing nutritional value dishes of additives, it will work popsicles or sorbet ice cream (depending on the ingredients in the recipe). However, it should be remembered that mousses, smoothies, cocktails and ice cream are watermelon dishes that will help you endure the diet without fasting and not exceed daily calorie content menu only in case of moderate consumption.

You can come up with your own watermelon dishes, improvise, and then treat your friends and family. Recipes with vegetables, salt and pepper, of course, are not for everybody, but with fruits and berries it’s hard to go wrong, it will certainly turn out delicious. Bon appetit and slimness!

Sweet treats you can make from the juicy mixture ripe fruit, can actually be quite varied. For example, watermelon jam and jam are especially popular; the recipe for making these sweets should be on hand for every housewife, because how can you get by with a cup of tea in the winter without a delicious homemade jam. Classic options many may have already gotten tired of it, but minke whale jam is something special, unusual and interesting, in a word, something that not everyone gets to try.

Watermelon jam: recipe with apples

Prepare watermelon jam at home it is very simple. To somehow embellish the taste winter harvesting– we will add ripe apples to it. Watermelon combined with apples will give great taste, which can always be corrected with sour lemon and sweet sugar. Preparation will take no more than 1 hour, but this time is enough to have time to prepare a lot of sweet watermelon jam for the winter.

Ingredients

Apples – 1 kg;
Watermelon pulp – 1 kg;
Lemon – 1 pc.;
Sugar – 1 kg.

Recipe for making watermelon jam

Cut the watermelon pulp into cubes, peel the apples from seeds and peel, then cut them in the same way as a watermelon (into cubes).
Cook the chopped food in a saucepan for 30 minutes.
Add sugar and boil for another 5 minutes.
Pour the cooked mixture into a blender and grind it into a puree.
Add lemon juice to the puree mixture grated zest, put the product on the fire again, cook it until thickened.

This completes the preparation. We spread the jam into previously prepared (sterilized) jars, roll them up with lids, let them cool for a little time (after wrapping the jars in a blanket), then take them away for storage in a cool, dark place.

A unique type of jam is jam. If you are a fan of this particular product, then be sure to write down a simple and at the same time interesting recipe its preparations. All ingredients for homemade jam made from watermelon are accessible and simple, it can give it a noticeable piquancy orange zest, if desired, it can be added in small quantities at the very end of cooking.

Ingredients

Water – 20 ml;
Watermelon pulp – 500 g;
Orange zest – 1 tbsp. l.;
Sugar – 500 g;
Lemon – ½ pc.

How to make jam from watermelon pulp

Peel the watermelon pulp from the peel and seeds, cut it into cubes.
Transfer the sliced watermelon into a saucepan and fill it with water. Bring the product to a boil without ceasing to stir it.
Boil the watermelon for 5 minutes, remove from heat, and cool.
Squeeze the juice out of the lemon, add it to the pan with the watermelon pulp, and lastly add the sugar.
We remove the product to infuse for 2 hours.
After a couple of hours, put the jam on the fire again, bring it to a boil, then boil for another 5-7 minutes.
Immediately, while hot, put the jam into sterilized jars (fill the jars to the top), roll them up with sterilized lids, and place them upside down for a while. We wrap the jars, waiting until the contents have cooled completely, then take them to cool place(basement, refrigerator, pantry) for storage.

At this point, the watermelon jam is ready. Recipe with orange peels is not significantly different. If you want to add orange zest to the jam, you can do this after the first cooking. We put the crushed peels into the main mass, boil everything for 20 minutes, then put them in sterilized jars, roll them up, and put them away for storage.

How to make watermelon marmalade

Not only jam or jam can be made from sweet watermelon, it is also especially popular delicious marmalade homemade. It will take a lot of time to make it at home, but the taste of the finished sweet will be extraordinary, and what is important is that such a product will not contain flavorings and harmful additives. Therefore, cooking at home will not only bring you joy, but also benefit.

Ingredients

Sugar – 1.2 kg;
Watermelon rinds – 1 kg;
Sugar (for sprinkling) - to taste;
Lemon juice – ½ piece;
Soda – 1 tsp;
Cardamom - to taste.

Step-by-step recipe for watermelon marmalade

We peel the crusts from the hard green part, cut them into medium or small pieces.
Filling the slices soda solution(we prepare a solution according to the principle of 1 teaspoon of soda per 1 liter of water), leave the watermelon in it for 4-6 hours.
Afterwards, rinse the peels thoroughly in cold water.
Next, transfer them to a large container and fill them with water so that they are completely covered. Add sugar (600 g), place the container with watermelon on the stove, and boil the product for 20 minutes.
After cooking, leave the crusts alone for 6-8 hours.
After the specified time has passed, bring them to a boil again, boil for 15-20 minutes, and leave to steep again for 6-8 hours.
After the second downtime, we boil the watermelon rinds for the third time.
At the end of cooking, add lemon juice, cardamom, and the rest of the sugar.
When the sugar has completely dissolved, boil the marmalade for 3-5 minutes, then strain off the syrup and roll the crusts in sugar.

It turns out very tasty summer dessert, which can be eaten not only as an independent product, but also as a filling in homemade baking, ice cream and other sweets produced at home.

Homemade watermelon sorbet

In the heat, we all love to eat sweet, cool ice cream, which perfectly quenches hunger and thirst. Legends have long been made about the dangers of factory-made dessert, so alternative option Many housewives find it an option to make ice cream at home.

One of the varieties of delicious ice cream is sorbet - this is frozen juice or pulp of fruits/berries combined with sugar syrup. The difference between this product and regular ice cream is that it does not contain dairy ingredients. This is exactly the dessert we will try to make from sweet watermelon.

