OCR Text |
Show You Can Enjoy Cantaloupes, Honeydew Melons This Winter Cantaloupe can be frozen to add interest and variety as well as vitamins vita-mins C and A to your year-round menus, says Miss Jean Chase, University Uni-versity of Illinois college of agriculture. agri-culture. In preparation for freezing, choose firm ripe fruit. Remove rind and seeds and cut into cubes, balls or wedges. Fill cartons and cover with 40 per cent syrup which is made by heating to boiling point one and one-fourth one-fourth cups water to one cup of sugar. Cool syrup before adding to fruit. Seal cartons and freeze as soon as possible. Two melons will fill about three pint boxes. Although honeydew melon is a rather delicate fruit, it also can be frozen for use later on. Make sure you select firm ripe fruit. Remove rind and seeds and cut into small wedges. Fill containers and cover with cold 40 per cent syrup, leaving a small space for expansion. One melon will make about two pint boxes. Frozen cantaloupe and melon should be carefully thawed before using. Leave the fruit in the original origi-nal unopened container while thawing thaw-ing to prevent discoloration and loss of vitamins by oxidation. The most desirable product is procured by thawing the fruit slowly in the refrigerator. re-frigerator. To thaw a pound package pack-age will take from 6 to 16 hours in the refrigerator, depending on the temperature. If left in the refrigerator refriger-ator overnight, fruit will soften slowly slow-ly and still remain cold. At room temperature fruit will thaw in two to four hours, but the outer portion will become warm while the center is cold or even frozen. fro-zen. Fruits frozen in water-tight packages may be thawed rapidly by immersing the carton in cool water for about 45 minutes. If the fruit is to be used as a dessert, it is advisable ad-visable to serve it just before it is completely thawed. 1 |