Watermelon Rind Blueberry Bread Food

PICKLED WATERMELON RINDS

Steps:

• In a glass bowl, stir together the water and salt until the salt has dissolved. Add the watermelon rinds and any additional water needed to cover them. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
• Drain the watermelon rinds from the salted water, and place into a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Cover with fresh water, then place over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil rinds for 30 minutes, then drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, tie the cloves, mustard seed, and cinnamon sticks in a piece of cheesecloth. Place into a large saucepan or Dutch oven along with the vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove from the heat and let stand for 15 minutes. Stir in the drained watermelon rind, then return to the stove over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until the rind is transparent and the syrup is slightly thickened, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove and discard the spices after 40 minutes. Stir in the food coloring if desired.
• Ladle into hot sterilized 1 pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Seal jars with new lids and rings, making sure you have cleaned the jar's rims of any residue. Process jars under 1 inch of water in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Let cool overnight, then press down on the lids to make sure they are sealed before storing. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and enjoy those first.

WATERMELON RIND BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES

Steps:

• To prepare the melon, use a spoon to scrape away all the pink.
• Cut away the rind with a knife (this is fastest if you cut the melon into 3-inch squares).
• Cut rind into strips, cubes, or chunks.
• Layer the MELON and onion with salt in a large bowl; cover with ice cubes.
• Let stand 1 1/2 hours.
• Drain and rinse.
• Combine remaining ingredients in a large pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Add the MELON and onions and return to a boil.
• Pack hot PICKLES into hot, sterile jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space.
• Fit with lids.
• Process in boiling water for 10 minutes.

WATERMELON RIND-BLUEBERRY BREAD

Steps:

• Wash the outside of a watermelon with soap and water. Peel the outer layer of the watermelon and cut the watermelon extracting the red middle section from the white watermelon rind.
• Shred watermelon rind with a food processor; this might get a bit messy as there is a lot of liquid. Drain shredded rind in a colander, squeezing to remove as much excess liquid as you can.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a loaf pan.
• Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl. Combine eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Add watermelon rind and mix well. Slowly mix in flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 60 to 75 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

WATERMELON RIND JAM

Steps:

• Cut rind into 1/3-inch strips. Cover in cold water and bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat, and let simmer slowly until transparent, about 30 minutes.
• Drain, and reserve 1 1/2 cups of liquid.
• In a heavy pot, completely dissolve sugar in reserved liquid. Add honey and lemon peel, and bring to a boil, skimming as needed. Add drained rind and seeds and boil gently over medium heat, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside overnight.
• Boil again over medium heat, until syrup thickens, about 15 minutes. Test for doneness.
• Add lemon juice and mastic or cardamom 5 minutes before jam is done. Let jam cool completely then store in a sterilized jar.

WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES

Steps:

• Dissolve salt in 2 quarts of water.
• Pour over rind and let stand 5 to 6 hours.
• Drain, rinse and drain again.
• Cover with cold water and let stand 3 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 and add rind.
• Boil adn cook until rind is clear.
• Pack into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.
• Wipe jar rims and adjust lids.
• Process 5 minutes in a boiling water bath.

CANDIED WATERMELON RIND

Steps:

• Place watermelon rind in a deep pot and add the sugar.
• Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight (at least 4 hours) to macerate.
• In the morning, bring to a simmer, stirring to thoroughly dissolve the sugar.
• Add the remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Cubes will be translucent when done.
• Uncover and bring to a boil. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring often, to reduce the syrup to a thick caramel-like liquid.
• While still hot, ladle into sterilized jars and process in a waterbath for 30 minutes (the original calls for turning the jars upside down for a minute to create a seal but to correlate with the US safety guidelines I suggest waterbath canning for shelf-storage. If you're keeping it in the fridge, skip this part!).