Did you ever stop to think if there's an
alternative use for all those leftover watermelon rinds? Being left with
so much waste after enjoying a refreshing watermelon in the summertime
is truly annoying. Many fruits peels, such as banana peels or lemon
peels, have alternative uses. There are also recipes for edible peels,
which is what we'll focus on here.
These are not my recipes, as I saw them, thought of sharing with you all, as it sounds interesting and now, when we talk of not wasting food, it is a good way to use the rind. I do make with watermelon rind, dal and grinding coconut and spices a gravy, which tastes like white pumpkin, goes well with rice and roti, made in the same way like, we South Indians make kootu!
1. Untraditional Watermelon Rind Jam
What makes this jam untraditional, besides
it being an actual watermelon rind jam, is that you don't need to use
pectin to make it nice and stable! Instead, we use apples, which
naturally contain high levels of pectin.
Ingredients:
4 cups chopped and peeled watermelon rinds
1 apple
1 cup sugar
1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract.
Preparation:
Peel green skin and chop rinds (preferably leave some watermelon
flesh on it)
Peel apple, chop and throw the core away.
Juice the entire lemon.
Throw all ingredients in a deep pan and bring to a boil. Stir until
sugar dissolves. Lower heat and stir until the rind is translucent. This
could take up to 1.5 hours.
Remove from the heat. Pour in sterilized jars and close with a lid.
Put sealed jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
If needed, tighten the lids even more. Place jars upside down, and
when they cool down, store in the refrigerator
2. Candied Watermelon Rinds
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped and peeled watermelon rinds
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract.
Preparation:
Peel the green skin off the watermelon rings and chop the rinds
(preferably leave some watermelon flesh on it).
Boil just enough water to cover the watermelons.
Once boiling, add
the rinds and boil them for another 10 minutes.
Drain.
In another pot, boil the sugar, vanilla extract, and 1 cup water.
Add the rinds and let them simmer for 10 minutes.
Drain, but this time,
you can keep the water as syrup.
Dry the rinds on some paper towels for 24 hours.
Enjoy
3. Sweet Pickled Watermelons
Ingredients:
Chopped and peeled rinds of half a watermelon
3 tbsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup 5% white vinegar
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp pickling spice
½ lemon, thinly sliced.
Preparation:
Peel green skin and chop rinds (preferably leave some watermelon flesh on it).
In a bowl, dissolve salt in 3 cups water.
Throw in the rinds and leave for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Drain and rinse thoroughly.
In a deep pan, boil 4 cups water, sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, spices, and lemon.
Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add the rinds and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the rinds are tender and translucent.
Remove from the heat.
Cool completely (this takes about 1 hour), stirring occasionally.
Put only the rinds in jars, leaving 1/4 inch below the lid.
Then cover with the liquid.
Tighten the lids, process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes, and let cool.
Once cool, store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Serve cold.
4. Watermelon Rind Coleslaw Salad
This is the classic coleslaw recipe, with
the cabbage swapped for grated watermelon rinds. Here's our favorite
coleslaw recipe. We didn't write precise measurements for the veggies
because we encourage you to customize them to your taste!
Ingredients:
Carrots
Onions
Chopped and peeled watermelon rinds
Dill/chives/parsley/coriander
For the dressing:
1 tbs mustard
2 fl oz mayonnaise
2 fl oz sour cream/yogurt
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
A pinch of paprika.
Preparation:
Grate all the vegetables.
Mix all the dressing ingredients together.
Enjoy!
5. Sweet and Spicy Pickled Watermelon Rind Salsa
For this recipe, you can use pickled watermelon rinds from the recipe on this list.
Ingredients:
2 cups pickles watermelon rinds
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp chopped onions
OPTIONAL: 1 chopped green jalapeno
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder.
Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy your dip!
You can play around with the size of your chopped rinds and see what you like better.
You can use this dip with potato chips, a shrimp cocktail, as a salad dressing, or even as a condiment for hamburgers.
6. Watermelon Rind Curry
This is a traditional Indian dish, with the
watermelon rinds originally in the recipe! It is called Tarbooz ki
Sabzi. Tarbooz is the Hindi word for watermelon.
Ingredients:
Chopped watermelon rinds.
1 tbs chili
1/2 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds (optional but highly recommended)
3 tbsp oil
Salt and curry powder to taste
Cumin seeds
Coriander as garnish.
Preparation:
You can either peel or not peel the green skin, but if you choose to
leave it, make sure to scrub it well.
Chop the rinds.
Heat oil in a deep pan, add mustard seeds and salt.
Partially cover the pan and cook on low heat for 15 minutes.
Add the rest of the seasonings.
Cook until tender.
Serve with rice and coriander garnish.