Pickled Watermelon Rind Recipe

Normally I only make preserves with local seasonal produce (if it grows here), but the folks at the National Watermelon Promotion Board sent me a lovely whole watermelon with some fun international-theme watermelon recipes they've developed for people who are planning to hold World Cup parties (see below), so I adapted their ready-to-serve pickled watermelon rind recipe for home canning.

My recipe makes about 7 cups. The instructions for sterilizing and processing jars are posted along with my raspberry jam recipe.

• 8 c water
• 2 Tbsp pickling salt
• 8 c prepared rind (all the rind from the watermelon shown above)
• 1½ c light brown sugar
• 3 c cider vinegar
• 1½ tsp cinq poivres
• 12 whole cloves
• 3 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
• A good-sized knob of ginger, peeled and sliced

1. Sterilize jars.
2. Meanwhile, slice the rind into strips between ¾ of an inch and a full inch. Trim off the green parts, leaving as much white rind as you can. Slice into chunks between 1½ and 2 inches long; the resulting pieces will look like oversized dominos.
3. In a non-reactive pot, combine water and salt and bring them to a boil. Add the watermelon chunks and boil for about 5 minutes, until all the pieces are translucent.
4. Strain the watermelons and rinse them in hot water, then drain them very well in a colander or sieve, pressing down gently to remove extra water, but not crushing them.
5. In a nonreactive pot, combine the vinegar, sugar and all the spices. Stir well to let the sugar dissolve completely and bring the mixture to a boil. Then turn the heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes until the spices have started to flavour the liquid.
6. Meanwhile, pack the drained watermelon chunks into the jars, leaving about ¾ of an inch of head room.
7. Cover the pickles with the vinegar mixture, leaving ¼ inch of head room. (It’s fine if some of the spices end up in the jar, but try to remove the ginger.)
8. Run a plastic or wooden knife, fork or chopstick around the inside of the jar to release any trapped air bubbles. Top up with more vinegar if necessary.
9. Add the lids and process for 15 minutes at a rolling boil.

This picture shows the finished product, courtesy of the Watermelon Promotion Board. I think I'll let mine (which are a darker and more caramel colour because I used brown sugar) steep for a while before opening them.

Meanwhile, if you're thinking of holding a World Cup party, the recipes the watermelon folks are suggesting are Balsamic Caramelized Onion Caprese for Italy; Gambas a la Plancha con Sandia (Grilled Shrimp with Watermelon) for Spain, and Watermelon Agua Fresca for Mexico. (The second and third recipes are posted in the Canadian watermelon recipes section on the site.)