How to make candied fruit from a watermelon peel?

At the end of summer, when melons and watermelons are fully ripened and filled with sweet juice, it's time to make candied fruit from watermelon peels. Boiled in saturated sugar syrup and oven-dried watermelon peels is a healthy and surprisingly delicious dessert that will appeal to both adults and children. Candied fruits can be used instead of sweets or used to decorate a cake and pie. In order for the transparent crusts to acquire an attractive color, they are stained with natural juice.

Beneficial features

Candied fruits made from watermelon peels are not only unusual, but also the most economical kind of goodies. Indeed, many, eating the flesh of watermelon, send the crusts to the bin, although most of the nutrients are concentrated in them. Knowing the simple recipes for making summer treats, a giant berry can be used in its entirety.

The useful properties of watermelon peels boiled in syrup, even after heat treatment, are almost not inferior to the similar properties of pulp. Candied fruit contains an almost complete set of B vitamins, vitamin PP and ascorbic acid. They are saturated with trace elements such as magnesium, calcium, iron, and are also rich in organic acids and fructose.

The crust of a watermelon consists almost entirely of natural plant fiber, the use of which is necessary for the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and to cleanse the body of toxins and toxins.

The classic way of making candied fruit

To make candied fruits not too thin, it is better to make them from a ripe watermelon with a thick crust.

The following products are required for cooking:

• watermelon crusts - 1 kg;
• water - 750 ml;
• sugar - 1.2 kg.

The cooking process consists of several stages:

1. Peel off the green peel, and cut the remaining white-green dense part in the form of straws or cubes and rinse with cool water.



2. Crusts are placed in a spacious enameled pan, filled with cold water so as to completely close the product, and put on the stove. They must be well cooked, for which the crusts should boil for 10-15 minutes over low heat. The process should not be allowed to drift, as during cooking an abundant foam forms, which must be removed on time.



3. The cooked crusts are thrown back into a colander and left for a while, allowing excess liquid to drain. At this time, prepare syrup.



4. To prepare the syrup, you need to take a saucepan with a supply of volume, pour 750 ml of water, heat a little, pour 1.2 kg of granulated sugar and, constantly stirring, to completely dissolve the sugar, bring to a boil.
5. Put crusts in boiling syrup, carefully mix, trying to immerse each piece in a sweet liquid, and turn off the burner. The workpiece must be completely cooled, which will take at least 10-12 hours.



6. After the set time, the pan with candied fruit is again put on the stove, heated to a boil and boiled for 10-15 minutes. Then cool again for half a day. The procedure is repeated a total of three times.
7. Finally cooked watermelon peels are laid in a colander to drain the remaining syrup, and sprinkled with sugar. Then they are laid out piece by piece on a baking sheet or flat plate covered with baking paper.

Candied fruit should dry well. You can dry them both naturally in the air and in the oven at a temperature of + 40 ° C. Ready candies are laid out in a clean glass jar and stored in the refrigerator for no more than three months.

A treat prepared from watermelon can be stored all winter, but for this it needs to be hermetically sealed in sterilized jars or canned with syrup. Crusts in syrup are closed with tight lids, like ordinary jam, and set in a cool place - cellar, basement, pantry. At any time, you can drain the syrup, dry the slices in the oven and enjoy the taste of an amazing dessert with the memories of summer.

How and what to decorate candied fruit?

After cooking, candied fruits become transparent, acquire a yellowish tint. It’s boring to decorate a cake or pie with such a one-color product. To decorate the sweet slices, you can use the juice of fresh vegetables and fruits:

• beets
• carrots
• spinach
• strawberries
• raspberries
• cranberries
• currants.

It is added to syrup at the first boil. Gradually, the crusts are saturated with red, yellow or green syrup - and retain their acquired color forever.

To interrupt the extraneous odor that appeared when natural dye was added, you can use a pinch of vanillin or a sprig of mint added to the pan during the last boil.

Candied fruits with lime

Fans of spicy taste will certainly enjoy the recipe for making candied fruit with lime. The method exactly repeats the classic described above, and differs only in the fact that the zest and zest of two limes are added to the syrup.

Of course, the process of making candied fruit from watermelon peels cannot be called very fast - it lasts about 2-3 days, but the result exceeds all expectations and is clearly worth the troubles. An excellent delicacy from a seemingly unsuitable food product will be appreciated by both guests and household members.