Waste Not, Want Not: Pickled Watermelon Rinds
“She’s eating watermelon rinds?!”
You may be thinking I’m taking my “waste not” attitude to a whole new level… but actually, they’re delicious!
I’d never heard of pickled watermelon rinds until last week, but when I saw this Huffington Post article on watermelon pickling the same week I planned to make my watermelon cream pie, I knew I had to try it! These are incredibly simple, although peeling the watermelon is a pain in the ass (and also a pain in the finger, as I managed to peel the tip of my index finger off as well… not sure which jar that ended up in). These are a sweet pickle rather than dill, which I usually don’t like… but here it really works! They are a refreshing picnic snack, and I bet they’d be all sorts of good on some sort of sandwich.
“Pickling veggies” was on my 30 at 30 bucket list… while I’m aware watermelon isn’t a veggie, this is just unique enough that I’ll take it!
Pickled Watermelon Rinds
Ingredients:
- Rind from one small watermelon
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp pickling spice
- 1/4 cup candied ginger
How-to:
- Eat the watermelon. Reserve the rind.
- Peel the green skin off the watermelon rind with a sharp vegetable peeler. Cut white rind into spears that are about 1/2” wide and 2” long.
- Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Boil the watermelon rinds for about 4 minutes, until they just begin to turn translucent and become soft when stabbed with a fork. Drain and let cool for handling.
- In a medium saucepan (it can be the same one you used for the watermelon), combine the vinegar, sugar, water, ginger and pickling spices. Bring to a boil, until the sugar has dissolved.
- Place the cooled rinds in their pickling jars, tightly packed. Carefully pour the pickling liquid into each jar, until the liquid nearly reaches the top. Screw the top on your jars and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Your pickles can be eaten after just a few hours.
