[Recipe] Pickled Watermelon Rind

Trust us on this one! It's sweet and sour, crunchy, easy to make, and finally uses up that mountain of watermelon rind you have been making this summer.

What You'll Need:

Hardware

- a large knife

- bowl

- measuring cup

- cutting board

- vegetable peeler

* 2 large (1 litre) mason jars

* 1 large pot for sterilizing jars

* 1 medium pot

* any canning equipment you have

* optional

Software:

- The rind from one large watermelon (approx 6 -8 cups, chopped)

- 4 cups sugar

- 2 1/2 cups white vinegar

- 2 tbsp salt

- 2 tbsp pickling spice mix

(or 4 cloves, 8 peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 bay leaf)

Instructions:

Cut away rind from watermelon, keeping as much white as possible. If you have some pink attached to your rind that is okay, it looks pretty.

Peel off any of the dark green skin. Discard.

Chop rind into desired sizes and shapes.

Sterilize jars. This step is so important that we've made a separate blog post explaining how!

Pack the jars quite tightly with your rind. Bring your sugar, vinegar, salt and pickling spices to a full boil and carefully pour over rind in jars.

Cover with lids and rings, keeping the rings slightly loose and heat process in boiling pot of water for at least 5 minutes.

Gently lift jars from the hot water and allow to cool. You should hear the lid make a loud pop, signifying you have achieved a proper seal on your jar. Well done! If you miss the pop you will see if it is sealed if the lid has become concave. Let sit for at least3 days before eating.

** You can make these pickles straight in jars and skip the hot water bath, or even make them in a bowl and leave covered in the fridge for 3 days. Consume within the week.

This Instructable was originally posted by Karalalala and is being shared under a creative commons license.

Banner image: Shutterstock

Do you have any great recipe ideas? Let us know in the comments section below.

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