Sweet

White watermelon jam and tacky kitchen floors

watermelonjam
My poor kitchen has undergone another hostile takeover; my husband is in the midst of his biannual jamathon. I lose the use of my kitchen in September to fig jam and in January to white watermelon jam. God forbid we should grow any other jam-suitable fruit – I don’t think my nerves are sufficiently robust. I just don’t have the patience to make it myself – all that peeling and de-pipping would have me gnawing my limbs off. The truth is, once Luc, my husband, enters  the kitchen he becomes a bit of a prima donna, and as OCD tidy as he usually is, the kitchen is left in a very sorry state. The floor tiles become  hazardous and moving around becomes fraught with danger and an immense effort. You either have to unstick your foot vigourously after each step, or take long circuitous routes around puddles of sugary water. I’m wrung out just thinking about it. Of course, it goes without saying that the final result is beyond divine and after all, I was born to mop kitchen floors 😉
Ingredients (makes four or five jars)
1 white watermelon
250g cane sugar
1/2 lemon, grated and juiced
20g fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp cinnamon
Cut the watermelon into quarters, then peel and remove the seeds. Cut the flesh into cubes and put into  a large pan. Add the sugar, ginger, lemon and cinnamon and gently heat to draw the moisture from the fruit. Simmer for between an hour and a half and two hours, or until desired consistency is obtained. This jam is fairly runny due to the relatively low sugar-content. Transfer into sterilised jam jars while still hot.
Watermelons are rich in many essential nutrients such as vitamins A, B1, B6 & C, pantothenic acid, biotin, potassium, and magnesium. They also fight cancer, relieve kidney disorders, reduce high blood pressure and the risk of heart problems, boost the immune system and help keep the eyes healthy. Get chopping !

8 Comments

  • apuginthekitchen

    Ha! I can commiserate! That jam sounds great but I have never heard of white watermelon before, I am not sure it’s available in the US, it must be but I have never seen or tasted before. I would love to try it, making jam is one of my favorite things.

  • Chez Foti

    I’ve never heard of white watermelon and I live nearby! It’s either very local to you, or I’ve managed to totally miss it?! Jam looks fab, so I’m now on the look-out…

    • The Healthy Epicurean

      Look in the potagers around you – you’ll see huge round (bigger than footballs but same shape)- green and white things on the ground towards the end of the year. Those are ‘pastèques’. All you need is a few seeds and you’ll be inundated!

  • Mona

    I’m from South Africa and we have the red and yellow watermelon. The yellow one is only used for jam and preserves. The mushy parts with the pips are used for jam and the bottom part gets peeled, pricked and overnight in slaked lime water , rinsed, boiled for 15 mins rinsed and the sugar, ginger gets added and the boils for about 3hrs moving bottom pieces to top hlfway thru boiling.Lastly we add some lemon juice. It makes. A lovely preserve.

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