I got a tasteless watermelon. How to make a delicacy from unripe watermelon - 5 of my favorite recipes

I envy people who can determine the sugar content of a watermelon by eye. For me, this is akin to extrasensory perception. No matter how much I tap or look, there are gaps. But I’m not sad, and to some extent I’m even happy. So, it’s time to turn a tasteless watermelon into something rich in vitamins and quite edible. I share my favorite recipes.

Top 5 recipes with tasteless watermelon – always delicious!

When I once again came across a tasteless watermelon, I opened the recipe book. So, so, what can you cook there? Don't waste 10 kg! I will say right away that not all experiments turned out to be successful, and some were even disgusting. So I decided to make a selection of successful recipes. I use it often and treat it to family and friends. Everyone is delighted.

Watermelon rind jam

I bet your head is cut off, you have never eaten such deliciousness! And who would have thought that the most valuable thing in a tasteless watermelon would be the rinds. This recipe is a definite winner for me. After all, the thicker the watermelon rinds, the tastier the dish turns out. So, the ingredients:

1 kg of watermelon rinds;
1 kg sugar;
100 ml water;
1 large orange.

How to properly make jam from watermelon rinds:

Wash the watermelon well with baking soda.
We cut it into 2 parts, then into 4.
Cut off the rinds with a small layer of pulp (2-3 mm).
Cut off the top thick peel.
Chop into cubes (about 1 by 0.5 cm).
Add sugar and a little water.
While stirring, bring to a boil.
Leave it for a day.
Heat it up and turn off the heat as soon as it boils.
We are waiting for 12 hours. The crusts will become transparent.
Bring to a boil 2 more times (believe me, the jam is worth it).
Grate the orange zest into the pan and squeeze out the juice.
Reheat the jam on the stove for the last time and boil for 5 minutes.

Advice. Never reveal what the jam is made of until a person tries it! It's a great pleasure to admire the confusion on your face. None of my friends have yet guessed the main ingredient. But everyone praises me and asks me to share the recipe.

Pancakes with watermelon juice

The second recipe goes well with the first. The rinds go into jam, and the pulp goes into pancakes. The resulting pancakes are amazing – tender, with a pleasant watermelon flavor. The main thing is not to eat them with your fingers. To knead the dough you will need:

a glass of flour;
500 ml fresh watermelon;
2 tbsp. spoons of sugar;
2 eggs;
5 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil.

Recipe:

Mix eggs and sugar, beat lightly.
Add 200 ml of fresh juice (pitted pulp crushed with a blender).
Add flour and mix.
Add the remaining fresh juice in parts, watching the consistency (it should be like sour cream).
Pour vegetable oil into the dough and mix.
Let the mixture stand for 1 hour.
Grease the frying pan with oil and heat it well.
Fry the pancakes as usual, on both sides.

Fried watermelon in batter

Doesn't sound like much, I know. But you can’t even imagine how delicious it is. It’s like eating a juicy watermelon with pancakes. You can please yourself and surprise your guests. Any watermelon will do, even the tasteless and “tired” one. Ingredients:

1 kg watermelon fillet (seedless pulp);
2 egg whites;
0.5 cups wheat flour;
0.5 cups corn starch;
1 packet of vanillin;
150 g powdered sugar.

Fried watermelon recipe:

First you need to separate the watermelon fillet. I cut the watermelon into finger-thin circles, remove the seeds and trim off the rinds.
Then cut the fillet into pieces measuring 5 by 5 cm (approximately). Thickness – about 1 cm.
Prepare the batter: mix starch and vanilla sugar, beat in egg whites, mix.
Heat a frying pan with plenty of vegetable oil. The pan should be well heated.
Dip watermelon slices into batter, then into wheat flour, and immediately fry on both sides in oil until golden brown.
Place on a napkin, wait until it cools slightly, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Serve to the table.

Attention! Watermelon in batter should only be eaten when it's hot. The maximum is to finish it by evening. I don't recommend heating it up. Becomes inedible.

