Sound odd to you? Well, before I met my father-in-law I would have agreed with you. But he often waxed nostalgic over the crunchy sweet goodness of the watermelon pickles his mother made for his family when he was little. They called it watermelon candy, if I recall the stories correctly. The large family was hit by the effects of the depression and migrated to California, living in a manner akin to a Steinbeck novel. In fact I remember a story about his mother using old newspaper stuffed between layers of the children’s clothing in an attempt to keep them warm. So sweets were hard to come by and that made watermelon pickles especially delicious. And, it was a way to use nearly all the watermelon – only the outer green part of the rind doesn’t get eaten.
And, oh boy, are they delicious!
You can find really complex watermelon pickle recipes out there, but mine is really simple and easy and my family loves them. If I can keep my children from grabbing a jar of them and a fork and heading off for a snack, then two quarts (roughly one watermelon’s worth) will last almost a year. I recommend that if you like the taste, though, you can more as it can be challenging to find a good quality, thick rind watermelon in December.
So here is the recipe…
Ingredients
- Rind of 1 watermelon, peeled
- 2 cups Water
- 2 cups Vinegar (I usually use white vinegar, but I have tried it with cider vinegar and works just as well)
- 1 Tbps + 1 Tsp whole cloves
- 1 whole cinnamon bark
- 3 1/2 cups Sugar
Tutorial
- Cut up your watermelon – I usually cut it just as I would if we were just going to be eating the juicy red part.
- Now cut the sweet red watermelon flesh away from the rind. Then cut away the thin, dark green outer rind. What you are left with is the whitish fleshy rind that no one ever eats… until now. Note: if you want a slip of the pretty red color on your pickles, then just cut them so they include a touch of the red watermelon flesh.
- Chop the white flesh into finger-sized pieces.
- Place all the flesh into a pot and add the water, sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, and cloves.
- Bring to a boil, stirring every so often.
- Keep heat at a low boil until the watermelon pickles become translucent (that is when you know they are done).
- Place into canning jars, while pickles and sauce are hot. You can strain out the cloves and cinnamon at this point if you want to, but I usually leave them in as they continue to spice the pickles while sitting in the jars. Now put on the lids, and if you like you can process them in a water bath. I usually store my watermelon pickles in the fridge all year, if they last that long, so I skip the processing step.
As soon as they cool down, you can begin to enjoy them. Great by themselves, watermelon pickles are yummy in a sandwich or on a burger. These are wonderful, old-time, sweets that you are sure to enjoy!
I shared this recipe with a LinkUp at A Net In Time, so you can hop over and read some other great recipes… I know there is a great one for Beef Stroganoff and one for an easy way to make Hummus!