As summer sets in, watermelons are appearing in the grocery stores and will soon become a staple food in the T+E home. Unfortunately, the rind takes up a lot of space in the trash (I don't compost them due to limited space). Really, though, there's no reason for those rinds to take up any space in the trash (or compost pile) at all!
Watermelon rinds are edible and nutritious!
I was first introduced to watermelon rinds for pickling by a couple vintage cookbooks on my shelf. According to them, pickled rinds are a Southern thing. I've made them twice now, and they are delicious! Pickled watermelon rind tastes like sweet cucumber pickles, but less crunchy.
Watermelon rinds can also be used in every day cooking. I've heard that they taste like summer squash when cooked and like tart cucumbers in fresh preparations.
However, I rarely want to cook watermelon rind when I've just cut up a melon, so I chuck the rind into a bag in the freezer. Freezing the rind might harm the flavor or texture in regular cooking (which I haven't tried yet), but it doesn't cause a problem for pickling.
Eating watermelon rind adds variety and nutrition to my family's diet and stretches our dollar a little bit farther!
For more tips and tricks, check out Kitchen Tip Tuesday at Tammy's Recipes and Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family!
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2 comments:
Cool!! I've heard of people pickling them, but not the other ideas.
Last summer the farmer of our CSA called me and said that he was going to till up the groud where the cantaloupes and watermelons were so if I wanted any, come get them. So I did. And I had over a hundred melons to deal with and although admittedly some rinds ended up in the compost heap or a friend's wormery, the majority were used. Here was a post I wrote on what can be done with watermelon. http://www.parymoppins.net/2011/10/perfectly-practical-79-watermelon.html I am so glad that you like the pickles and I agree that it's probably a southern thing. We'll eat anything if it's been pickled! Great post!
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