When the fruits are already well ripened, you can prepare such a delicacy as watermelon honey. To do this, you will have to put in a little effort and spend a decent amount of time, but once you taste this sweetness, you will not remain indifferent.
Since honey boils down greatly during cooking, you need to take several watermelons at once: about five to six for a half-liter jar. You should only choose ripe fruits and the sweeter the better, since there is no need to add sugar during cooking.
Wash the watermelons well so that no dust or dirt gets into the juice. Use a large container because there will be a lot of pulp. Cut the watermelon in half with a knife, allowing the juice to drain into the container.
Using a tablespoon, scoop out all the pulp. Do the same with the next half and the remaining watermelons.
Take the masher you usually use to mash potatoes and mash the pulp, you should get homogeneous mass, the better you grind it, the easier it will be to squeeze out the juice later.
Now you need to fold gauze or any other fabric that can serve as a sieve several times. Clean old curtains and bandages will do. Prepare another thick-walled container in which you will boil the honey. Place a cloth on top of it and lay out a small part of the watermelon mass, then roll the cloth into a bag and squeeze out the juice with your hands, the pulp should be semi-dry and remain inside the bag. Thus, squeeze out all the juice.
Turn on high heat and place a saucepan with juice on it, which should boil very quickly, after which you need to remove the foam and turn off the heat. The juice should boil over the fire for no more than two minutes. Leave it to cool for 10 minutes, during which time flakes of pulp will appear in the juice. You need to fold the fabric several times again and strain the liquid. In the end it should be pure juice uniform red color. Now you need to put it on the fire again, the juice should boil slowly, otherwise it will burn. To prevent this from happening, you need to stir the honey with a spoon every ten minutes.
At first it will be liquid like water, after about half an hour you will notice that it has become half as much, this is the water evaporating, and what remains is the most valuable thing in watermelons. It takes a long time to cook, depending on the amount of watermelon juice. When you notice that the honey is thickening, you need to stir it constantly with a spoon, otherwise you miss the moment of readiness and it will burn. To check if the honey is ready, you need to drop a little on the saucer; if the drop does not spread, it’s time to turn off the heat. Ready honey The consistency looks like regular bee or heavy cream. As the honey cools, it will become even thicker.
- You can grind the watermelon pulp not with a masher, but through a meat grinder, but this will take longer and be troublesome. Or you can even squeeze it out with your hands.
- You can store watermelon honey not in a hermetically sealed container, that is, without rolling it into jars; to do this, put it in the refrigerator and cover with a plastic lid.
- You can make honey from watermelons that are not quite ripe, but be prepared for the taste to be a little sour, which may not be for everyone.
- You can consume honey with tea, baked goods, desserts and sweet cereals.
- By this recipe You can make honey not only from watermelon, but also from grapes, melon and mulberries. You don’t have to remove the pulp and then you’ll get delicious jam.
Benefits of watermelon honey
When preparing watermelon honey, all trace elements and minerals contained in fresh fruits are preserved. It contains a lot of vitamins C, E, B, PP, iron, calcium, magnesium, pectin, phosphorus, potassium and folic acid. Besides the fact that it's simple delicious product, it is also recommended for some diseases as a medicine.
I looked around the site and was surprised that there is not a single recipe for making watermelon honey. It is mine favorite treat, and for colds it simply has no equal. I hope it is useful to someone.
Ingredients for Watermelon Honey:
Recipe for “Watermelon honey”:
We will need:
Deep saucepan – 3 pieces
Kitchen paper towels
Aluminum basin with thick bottom
Knife
Tablespoon – 2 pieces
Tolkushka
Sieve
Sterile gauze – 1 meter 20 centimeters
Skimmer
Preparing the watermelon
To begin, place a deep pan with plain water and bring it to a boil. We need water in order to process the equipment that we will use while preparing honey with boiling water.
To prepare watermelon honey or, as it is also called, nardek, you need to choose the ripest watermelons late varieties, such watermelons contain more glucose and sucrose, which during cooking help the watermelon juice become thicker.
First, let's rinse the watermelons under the running water. cold water and dry with kitchen paper towels.
We take a clean, boiled-water-treated aluminum basin with a thick bottom and, using a knife, cut the watermelon into two halves directly above it, this process is necessary so that every drop of juice is preserved during slicing.
Then take a clean tablespoon, scalded with boiling water, and scoop out the pulp from each half of the watermelon directly into an aluminum bowl.
Take a clean masher, treated with boiling water, and use it to mash the watermelon pulp until pureed.
The watermelon pulp is dented, but there are still seeds in it, which will be completely unnecessary in the honey.
