Where can I find a recipe for Watermelon Pickles?

Question

My great grandmother use to pickle watermelon rind - - wouldn't want to waste anything! I loved 'em but can't find the recipe.

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

2 lbs watermelon rind
1/4 cup pickling salt
4 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1Tbsp cinnamon stick
1 1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 lemon thinly sliced

Trim the dark green and pink parts from the rind. Cut rind in 1 inch cubes and measure 7 cups. Soak rinds over night in a mixture of the pickling salt and water. If it takes more to cover, use the same proportion salt to water. Drain and rinse watermelon rind. Cover rind with cold water in a large saucepan; cook just til tender.

Meanwhile, in a 6-8 quart kettle or whatever, combine sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves and 1 cup water. Simmer mixture 10 minutes then strain. Add lemon, simmer until watermelon rind is translucent. Fill hot half-pint jars with rinds and syrup mixture, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Put on lids and process in boiling water for 5 min. Makes 2 1/2 pints.

Answer 3

You could try a search for the question itself, being a former chef, and having a great grandmother who was a chef to, the best one I can recommend is just a simple one.

Just clean the rind, and make a pickle from cider vinegar, salt, brown sugar, celery seeds, a touch of tumeric and a bay leaf, measurements depend on the amount of rind you have, I would recommend if your going to do it make sure it is worth your while.

Now a days with watermelon available all year long, it is easier, but it will take atleast 3 melons to make a reasonable amount, storing it is o.k., as long as you have it peeled.

Answer 4

Watermelon (Rind) Pickles Recipe
Ingredients
4 quarts prepared watermelon rind
2 Tbsp salt
4 cups white vinegar
8 cups sugar
3 cinnamon sticks, broken
1 Tbsp whole cloves
Instructions
To prepare watermelon rind, cut rind into 2- x 1-inch pieces. Trim green skin and pink flesh from rind.

Place prepared rind in large kettle and add salt and enough boiling water to cover. Simmer until tender. Drain and chill rind in very cold water at least 1 hour or overnight in refrigerator. Combine vinegar, sugar and mixture of cinnamon, cloves tied in cheesecloth. Bring to boil and boil 5 minutes. Drain watermelon rind and add to syrup. Simmer until rind becomes translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove and discard spices.

Pack rind and syrup into hot sterilized quart jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust lids and process in boiling water bath 20 minutes.

Yield: 4 quarts

Answer 5

This recipe is from the National Center for Home Food Preservation - www.uga.edu

Watermelon Rind Pickles
3 quarts (about 6 pounds) watermelon rind, unpared
¾ cup salt
3 quarts water
2 quarts (2 trays) ice cubes
9 cups sugar
3 cups 5% vinegar, white
3 cups water
1 tablespoon (about 48) whole cloves
6 cinnamon sticks, 1 inch pieces
1 lemon, thinly sliced, with seeds removed
Yield: About 4 or 5 pints.

Procedure - Trim the pink flesh and outer green skin from thick watermelon rind. Cut into 1 inch squares or fancy shapes as desired. Cover with brine made by mixing the salt with 3 quarts cold water. Add ice cubes. Let stand 3 to 4 hours.

Drain; rinse in cold water. Cover with cold water and cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes (do not overcook). Drain.

Combine sugar, vinegar, water, and spices (tied in a clean, thin, white cloth). Boil 5 minutes and pour over the watermelon; add lemon slices. Let stand overnight in the refrigerator.

Heat watermelon in syrup to boiling and cook slowly 1 hour. Pack hot pickles loosely into clean, hot pint jars. To each jar add 1 piece of stick cinnamon from spice bag; cover with boiling syrup, leaving ½ 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 according to the recommendations in Table 1. Let cool, undisturbed, 12-24 hours and check for seals.

Answer 6

I was going to give you the same recipe as above... It thought I was the only one that liked these things...We have restaurant about 30 mins north of here that have them on the salad bar...worth the drive.

Answer 7

Try www.allrecipes.com. They have alot of recipes.