Candied fruit

Hello again, watermelon rinds. They are so good in jam that for the first time in my life I decided to cook candied fruits for the winter. They say it is not only tasty, but also healthy. The preparation turned out to be so simple that I did not expect. List of ingredients:

0.5 kg of watermelon rinds;
a glass of sugar;
zest of 1 lemon.

How to make candied fruits for the winter from tasteless watermelon:

As with watermelon jam, the rinds must be freed from the pulp, leaving a layer of just a few millimeters, and the hard greens must also be cut off from the edge.
Slicing is free. You can use stripes, cubes, even hearts. I like rectangular candied fruits (easy to take out of a glass jar).
Pour sugar into a saucepan and leave overnight to release the juice.
In the morning, add lemon zest and cook the peels over very low heat for about half an hour. Leave until evening.
In the evening, cook the crusts again (stirring) until the syrup has reduced almost completely.
Place the candied fruits on a sieve.
When the syrup has drained, place them on a tray or baking sheet and leave them to dry on the balcony for 1-2 days.
To store candied fruits, sprinkle with powdered sugar and transfer to glass jars. We store it in the pantry.

Watermelon mojito

The collection of recipes ends with the famous cocktail, but not the classic one, but a watermelon one. Even if the watermelon is tasteless and the pulp is not very juicy, other additives compensate for this. Ingredients for mojito (per 300 ml):

mint sprig;
half a lemon (lime, if available);
200 ml fresh watermelon;
1.5 tbsp. spoons of sugar, maybe honey;
60 ml of soda or white rum (non-alcoholic and alcoholic cocktail options);
3 ice cubes.

The cocktail is prepared simply:

Cut the watermelon into quarters.
Cut out the pulp.
Along the way, we pick out the bones (if any).
Grind with a blender.
Cut the lime and lemon into slices.
Pour 200 ml of fresh watermelon into beautiful glasses, throw in mint leaves, sugar, lemon, dilute with soda or white rum.
Serve with ice cubes!

Advice. I recommend organizing a party. A large watermelon will make 10-15 cocktails. Or, as an option, watermelon mojito can be sealed in jars. The drink does not last long in the refrigerator.

What is better not to experiment with?

The first thing that caught my eye was watermelon honey. It's called Nardek. The essence of its preparation is to evaporate the watermelon juice to the consistency of honey. As the author of the recipe promises, it turns out very tasty and sweet. No. It didn't work with unsweetened, watery watermelon. Not only did it take several days to evaporate for 6 hours, but the taste was also mediocre. I don’t feel like eating even with cheesecakes and pancakes.

But the experiments turned out to be the most unsuccessful:

With salad. A salad with greens, soft cheese and tasteless watermelon, seasoned with salt and pepper, is something. It's so disgusting that it makes you shiver. I admit that pregnant women and lovers of fusion cuisine may like it. Although no, I don’t allow it. A terrible combination.
With watermelon milkshake. If you mix milk and fresh juice from an unripe watermelon, you will get a fresh watermelon. Checked personally. I didn't like the taste of the cocktail either. Neither honey nor cinnamon saved him.

This kind of watermelon is just for the trash!

Do you think that watermelon is tasteless because it is unripe or picked at the wrong time, and taste is its only problem? But not always. My nephew’s wife, an infectious disease specialist, told me how people are often poisoned by watermelons pumped with chemicals. Even people are in intensive care. So these watermelons can be identified by taste. Although they are red, they are completely unsweetened, with large veins, watery, with a taste of acetone or something unpleasant, sour. It’s better not to cook anything with them, but to throw them away immediately (I don’t even recommend using them in a compost bin).

It goes without saying that all of the dishes listed can be prepared from ripe and juicy watermelon. It will turn out even tastier. But personally, I don't see the point in this. Sweet watermelon is simply ideal fresh, straight from the refrigerator, and in the heat... mmm. But the tasteless one is perfect for cooking.