Watermelon Rind Pickles
4 to 5 quarts watermelon rinds, cubed.
1 cup canning salt
1 gallon water.
7-8 cups sugar.
1 tablespoon lemon juice.
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1/4 teaspoon mustard seed
3 sticks cinnamon
3 cups vinegar
1 jar maraschino cherries.
Trim red off watermelon rinds and cube.
Add salt to water and stir.
Put watermelon rinds in salt water, put lid on pan, let set overnight.
Drain and rinse watermelon rinds. Wash out your pan. Put the drained rinds back in the pan. Cover with water. Cook till tender. Drain again, leave in colander. Tie your spices in a bag. Using the same pan again, dump in sugar, lemon juice, and vinegar. Stir to mix sugar into vinegar. Throw in your spice bag. Bring this to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Throw the rinds back in. Continue to simmer until the insides of the rinds start to turn translucent. Remove spice bag. Pack hot rinds in hot jars. Add maraschino cherries for color. Add liquid, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace. If you don't have enough liquid, add boiling water. You should not need much. Throw in a few more cherries, if there are any left. Wipe tops, adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. If you use 4 quarts of rinds, you will get 6 pints of pickles. If you use 5, you will get 8-9 pints.
A Sugar Baby watermelon will yield approximately 2 quarts of peel. This recipe can be halved, and you will get 3 pints of pickles. A regular family sized watermelon (like you buy for a picnic at the grocery store) will yield 5 or 6 quarts of melon rind.
8/17/03