Ingredients

Watermelon pulp – 700 g;
Honey (liquid) – 1 tbsp. l.;
Water – 220 g;
Sugar – 100 ml.

How to make watermelon sorbet

We peel the fruit, remove seeds, and cut it into medium cubes.
Using a blender, turn the watermelon slices into puree.
Be sure to remove any foam that has formed.
Pass the pulp through a colander with small holes.
In a separate (enamel) pan, mix water and sugar, place the container on the stove, heat the product until the sugar dissolves.
Pour the resulting syrup into the watermelon pulp, add honey there, and mix everything with a whisk until smooth.
Transfer the resulting mass into a low form, place it in freezer for 6 hours, or better yet all night.
During the freezing process, the sorbet must be stirred 2-4 times so that large ice crystals do not begin to form in it, and it is more pliable when laid out into portions.

Watermelon sorbet should not be stored for a long time; over time it loses its properties. taste qualities. So make as much ice cream as you can eat in the next few days.

Now you know what can be made from watermelon pulp. As you can see, the list of dishes made from this fruit is very diverse. That’s why, at the height of the watermelon season, you can afford to cook whatever you want: sorbet, marmalade, jam, preserves or jam. You can eat all these products right away, or you can prepare them for the winter; during the cold season, such sweetness will be valued even more.

Bon appetit!

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 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 wooden barrel and fill with brine (500 g sugar – 200 g salt – 10 l 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! It's wonderful and useful component dietary 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 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. Flavorful marinade pour 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. She is especially good at tender meat rabbit or turkey. 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 on romantic dinner… IN 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. Everyone knows how beneficial melon is for the body. In combination with fragrant berry its taste takes on new shades, concealing 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 the sun's gifts - very tender and incredibly delicious dessert. The “glowing” pieces and light texture will delight your guests and will please your loved ones. It occurs much less frequently than traditional jam 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 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.

Weld 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 a 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 useful substances and please pleasant taste at any time of the year.

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 substances, a lot of salts of potassium, calcium, iron, copper, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, 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, 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 from watermelon juice By evaporation, make watermelon “honey”, which contains up to 89% sugar. You can make it from watermelon rinds delicious candied fruits, cook jam and jams.

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, the preparations made are no longer so successful: overripe watermelons do not have such delicate taste and juiciness, as if unripe.
Marinating is done in this way: cut a thin piece from an unripe watermelon green peel, 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 to glass jars and fill with the cooled and strained broth, without filling the 7 cm jar to the brim. Fill the jars to the top olive oil, cover 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 for low heat, sprinkling with the remaining sugar. Post candied watermelon on a baking sheet, let dry at room temperature and transfer to jars for storage.

The simplest thing is to cut the berries into semicircles or pieces and serve. But there are days when you want to try something new.

If you're having a day like this and there's a watermelon in the fridge, take it out and cook two simple dishes. Lara Katsova, brand chef of the Moscow restaurant Dyuk-Dyuk, shares her recipes:

– I associate watermelons with three recipes from my Odessa childhood.

First– watermelon with feta cheese: very delicious combination, and easy to prepare.

The watermelon is cut into pieces (the seeds must be removed) and the cheese is cut into exactly the same pieces. If you like basil, you can add basil leaves.

If the watermelon is unsweetened, pour honey on top and sprinkle walnut. The result is an unusual dessert.

Second- watermelon drink, or, as they would say now, watermelon fresh.

Grandma cut the watermelon very finely, right into crumbs (you can put it through a blender). Then, using a masher, she turned the watermelon crumbs into pulp, adding a little honey and crushed ice. Then everything was mixed, and a delicious drink was obtained.

He walked very well in the heat. I even carried it to the beach - the ice, of course, had melted by this time, but the drink remained cold.

Third recipe – light salad. It consists of watermelon, fresh radishes, lettuce leaves (those who wish can replace lettuce leaves arugula). Making a salad is very simple. Lettuce leaves are cut or torn. The radish is cut into quarters. Then add small pieces of watermelon, small shrimp and refuel vegetable oil, mixed with lemon juice. Yes, and, of course, you need a little salt and pepper.

ADVICE. To make a dish with watermelon tasty, of course, you need delicious watermelon. Probably everyone has their own methods, but I choose this: first I knock on it - ripe watermelon makes a booming, slightly vibrating sound. I also look at the tail, near which there should be a slightly faded spot. If I see these signs, I take a watermelon. Yes, and I still haven’t mentioned the most important thing! Grandmother taught that it is best to buy watermelons from the second half of August.

Read about the results of a study of watermelons by Roskachestvo, and how to choose them.

Apparently, this is why our watermelon season opened on August 20th. Watermelons were sold everywhere (previously there was no need to obtain permission to sell). Those who had houses near Odessa with large plots of land grew watermelons, and then, when the berries ripened, they stored the crop right at their gate. Anyone passing through could stop and buy a watermelon.

Eat watermelons and lose weight

By the way, during the melon season, many Odessa residents began to lose weight on watermelons. This is very convenient: you eat up without gaining calories and also get rid of excess fluid and swelling.

True, you need to be careful here too. I remember a time when my friend and I ate a large watermelon together. Grandma bought a huge and fantastic sweet watermelon, and we couldn't tear ourselves away from it! The two of them sat down and kneaded it.

Everything was fine with me, but my friend had sand in her kidneys. As a result, she had a seizure.

At the beginning of September, a special project of Roskachestvo will be supplemented by the results of the inspection already seasonal watermelons. Don't miss it! Subscribe to our newsletter