Therefore, place the same clean strainer on a clean, deep saucepan treated with boiling water and rub all the ingredients through it with a tablespoon. watermelon pulp, this way we separate the seeds.
We take clean, sterile gauze and, using scissors treated with boiling water, cut off 2 pieces of 60 by 60 centimeters. Fold each piece in half and place a clean tablespoon of watermelon puree on one of them, right in the middle. We connect the edges of the gauze with our hands so that we get a bag, and squeeze it through watermelon juice straight into the aluminum basin. After all the juice has been squeezed out, throw out the remaining watermelon pulp and place the basin with the juice on the stove, set to high heat. Bring the juice to a boil, stirring vigorously and removing the foam from it using a clean slotted spoon treated with boiling water. Be sure to remove the foam, as all dirt and nitrates are removed with it. There is no need to boil the juice for a long time; after boiling, 2-3 minutes will be enough.
Let the hot watermelon juice cool to room temperature. Take a second piece of gauze and strain the cooled watermelon juice through it directly into a clean, deep saucepan. We remove the gauze with the remnants of watermelon fibers; we will no longer need it, and we pour the juice from the pan into the aluminum basin in which it was boiled and put it on the stove, turned on on low heat.
The second cooking of watermelon juice lasts a very long time - approximately 3 to 6 hours, this process depends on the ripeness of the watermelon and its juiciness. To make it thick quality honey, cook the watermelon juice until excess moisture has evaporated from it. It should become very thick and decrease in volume by about 5-6 times, sometimes even more. During cooking, you must constantly stir the watermelon mass with a slotted spoon at intervals of 5–6 minutes so that the honey being prepared does not burn. The honey will change color and turn light brown.
While the honey is boiling, remembering to stir it periodically, let’s prepare jars for storing it. Take 2 half-liter jars, 2 lids for preservation and a large deep saucepan of about 5 liters, lower the container into it and pour water so that it is 2 fingers above the level of the jars. We put the lids there too. Place a saucepan with jars and lids on the stove, set to high heat, and sterilize the equipment in boiling water for 15 minutes. The time for sterilization of jars and lids is calculated after the water boils. We take out the sterilized jars with tongs along with boiling water and place them on a table previously covered with a waffle towel, and leave them to cool in this form. Leave the lids in a saucepan with boiling water. After the water in the jars has cooled, pour it out, cover the table with a new, clean waffle towel, since the previous towel has been wet from water for a long time, and place the sterilized jars on it, bottom down.
In order to start canning watermelon honey, you need to be sure that it is ready. Take a clean, sterile tablespoon, treated with boiling water, and put it in a small amount of honey and drop onto a cold plate. The drop should be thick, very viscous and not spread all over the plate, or if it spreads a little, then it should do it very slowly. The consistency of finished watermelon honey resembles regular honey or very heavy cream. If the mass of honey you prepared is thick and viscous, then it is ready. We turn the sterilized jars upside down, take one and place it in a clean, deep plate treated with boiling water, it is needed so that not a single drop of nardek is lost, the honey from the plate can then be eaten. Using a clean ladle treated with boiling water, scoop honey from the basin and pour it into the jar to the very top. Cover the jar of honey with a sterilized lid, which is easy to remove clean hand from water that has long cooled down. Cover the lid with a preservation key and tighten it with the key so that the lid fits tightly to the neck of the jar.
The color of watermelon honey is dark red or even brown, the consistency is viscous, and the taste is very sweet. There is no need to cool the honey under a blanket like any other preserved food; we just put it in a cool place to let it cool.
Nardek or, as it is also called, watermelon honey, served in a bowl with a teaspoon. It can be eaten separately as a snack with tea or coffee, spread on any type of bread, and used in making cakes and pies. Watermelon honey makes an excellent syrup for cakes, pretzels and gingerbread. This honey has medicinal properties and improves digestion, it is often added to children's cereals. Watermelon honey will delight you with its aroma and taste in winter.
− Watermelon honey It tolerates storage well, you don’t have to preserve it, but simply tighten the neck of the jars parchment paper and tie with an elastic band or twine. It is better to store such honey in a dark, well-ventilated area.
− Watermelon pulp can be ground using a blender or through a manual and electric meat grinder, but before using these units, the manual meat grinder must be boiled for 15-20 minutes in water, and the parts of the blender or electric meat grinder Rinse thoroughly and rinse with boiling water.
− If you can’t have a lot of sugar, you are watching your figure or you have diabetes, you should not eat watermelon honey, it contains a lot of sucrose and glucose.
− If you didn’t take ripe watermelon, it can also be used to prepare nardek, but such honey will be a little sour.
− Using the technology described above, you can prepare other types of honey; it can be honey from mulberries, grapes, melons or other sweet fruits. But remember that the fruits you choose should not be sour. Because condensed acid is tasteless and does not curdle well during cooking.
