Old Southern Watermelon Rind Preserves Food

WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES OLD TIME

Steps:

• Trim green peel and red flesh from watermelon. Cut rind into small cubes (14-16 cups).
• Place cubed rind into stainless steel pot (Dutch oven size) and add one part sugar to two parts rind (I use little less sugar in my recipe). Let sit until sugar dissolves, a couple or hours or overnight (preferably overnight). Rind and sugar should have made its own liquid.
• Start cooking on medium, checking and stirring until it starts to boil, about 20-30 minutes.
• Add thinly sliced lemon, juice and zest of the other lemon. Stir in ground or whole spices of your choice.
• Turn down heat to low and cook on low heat until rinds are translucent, checking and stirring often (don't want the sugar to burn). (Approximately 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours more or less, until rinds are translucent).
• If using red food coloring, add a few drops to desired color at this point, stir well.
• Seal in prepared jars, clean jars, lids and rings placed in boiling water until ready to fill. Approximately (8) 1/2 pint jars, (16) 1/4 pint jars, or (4) pint jars.
• Immediately after filling jars I like to turn them upside down for 5-10 minutes, supposedly to help them seal.
• Optional instead of ground spices add with lemons:
• Cinnamon sticks (eight short pieces, 1 for each jar).
• Whole cloves (16-32 cloves, 2-4 for each jar).
• Grated fresh ginger (1 tablespoon).
• Red food coloring.

WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES

Steps:

• Trim green skin and pink flesh from watermelon rind; chop enough rind to yield 6 cups. In a large bowl, stir salt and 2 quarts warm water until salt is dissolved. Add 6 cups chopped rind. Cover and refrigerate 5-6 hours. Drain and rinse in cold water; drain. Cover rind with cold water and let stand 30 minutes. Drain. Transfer rind to a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until just tender, 10-15 minutes; drain., To make preserves, in a stockpot, combine sugar, lemon juice and 7 cups water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in rind. Place cinnamon, cloves and cardamom on a double thickness of cheesecloth. Gather corners of cloth to enclose seasonings; tie securely with string. Add to stockpot. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until rind is clear, 30-45 minutes. Discard spice bag., Remove from heat. Ladle hot mixture into 6 hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight., Place jars into canner with water simmering, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

OLD SOUTHERN WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES

Steps:

• Peel green skin off the watermelon, but leave a little of the red pulp on rind. Cut into 1-inch slices, then slice into 1-inch cubes. Place rind in a large pot and cover with the sugar until the fruit doesn't show. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight. Place pot on stove and add lemon slices and allspice, if desired. Boil whole mixture until rind is clear, about 2 hours. Pack into clean, hot jars. Wipe rims and screw on lids. Process 10 minutes in boiling water deep enough to cover lids by at least 1 inch. Serve the preserves on buttered toast, if desired. NOTE: After cutting watermelon, save the rind in the refrigerator until you are ready to prepare the preserves.

WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES

Steps:

• Peel off the green part of the watermelon rind, and slice into 2 inch pieces. Soak the rind in a solution of 1 gallon water and 1/2 cup salt overnight.
• Remove rind from the salt water, and place in a stockpot with clean water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the rind is tender. Drain.
• In a large pot, combine the sugar, 8 cups water, and sliced lemons. Tie the cinnamon and cloves into a cheesecloth bag, and place in the pot. Bring the syrup to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Add the rinds, and cook until transparent. Remove spice bag. Stir in red food coloring, if using. Ladle preserves into hot sterile jars, and process to seal.

WILLING WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES

Steps:

• Wipe the watermelon all over with a damp cloth to remove any dirt before cutting. Working on a sturdy surface, cut the watermelon in half lengthwise. Use a large spoon or scoop to remove most of the watermelon. Leave about ¼ inch or less of the red inside the rind. Slice the rind into strips, then into pieces about ¼ inch or smaller.
• Dissolve the salt in 4 quarts of warm water, and pour it over the melon rind in a large bowl or pot. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. Drain and rinse the rind in cool water. Drain again and place the rind in a medium or large pot. Sprinkle the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and ginger over the rind, add 2 quarts of warm water, and place the pot on the stove on medium heat. Let cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
• Cook until the watermelon rind is tender and clear, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool. Handle with care, because the hot, sticky syrup can cause a bad burn. Mash the rind with a potato masher or fork to make the preserves spreadable. Follow the steps for processing in the Notes on Preserving, boiling for 10 to 15 minutes.
• In the canning pot used for sterilizing the lids and the jars before they are filled, place enough water to cover the jars completely as it boils.
• Fill hot jars almost to the top with preserves. Wipe the rim of the jar with a cloth to be sure it is clean.
• Place lids on the hot jars containing preserves and loosely tighten. Do not tighten the lids completely.
• After the jars are filled and the lids are on, you are ready to complete the process of sealing. You may use the same canning pot you used for sterilizing or a different, sterilized pot. Begin with 3 to 4 inches of water. Let it come to a boil, and then add the jars with fruit or vegetables. Add more hot water to cover the jars. Boil for the time recommended in each recipe.
• For safety reasons, do not let the jars touch each other.
• After processing the jars of preserves in the water bath for the time indicated, remove them from the water and let them cool.

WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES

Steps:

• To prepare watermelon rind: Trim green skin and pink flesh from thick watermelon rind.
• Cut into 1" pices.
• Dissolve salt in 2 quarts water and pour over rind.
• Let stand 5-6 hours.
• Drain; rinse and drain again.
• Cover with cold water and let stand 30 minutes.
• Drain.
• Sprinkle ginger over rind; cover with water and cook until fork-tender.
• Drain.
• Combine sugar, lemon juice and 7 cups water.
• Boil 5 minutes; add rind and boil gently for 30 minutes.
• Add sliced lemon and cook until the melon rind is clear.
• Pack hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4" head space.
• Remove air bubbles.
• Adjust caps.
• Process 20 minutes in boiling water bath.