Watermelon Rind Pickles

Watermelon Rind Pickles

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.