At the height of the summer season, squash begins to keep up. This tender and very healthy vegetable against the background of summer abundance does not look so attractive, and if you do not know how to process a plentiful crop, then try to make a dessert. Surprised? Indeed, you can make thick and tasty squash jam. It is perfect for tea drinking, for making cookies and pies. But telling the guests what it is made of is not necessary; let them first offer their options.
Beneficial features
Squash jam is famous not only for its excellent taste, but also for its beneficial properties. Young vegetables can be used in food together with the peel, and you do not have to spend time cleaning. The content of vitamins and minerals in the fruits is very high, but there are few calories, only 20 kcal per 100 g. Of course, sugar will be added to this, but still such a treat will be much more useful for diet food than pear or peach jam.
Squash jam contains lutein. This is a very useful substance, with a lack of which a person's eyesight deteriorates irreversibly. This is especially true today, since the load on the organs of vision is enormous. The antioxidant properties of lutein eliminate excess free radicals and protect our cells from aging.
For prevention and treatment
Squash jam completely preserves all the beneficial substances contained in these vegetables. The regular use of these vegetables tidies up the metabolism. Therefore, the sweet preparation can be used as a winter wellness product. Then fats, proteins and carbohydrates begin to be properly absorbed, bile is better separated, and glycogen, which is important for energy recovery, begins to accumulate where necessary in the liver and muscles.
Doctors Recommendations
Winter squash jam must be prepared for people who suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and gall bladder. It is important for them to include the vegetable in the diet as a permanent and mandatory component. Fiber contained in squash gently stimulates the intestines, while preventing fermentation and constipation.
It is very advisable for pregnant women to include it in their diet as often as possible, since the more you eat squash, the better your kidneys work. Even meat becomes easily digestible if supplemented with this wonderful vegetable. The alkaline compounds of squash neutralize its oxidizing effect. True, the meat jam is not very suitable, but after the main course you can drink green tea with it.
Due to the large amount of potassium and magnesium, squash become an excellent means of preventing many diseases. Among them - hypertension, obesity, kidney and liver diseases.
Basic recipe
Squash recipes can vary depending on taste preferences. Each housewife knows that her family loves more, and can change the basic recipe. Even diabetics and people who control their weight can safely cook it for themselves, using fructose, stevia and other sugar substitutes as a sweetener. The taste will change slightly, but not too critical. So, let's look at how to make the simplest jam. You will need 1 kg of fresh vegetables, a similar amount of sugar and 500 ml of water.
First, prepare the vegetables. To do this, squash must be cut into pieces and rid of seeds. If the skin on them is tough and poorly cut, peel it off with a knife. Then the pieces are dipped in cold water for 6 hours, and then removed and left to dry on the table. Take out the meat grinder, now you need to twist all the vegetables into a homogeneous mass. At the same time, you can put a basin on the fire. Pour water into it and add sugar. Syrup will be made from this. It is enough to stir regularly to dissolve the syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil.
Pour prepared vegetables into hot syrup. Now you need to boil jam from squash for the winter. Recipes usually suggest boiling the mixture for about 30 minutes. Check it for readiness is very simple. It is enough to drop a little mixture on a clean plate. If it does not spread, then you can turn it off. The jam will gain density during cooling.
Harvesting for the winter
To enjoy a useful product all winter, you need to take care of proper storage. To do this, you will need dry, sterile jars. Once the jam is turned off, you can start preparing the containers. Rinse cans well in water, and sterilize in the usual way. Most often, housewives choose the option of processing over steam, but someone uses a microwave or oven. This is your business.
Warm sterile jars are filled with hot jam and rolled up with metal lids. They do not need to be turned over, as well as sterilized in boiling water. It is enough to carefully compose them and wrap them up. After a day, jam can be cleaned in the cellar. Now you can get it at any time and enjoy a natural product.
Tasteful
Some people really like it in its classic form, while others believe that it turns out to be a very boring sweetness that needs to be flavored with something. If you like the amber, yellow color and sweet and sour taste, then squash jam with lemon will be a great option. The citrus aroma completely interrupts the “vegetable” flavor of the dessert and makes it an ideal option for morning toast. Yes, and the bouquet is not richer as an example. In addition, squash in combination with lemon is twice as useful.
Technological subtleties
We take the classic recipe as the basis. For 1 kg of vegetables, two large lemons will be required. Squash washed, peeled and cut into small cubes. The recipe changes the taste a bit, vegetables become very similar to pineapples. Lemons need to be washed and grated. To make syrup, 400 ml of water are brought to a boil, sugar is added and syrup is prepared. Squash is laid out in it and brought to a boil. Now you need to turn off the fire, add lemons and leave to brew for 2 hours. After that, the mixture is again brought to a boil and cooked until tender. It is very important not to make the fire too strong so that the mixture does not burn.
The sun in a bowl
If you want none of the guests to guess exactly what you made this dessert from, then try making jam from squash with orange. It tastes like a mixture of pineapple and orange. Even if you were skeptical of such experiments (jam from zucchini, tomatoes), you will definitely like it. So, the preparation will not take much effort, and the result will please and surprise at the same time.
You will need three large oranges, 1 kg of zucchini and four glasses of sugar. Zucchini will need to be washed, peeled and seeds removed. Now rub the flesh on a grater. As you can see, each recipe is unique, and therefore the taste is a little different each time. The resulting mass must be filled with sugar and put in the cold for 6 hours.
The next step will be heating. The pan is placed on the fire and brought to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, be sure to stir. After this, remove the pan from the heat and let cool completely. Now the mass is placed in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
As you can see, it will take a lot of time, so it’s best to cook on the weekend. While squash is in the refrigerator, you need to peel oranges and chop finely. Bring the mixture again to a boil, add the oranges and cook for another 15 minutes. The penultimate stage will be cooling and cooling in the refrigerator for another 4 hours. In the final, the jam is boiled again, and in a warm form it is poured into jars. It remains to roll up and put away for storage.
For every taste
When sour lemons are combined with neutral squash and sweet oranges, you get the perfect dessert. Therefore, if you want to surprise particularly fastidious guests, then this recipe is especially for you. Squash jam with lemon and orange has a bright taste and amazing aroma. So, to prepare one serving, you will need 2 kg of young zucchini, 2 lemons and two oranges, as well as 1 kg of sugar.
Zucchini need to be washed and cut into cubes. If the fruits are not too young, then the peel should be cut off. Now cut them into small cubes, add sugar and leave for 2-3 hours, so that the vegetables can give juice. It’s best to do it right away in a cooking bowl. Now put it on fire, bring to a boil and stir for 20 minutes. When the mass has cooled, add finely chopped lemons and oranges without peeling them. Boil the jam again for 20 minutes. After cooling, the procedure is repeated again, and then the mixture is poured into cans and rolled up.