Watermelon Pickles for Pickle Day

[donna]

My Granny made the best watermelon pickles. They were a tradition to make in her family.

watermelon rind
4 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 large stick cinnamon
1 cup vinegar

Select watermelon that are slightly ripe. Remove rind and all soft portions. Cut in pieces. Cover with a brine made by dissolving 4 tablespoons salt in 1 quart water. Let stand 3 hours. Drain. Rinse in cold water. Add rind to syrup made of remaining ingredients. The syrup should cover the rind. Boil for 10 minutes. Let stand overnight. Boil slowly until rind is clear.

Such delicious pickles!

 

[ami]

I made something similar using cucumbers and red hots!

 

[Seduzal]

Wow! Something new. Never heard this before.

 

[donna]

My Granny would also make cantelope pickles. You do them same way but use cantelope rind. They are good too.

 

[lupaglupa]

I love the cinnamon! Bet those were tasty

 

[donna]

Bringing this thread back up as has been talk about watermelon pickles and preserved rinds. It was popular in 19th century and after. In early 1920s have several recipes for both cantaloupe pickles and watermelon pickles.

One recipe is:

cantaloupe or watermelon rind
4 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 large stick of cinnamon
1 cup vinegar

Soak cut up rinds in the brine. Let it stand at least 4 hours. Drain and rinse. Add rind to syrup. and let stand overnight. Boil rinds and put up.

 

[Adam1stVa]

My Granny made the best watermelon pickles. They were a tradition to make in her family.

watermelon rind
4 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 large stick cinnamon
1 cup vinegar

Select watermelon that are slightly ripe. Remove rind and all soft portions. Cut in pieces. Cover with a brine made by dissolving 4 tablespoons salt in 1 quart water. Let stand 3 hours. Drain. Rinse in cold water. Add rind to syrup made of remaining ingredients. The syrup should cover the rind. Boil for 10 minutes. Let stand overnight. Boil slowly until rind is clear.

Such delicious pickles!

But what about the hogs? LOL

 

[donna]

The recipes are very similar. These pickles are very good.

 

[donna]

JPK Huson 1863 sent me recipe to Preserve Watermelon Rinds. It is from Godey's circa 1869.

To Preserve Watermelon Rinds
"Do not cut your rinds too thin, pare off the outside green rind; soak them two days in clean soft water, and then drain them. Take six pounds of sugar and three pints of water, boil to a thick syrup; then add your watermelon rinds; boil until they are clear; flavor with orange flower water; cool, and put away in jars for use."

Wonder what "soft water" is. There were no softeners in those days. But somehow must be difference in soft and hard water.

 

[donna]

It is National Pickle Day.

One of my favorites is Dill Pickles. Here is family recipe from early 1920s.

Select fresh, evenly colored cucumbers. Wash and pack in a sterilized jar. Place several sprays of dill on top of the cucumbers. Heat 1 quart water, 1 cup vinegar, and 1/4 cup salt to boiling. Cool. Pour over cucumbers, filling jars to 1/4 inch of the top. Seal. This liquid will become cloudy in a few days, but will clear. The pickles will be firm, crisp, and evenly colored.

Add your favorite pickle recipe.

 

[donna]

Thought bump this on how they pickled watermelon. Such delicious recipes.

 

[gjpratt]

Thought bump this on how they pickled watermelon. Such delicious recipes.

My granny made great watermelon pickles, too. Later this month, I would get into picking raspberries, black raspberries and then blackberries with her. This was in the Upper Cumberland in Middle Tennessee.

 

[Yankeedave]

Pickled watermelon. Yes ma'am. Good on a hot day.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Thought bump this on how they pickled watermelon. Such delicious recipes.

As usual, a great "bump" .

And while watermelon pickles are not unknown in my area, they are less common
than the usual cucumber pickle. A few older ladies protect their ancient pickle recipes
like their older husbands protect their own secret moonshine formulas.



Matter of fact, we had a "pickle festival" this past weekend :

I'm still trying to get one of the festival T-shirts.
It was the correct greenish/yellow color, with a slogan of:

" A good pickle is really a big Dill ".



Cheesy I know ... but the shirts did bring smiles to many people.

 

[donna]

It is National Pickle Day, Nov. 14. Love all kinds of pickles.

 

[donna]

Just had to bring this thread backup. Love watermelon pickles. I haven't seen in stores for a while. They did have them over at several places in Smokies when we there early November.