− Carefully monitor the thickening of the juice, mix it thoroughly and often with a slotted spoon so that it does not burn and there is no burning smell in the prepared honey.
− If you don’t have an aluminum basin, no problem, you can use an enamel basin or pan. The main thing is that they have a thick bottom.
Watermelon honey – nardek (no sugar)
A piece of abruz)))
A sweet preparation for the winter from condensed juice of ripe watermelons according to a southern recipe.
In the same way you can boil honey (very thick jam) from melon, grapes or mulberries.
How to cook nardek from abruz
- Wash the ripest watermelons and cut them directly over the bowl (to preserve the juice flowing during slicing) into 2 or 4 parts. Scoop out the pulp with a spoon, putting it in a bowl, crush it with a masher (like mashed potatoes). Rub the watermelon mass through a sieve (the seeds will separate);
- transfer the watermelon puree into cheesecloth (folded in 2-3 layers) and squeeze out the juice. Pour the juice into enamel pan, enameled, copper or brass basin (dishes with thick walls);
- Bring the abruz juice to a boil quickly over high heat, stirring. Remove foam. Strain the juice again through cheesecloth;
- the second time, cook for a long time over low heat, stirring frequently. Excess moisture should evaporate, and the juice should thicken greatly, decreasing in volume by 5-6 times (or even more). The readiness of watermelon honey is checked as follows: you need to drop a drop of syrup onto a cold saucer; if the drop is thick, viscous and does not spread (or spreads very slowly), the honey is ready. The consistency of the finished nardek is close to regular honey or very thick cream;
- transfer the finished nardek to clean, sterilized glass jars and roll up with regular sterilized or screw caps. In addition, you can tighten the jars with plain parchment paper (tied with twine); watermelon honey tolerates storage well and rarely spoils.
- keep cool room temperature in a dark, ventilated place.
Features of preparing honey from watermelon (nardek) and taste
This recipe for canning watermelons is suitable for housewives who, looking at the huge, luxurious, ripe fruits, think: “If I buy this handsome striped one now, what will I do with it?! We won’t eat that much!” The remains of large watermelons are just useful for making nardek - watermelon honey. The recipe is also good because watermelon juice jam is prepared without sugar; only ripe striped berries are needed.
How to grind abruz
Those who wish can grind fresh watermelon pulp not with a masher, but pass it through a meat grinder or squeeze the juice directly with very skillful and clean hands.
How to close a backdoor
Unsealed packaging (without rolling) for canned condensed watermelon juice is quite suitable, but watch the storage conditions, if you have terrible heat at home, then any canned food can ferment.
Watermelon honey turns out to be dark red, brownish in color and delights with pleasant summer scents. Nardek – very tasty, sweet and simple food. However, if you cannot have a lot of sugar or have diabetes, it is better to refrain from tasting watermelon honey.
Is nardek prepared from unripe watermelon?
If you have a not quite ripe watermelon, you can make nardek from it, but the tint will be sour, and whether you like it is unknown. It is better to immediately choose ripe, juicy, healthy, whole watermelons.
How to use Nardek
Nardek is very good with a variety of pastries, tea, as an addition to desserts, sweet baby cereals and on its own.
What else can you cook as nardek?
Using the same technology, you can prepare melon honey, grape honey (bekmes), honey from mulberry (mulberry) and other sweet and non-acidic fruits (after all, condensed acid is inedible and hardly a delicacy).
When you prepare melon honey, if the pulp is very ripe and soft, then follow the recipe. If the melon turns out to be denser and cannot be crushed into puree with a masher, then cut it into large cubes and boil with a small amount of water for 1 hour. And then rub through a sieve and follow our recipe for making honey from fruits and berries. Melon honey turns out to be even more aromatic and alluring than watermelon honey.
Good luck, keep an eye on the thickening juice, stir often, and enjoy your winter meal!
Today I learned about watermelon honey for the first time! You should definitely cook it when the watermelon season starts!
Watermelon honey or nardek. Have you ever tried this wonderful product? If not, then this article is for you! Read and you will find out what beneficial properties it has, how to prepare nardek and how to treat it!
The watermelon season gives us a great opportunity not only to enjoy this amazing delicious berries, but also get the maximum benefit from it for your health! Consisting of more than 90% water, watermelon has an excellent effect on digestion, improves appetite and quenches thirst remarkably.
Watermelon honey:
For those who care about their health, September is a great time for:
- carrying out Watermelon rinsing,
- improving liver function,
- kidney,
- saturating the body with easily digestible sugars.
- Watermelon is indicated for patients suffering from stomach ulcers and
- duodenum, as well as
- kidney diseases and
- spine.
