How to make watermelon-rind pickles
Tender and sweet, the taste of summer.
Ingredients
- 20 ounces watermelon watermelon rind only, use the fruit for another purpose
- 1 tbsp sea salt kosher salt
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup brown rice syrup agave syrup, honey
- 1 tbsp cloves (whole)
- 1 tbsp allspice (whole)
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 star anise
Instructions
- Prep the watermelon rind by peeling the green thick skin. Cut up into smallish cubes.
- Once you have cut it, trim off any pink flesh from the inside edge. (A tinge of pink is okay, but you want the white, firm flesh for these pickles.)
- Mix the salt with 1 qt. (1 L) filtered water until the salt is dissolved. Soak the rind pieces for one hour. Rinse and drain.
- Add the spices to a spice bag or tie up inside a piece of cheesecloth.
- In a large pot, add a fresh quart (one liter) of filtered water, the vinegar, syrup, and the spices. Stir well to combine. Add the drained rind. Bring just to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 45-60 minutes.
- Taste. The pickles should be tender but not mushy. Let cool completely.
Notes
Per serving:
- 85 calories
- 0 g fat
- 0 g saturated fat
- 0 g monounsaturated fat
- 0 g polyunsaturated fat
- 0 g trans fat
- 0 g cholesterol
- 457 mg sodium (use less salt and rinse well to reduce sodium, there is no way to tell how much sodium will be left after rinsing, so analysis included 1 T. salt)
- 109 mg potassium
- 20 g carbohydrate
- 0 g fiber
- 12 g sugars
- 0 g protein
- 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus
- Don't sweat the amounts of the rind. You can have more or less than this and it will work fine. If it really seems like you have too much rind for the liquid (it should be covered in the pan), then double the water, vinegar, syrup, and spices.
- Peeling and prepping the rind can be tiresome, or a Zen meditation. I go for Zen.
- When you are finished, mince some up and store with pickling liquid for fresh pickle relish.
- Compost everything you don't end up pickling, including the spice bag contents when you are done.