Sunday, August 30, 2015

Watermelon Rind Jam - More Re-Cycled Foods.

Dear Folks,

I saw this posted on Yahoo from Food52 and had to share another great use for food scraps normally discarded.

I'm pickled and candied watermelon rind and honestly they were okay, but I'm not hurrying to make more.

I have the last of the Black Tail Mountain Watermelons I was planning on cutting open today and then I saw this recipe and I'm going to make it. (Normally I do compost all kitchen scraps that are not used for making stock.)

Do read the whole article. The peel is discarded in the basic recipe, but the article author did try a version with peel, so you may want to try both version, perhaps split the basic mix in half and add peels to one half and see what you think.

Olia Hercules' Watermelon Rind Jam

Ingredients:

- 500 grams (1 pound) watermelon skin, tough thin green rind peeled and discarded, white skin finely chopped
- 300 grams (10 ounces) golden caster sugar (or substitute superfine sugar or demerara or turbinado, ground fine in the food processor)
- 4 limes, halved and thinly sliced (optional, see note in Author Notes above)

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a container, cover with cling film, and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Cook the mixture in a non-reactive saucepan over low heat, making sure the sugar melts before it boils, for 50 minutes or until the watermelon skin turns translucent.
3. Pour into 2 warm sterilized 450-milliliter (3/4-pint) jars, seal and let cool. Store in the refrigerator. It should keep unopened for several months.

Note: you can certainly water-bath can the jam for shelf-stable storage. I would can half-pints for 10-12 minutes, pints for 15 minutes.

Food52 has launched a "Cooking with Scraps" column - you may with to check out. This is the kind of side cooking ideas I just love.

And one more recipe for watermelon - a "watermelon pudding" which is described as similar to lemon curd. Love the idea - they strain the pulp out - I might try it with the pulp (again not to waste anything).

And finally the watermelon seeds. If it is an heirloom you may wish to save the seeds for replanting (here in the desert plant watermelon in January or February).

OR

You can roast them just like pumpkin seeds. Rinse well, dry, toss with a bit of oil and a dash of salt. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, stirring half way through. Watch so they do not burn.

All the melon cucumber seeds can be roasted - some may be too small to bother with, but why toss them out when you can make a fun snack.

Talk about using ALL the fruit - this is a winner of a set of options for the beloved watermelon!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you would like more recipes check out my cookbook "101+ Recipes from The Herb Lady"