Watermelon Rind Pickles

in Home Cooking

As for the watermelon rind pickle recipe you will find below, you may be shocked. They're actually quite good! These make a unique and novel gift - or you could make a huge batch and sell them at a local flea market with samples laid out for your booth visitors. They'll buy them up - once just for the novelty, but twice for the great tasting pickles these make.

This recipe makes 3 pints and requires the rind of one medium watermelon.

Ingredients:

8 cups prepared rind
1/2 cup pickling salt (coarse)
8 cups cold water
3 cups white granulated sugar
2 cups white vinegar
5-6 cinnamon sticks

Prepare The Rind

Remove dark green peel from watermelon.
Cut rind into rectangular pieces approximately 1"x2" until you have 8 cups of rind strips.
Layer rind and salt in a stainless steel bowl or pickling crock.
Soak 12 hours.

Drain and rinse twice in cold water, then place rind and 8 cups cold water into a stainless steel saucepan and boil until fork tender (10 minutes). Drain again.

Prepare The Solution

Combine sugar, vinegar and broken cinnamon sticks in a saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce heat but keep at a slow boil for one hour.

...And Can

Immerse glass mason jars in boiling water for 10 minutes.
If using self-sealing lids boil as well for 5 minutes.
Into hot (now sterilized) jars distribute rind strips and add pickling solution to within 1" of jar top.
Wipe jar rim before securing lids.

Shelf Life of Watermelon Rind Pickles

Store jars in a cool, dark place and let set for 6-8 weeks before opening. Consume within 8 months.

Tip on Pickling Basics

Pickling has come far since the early days. Where once they were overly salty and sour we now enjoy a wide range of flavors from pickled vegetables, fruits or blends.

Pickles are made in one of two fashions: Quick Process or Fermentation. Fermentation processed pickles are generally made in a crock, and are worth the extra time and trouble I promise you! You can get my crock dill pickle recipe here.

Quick process pickles are certainly most modern preserver's choice (given our over-loaded schedules), but if you can invest 5 minutes a day I urge you to at least try the fermented variety once. Most people prefer them over quick process pickles.