For those who dream of losing weight, there is a wonderful reason to spend fasting days on watermelons. Fiber and pectin, of which there is so much in watermelon, help start the intestines, relieve constipation, and remove cholesterol. Watermelon also speeds up metabolism. It’s probably hard to imagine a more pleasant way to get rid of extra pounds with health benefits.
For women, watermelon is an excellent source of folic acid, beta-carotene and vitamins B and C, which prevent skin aging and help prolong youth.
But few people know that the benefits of watermelons can be preserved even winter period by preparing one great product that is good for your health - Watermelon honey!
In Central Asia watermelon honey is called nardek, cook and store enough of it to last for the entire winter period. But for us, this product is just beginning to lift the veil of secrecy. But watermelon honey is rich in vitamins and beneficial amino acids.
Benefits of watermelon honey:
- it contains all the vitamins, micro- and macroelements that are in watermelon: PP, E and B, iron, beta-carotene, pectin, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, folic acid, potassium,
- useful for bronchitis,
- favorable for laryngitis,
- treats colds,
- illnesses of cardio-vascular system,
- restores stomach function,
- has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the kidneys and liver,
- increases hemoglobin in the blood,
- helps in the treatment of tuberculosis,
- used to prevent atherosclerosis,
- indispensable for nutrition oncological diseases,
- increases the body's resistance, strengthens the immune system.
Since watermelon honey is prepared without sugar and without bees, it is an excellent value food product for those who are allergic to bee products and cannot afford regular bee honey.
Watermelon honey - contraindications:
- obesity,
- diabetes.
Personally, I have never seen watermelon honey sold in a store, but making it at home is not at all difficult, especially while there are still watermelons on the market. In fact, nardek is watermelon juice evaporated during long-term boiling. It doesn't require sugar, but it will need your time. But I am sure that you will not regret it if you prepare valuable watermelon honey, the recipe for which you will find below
How to prepare Nardek:
Wash the watermelons and cut them into several pieces. Cut out the pulp.
Grind the pulp and rub through a colander.
Place the juice on the fire in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, skimming off the foam.
Now let's strain the juice through cheesecloth and put it on the fire again. When boiling, the heat should be reduced to a minimum and cooked with constant stirring to avoid the juice from burning to the walls and bottom of the pan. Cook watermelon honey until its volume decreases by 5 times. The readiness of nardek is checked in the same way as the readiness of jam - the cooled drop does not spread over the plate. Pour the finished honey into hot sterile jars and roll up the lids.
It is better to store watermelon honey in the refrigerator.
How to use watermelon honey:
- In cooking, nardek can be added to dough for baking desserts instead of natural honey, can be added as a natural sweetener to porridge, cottage cheese and tea.
- To quench your thirst, dilute a tablespoon of watermelon honey in a glass of water.
- To prevent and treat liver diseases, add nardek to oat broth.
- To treat gastrointestinal and kidney diseases, add watermelon honey to tea or special decoctions.
- To prevent cardiovascular diseases, add nardek to rosehip decoction.
- Even an old cough can be cured by watermelon honey in combination with onion juice and apple cider vinegar.
Just don't overdo it!
"Live easy!" warns: overeating may worsen gastritis and even cause vomiting. Therefore, introduce watermelon honey into your diet gradually - a teaspoon per day.
And be healthy!
Since ancient times, honey was made from watermelons in Central Asia. Over time, they began to cook it on the Don. Watermelon honey is obtained by boiling watermelon juice 5 - 6 times, and allows you to preserve everything beneficial features watermelon berry for the winter. Use watermelon nardek at proper nutrition, allergies to bee honey, in children and dietary nutrition. The calorie content of honey is low - a little more than 110 calories per 100 grams, so it is indicated for weight loss. In addition, honey is useful for bronchitis and laryngitis, increases hemoglobin, improves immunity, and is useful for tuberculosis and cancer.
Watermelon honey nardek recipe with photo
The result is a small amount of sweet and fragrant honey. It goes well with pastries, cheesecakes, pancakes and pancakes. To quench your thirst, you can dilute honey with water. Unlike bee honey You can safely add nardek to the dough as a sweetener. The famous Sarepta gingerbreads are baked from this honey. Watermelon sweetness good to add to children's tea, morning porridge and cottage cheese.
As honey cools, it becomes thicker. Undercooked honey can start to sparkle. Overcooked honey is bitter. Be guided by the thickness of the cooled honey.
Large amounts of honey can cause digestive problems.
If you are not allergic to watermelon, then you can safely use watermelon honey.
Patients are allowed to consume a small amount of honey diabetes mellitus(check with your doctor about dosage).
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