Throw away watermelon rinds? Never. That is what I grow them for. I give the inards away to my sister and mother. I can never seem to make enough watermelon pickles to last the year. I have so many friends and family who hint-hint that they are all out when I am planting for the summer. I will give them a try in stirfry (the rinds, not the friends). I have never thought of anything but pickles.

I always save the rinds for watermelon pickles, too. But apparently our family seems to be the only one who makes them into dill pickles rather than sweet pickles. Yummy!

I would love both of your recipes....

Thanks,

Linda

My great grandmother made the best watermelon pickles! ( I am sure nostalgic tonight...?)
Her daughter in law, my grandmother gave me what she said was Grandma Kissel's recipe....but it didn't taste the same, it was too salty.
I would liove to have a T and T watermelon pickle recipe! It should have cloves and a cinnamon stick....and be sweet and sour all at once!
Anyone have one?
Linda C

I'm another person who has never had watermelon rind other than pickled, now I'm going to have to try it!

dcarch, do you take the green off?

LindaC, here's the recipe Grandma always used:

Watermelon Rind Preserves

Yield: About 4 or 5 pints.

3 quarts (about 6 pounds) watermelon rind, unpared
3/4 cup salt
3 quarts water
2 quarts (2 trays) ice cubes
9 cups sugar
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups water
1 tablespoon (about 48) whole cloves
6 cinnamon sticks, 1 inch pieces
1 lemon, thinly sliced, with seeds removed

Make the brine by mixing the 3/4 cup salt with 3 quarts cold water. Stir well.

Trim the pink flesh and outer green skin from thick watermelon rind. Cut into 1 inch squares or fancy shapes as desired. You only want the white portion. Cover with the brine solution, add the 2 trays (2 quarts worth) of ice cubes. Let stand 3 to 4 hours.

Combine whole cloves and cinnamon sticks broken into 1 inch pieces tied in a cheesecloth or other clean, thin, white cloth.

After the 3 to 4 hours has elapsed, drain and then rinse in cold water and drain again.

Cover the watermelon rind with cold water and cook until almost fork tender, about 10 minutes (do not overcook).

While the watermelon rind is cooking, combine sugar, vinegar, water and the seasoning mix bag in a large pot and boil for 5 minutes.

Drain the watermelon rind and add to the seasoned syrup solution (remove the syrup from heat). Let the watermelon rind and seasoned syrup stand overnight in the refrigerator.

Heat the watermelon rind in syrup by bringing it to a boil. As soon as a boil is reached, turn down the heat to cook slowly for 1 hour.

Fill the jars loosely, with 1/2 inch of headspace. To each jar add 1 piece of stick cinnamon from spice bag;

Pour boiling cooking liquid into each packed jar
Use a ladle or pyrex measuring cup to carefully fill each packed jar with the hot syrup solution, again allowing 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids.

Process for 10 minutes.

This one has lots of sugar, some cinnamon and cloves. Grandma always called it "preserves", not "pickled".

Annie

"Posted by lyndaluu2 ---I would love both of your recipes....
Thanks, Linda"
No recipe needed really. Typical stir-frying.
1. Minced garlic, one large clove.
2. Watermelon rind cut into small chunks.
3. Sundried tomatoes, a few.
4. Stir-fry on high heat with veggie oil of your choice.
5. Garnish with parsley.
6. Flavor with oyster sauce.

To Annie: Yes I take off the green skin. It's very tough.

dcarch

Thanks Annie.....My Great grandma's was sweet, a little sour and very clov-ey.
I suspect the hand written recipe from my grandmother didn't drain and boil away enough of the salt.
Linda C

Thank you, dcarch, I'm definitely going to have to try that stirfry. I was pretty sure you took the green off, but I can never be sure that I know what I think I should know, you know? (grin) I just learned to cook radishes a couple of years ago, I'd just never even thought of it.

LindaC, this is sweet, sour and spicy. I think the drain, rinse and drain again step gets rid of the salty and the liquid that covers the watermelon rind is kind of syrupy.

Annie

Thanks dcarch and annie1992 for the recipes...
Can't wait to try them both.

Was busy today making strawberry jam....will post pics later.

Linda

If anyone is interested, this is the recipe I use:

Pack quart jars with peeled watermelon rind, leaving a bit of the sweet fruit on the rind.

To each jar add:
2 tsp. dill seed
1 small clove garlic
1/8-1/4 tsp. dried red pepper
1 slice onion

In a large pot, bring the following to a boil:
1 quart white vinegar
2 quarts water
1/2 cup salt

Pour into jars. Seal.

In three days, these are ready to eat.

One of my favorite pickles that both of my DGM's made....one of them added green and red food coloring to some of the jars for Christmas. I've yet to make these but I'm thinking it's time to do it this year.

David

Oh boy! I began canning pickled watermelon rind a few years back. I don't care much for it myself (I have not a scrap of a sweet tooth) but there are so many clients and friends who love it and have nowhere to get it that I do some every year.

Also, watermelon rind can be used as a sub for Bok Choy in any stir fry recipe you like, and even as a sub for Winter Melon in Chinese Winter Melon soup if you don't have the melon available.

I like it as well in Gazpacho, and thinly sliced as an addition to slaws or other salads.

Naturally, one cuts the hard peel off...we're talking about the white part of the rind here. :D

Well, I too had never thought of using the watermelon rind for anything but pickles or preserves. My old Ball Blue Book has the two I always used -- one for sweet pickles and one for preserves. To the best of my memory, the preserves did not call for any vinegar at all, and when I made them one year I found them cloyingly sweet. Since I and DD are the only ones who like sweet pickles and we're both trying to stay away from sugary things, the only reason I would make watermelon pickles would be for gifts, and I always have trouble figuring out what's the best way to cut the rind. Strips? Squares? Maybe long strips, about dill pickle length, would look prettier in the jar and would be easier to put on a sandwich. I've always done little squares before but they do tend to fall out of a sandwich.

Those of you who post on this forum are so smart and I really like how you think outside of the box. I have learned a lot here, so keep up the good work! The next time we have watermelon, I will save that rind and prepare it for cooking. I have a FP that has julienne blades that would be perfect, I think (do you?), after I've cut the rind in 3" square chunks. I'm looking forward to trying this!

I wonder how this freezes? Has anyone tried it? How about dehydration?

Chilled watermelon rind soup with barley.

dcarch

Oh you bring back memories. My grandma always made the sweet chunk watermelon pickles-yumm. When I was in college a girl brought back jars of garlic dill watermelon pickles and there was always a chunk of the melon attached. They were so gross looking as the melon was soggy but they were such good tasting pickles. That was the same time that someone brought back canned meat in a jar-equally gross with all the fat but very tasty!! Deanna

Everything looks fabulous! But I still need help. I have 8 quarts of cut up rind, and I want to make pickles without processing them. Is that possible? And if so, can you please give me a recipe, and one that will last more than a few weeks in the fridge? I almost made Donna's recipe, but I am used to the sweeter version, and am hesitant to try the dill version just yet.
TIA!
Nancy

When making dill watermelon rind, do you need to cook the rind like you do with the sweet pickles? I've got 12 cups sitting in a brine, trying to find a non-sweet pickle recipe with them.