Pickled Watermelon Rind

  The first step in making Pickled Watermelon Rind is preparing the rind.  I found that slicing the watermelon into triangles like you would for eating was the easiest way.  I could then slice off the hard skin, slice the rind (and a little of the meat), cube the rind, and then cube the fruit.  My kids like to eat their watermelon in cubes and it's a great way to store it as a handy snack in the fridge.

Once the rind is skinned and cubed, it needs to soak overnight in a salt bath.  Mix 1 gallon of cold water with 1 cup of canning salt.  I used kosher salt (couldn't find "canning" or "pickling" salt).  Put the 4 quarts of cubed rind (what you will get from a medium-sized watermelon) into the salt water and leave it.  I stirred every once in awhile just to make sure that all of the rind got time in the brine. 

Prepare your jars just like you would for any canning...clean and fresh.  Don't worry about heating them up just yet, the cooking process takes a bit of time.  I had my jars warm when I started the process and ended up having to re-warm them later.  Six pint jars should be enough for your rind.

Drain and rinse the rind in the morning.  Then refill the pot of rinds with enough cold water to cover all of the rind.  This isn't a precise measurement...you will be cooking and draining again.  Bring the water and rind to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the rind is somewhat tender.  Be careful not to overcook and let them get mushy.  You have to cook them again later, so you really don't want them too soft.

Drain the rind and set aside.  Fill another pot with 1 gallon of water, 2 cups of vinegar, 7 cups of sugar, 3 cinnamon sticks, 1/2 cup of sliced lemon, and a cheesecloth bag (I used a metal tea leaf container) filled with 1 tablespoon whole cloves, 1 tablespoon allspice, and a 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds.  Bring this mixture to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  The smell is heavenly!

Add the rind to the syrup mixture and simmer until the watermelon rind is translucent.  This takes longer than you think.  I think I finally decided mine was done after about thirty minutes.  I'm not sure if it would have gotten MORE translucent, but I was afraid of overcooking it...so I stopped.

While the rind is simmering in the syrup, warm up your jars and lids.  I always spread a towel on the counter and fill jars over the towel.  So after the rind was cooked again, I brought the pot to the counter and filled each jar.  After filling most of the jar, I used the bubble stick to slide a lemon slice down the side of the jar and added a cinnamon stick as well.  I'm not sure if this is comepletely allowed by the recipe and the canning police, but it looked cool and I think it's pretty safe. 

Leave about a 1/4 inch of head space in each jar.  I tried a piece of the rind at this point (expecting it to taste horrible).  I had to remind myself that if I ate all of the rind before I canned it, we wouldn't have any canned.  Needless to say, it was delicious and I am already planning my next batch.

Once all of the jars are filled, put them into a hot water bath for 15 minutes.  Make sure not to tip them when you remove them from the bath...it keeps them from seeping.  The lids on my jars popped almost instantly when I set them down on the counter.  That means they are sealed!  Can't wait for them to cool down so I can open one.

*UPDATE*  My Pickled Watermelon Rind won second place in the Deschutes County Fair!

Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity


During that summer
When unicorns were still possible;
When the purpose of knees
Was to be skinned;
When shiny horse chestnuts
(Hollowed out
Fitted with straws
Crammed with tobacco
Stolen from butts
In family ashtrays)
Were puffed in green lizard silence
While straddling thick branches
Far above and away
From the softening effects
Of civilization;

During that summer--
Which may never have been at all;
But which has become more real
Than the one that was--
Watermelons ruled.

Thick imperial slices
Melting frigidly on sun-parched tongues
Dribbling from chins;
Leaving the best part,
The black bullet seeds,
To be spit out in rapid fire
Against the wall
Against the wind
Against each other;

And when the ammunition was spent,
There was always another bite:
It was a summer of limitless bites,
Of hungers quickly felt
And quickly forgotten
With the next careless gorging.

The bites are fewer now.
Each one is savored lingeringly,
Swallowed reluctantly.

But in a jar put up by Felicity,
The summer which maybe never was
Has been captured and preserved.
And when we unscrew the lid
And slice off a piece
And let it linger on our tongue:
Unicorns become possible again.

John Tobias