Watermelon Rind Preserves

[kklibrarian]

I saved the rinds from our summer watermelons and stuck them in the freezer in bags. This weekend I hauled them out and made 8 jars of watermelon rind preserves. For those of you that are thinking :hunh, you cut away the green and red part of the rind and cube it into small pieces. Then, you soak it in salt water for several hours, rinse and drain several times, sprinkle liberally with ginger and then boil for about 30 minutes. You make a syrup with sugar, water, and lemon juice and then place the rind in the syrup to cook for another 30 minutes or so. Ladle into hot jars, can in a hot water canner for 20 minutes, and then :yum.

Blessings,
Kelly

[Firebird Rising]

I have no idea if I think this sounds good or bad but I'd love to try a bite :)

Jen D.

[kklibrarian]

I have no idea if I think this sounds good or bad but I'd love to try a bite :)

Jen D.

It's definitely different. I've eaten them all my life, but I can see how it would seem weird if you hadn't grown up with it. I found a recipe on line for a mincemeat type pie that uses watermelon rind preserves as the filling. I think it might make a good mock apple pie too if you season the pie a little differently. I'm going to try it.