Marinated pumpkin for winter

Such a bright and unusual appetizer as marinated pumpkin for winter will look attractive on any festive table.

Surprisingly, the texture and taste of such a preparation closely resemble canned pineapple. This is because the marinade in which the pumpkin pieces are cooked contains not only sugar but also lemon, ginger root, a stick of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and apple vinegar. Thoroughly soaked in this aromatic mixture, the pumpkin is canned for long-term storage.

Yield: 2 jars (with a total volume of 1.5 liters).

Cooking time: 35 minutes + 8 hours to cool under a blanket.

Caloric value: 147 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Ingredients

• pumpkin with skin – 1200 g (peeled – 1000 g);
• white sugar – 350 g;
• drinking water – 500 ml;
• apple vinegar 6% – 120 ml;
• natural cinnamon – 1 stick;
• lemon – 1 pc;
• ginger root – 15 g;
• cloves – 4 pcs;
• allspice – 5-6 pcs.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients for making marinated pumpkin for winter. The pumpkin for this preparation should be chosen from sweet and non-watery varieties. All spices are essential; otherwise, the taste of the final product will not be quite what is expected.

2. Peel the pumpkin from the hard skin – it is convenient to do this with a vegetable peeler.

3. Cut the dense orange pulp into small pieces, about 2 x 2 centimeters.

4. Squeeze the juice from the whole lemon.

5. Scrape the skin off the ginger root, then chop it into small cubes.

6. Place them in a pot with water, sugar, lemon zest, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Bring all this to a boil on the stove.

7. At this moment, add the lemon juice.

8. Follow it with the vinegar and bring the mixture to a boil again.

9. Next, send all the pumpkin pieces into the pot.

10. When the marinade boils, start the timer and cook the preparation for at least 15 minutes.

11. After that, one needs to approach the process individually, as different varieties of pumpkin require varying amounts of time to boil. If the pieces have not softened, the boiling should be continued (this may take another 5-10 minutes). The readiness is checked with a fork – if it pierces the vegetable easily without much pressure, the stove should be turned off. During the time the pumpkin is cooking, sterilize the glass containers and lids.

12. Arrange the pumpkin pieces into hot jars and fill with marinade to the very top. Screw on the lids.

13. Turn the sealed jars upside down and wrap them in a warm blanket. Keep them in this thermal bath for about 6-8 hours.

For long-term storage, marinated pumpkin for winter is sent to a regular kitchen cupboard, where it will stay until the next season. This aromatic snack, with citrus tartness and ginger freshness, goes perfectly with meat and poultry. It can also replace costly pineapple in salads.

Try it, enjoy your meal!