What to do with watermelon rind or peel? Aromatic and sweet watermelon rind jam or candied watermelon rind.
Watermelon Rind Preserves
After making Homemade Blueberry Sauce, Low-Sugar Apricots in Jars, Simple Apricot Jam, Homemade Creme de Cassis, and Candied Cherries, I finally got to making some delicious watermelon rind jam or candied watermelon rind in syrup.
OK, I am sure you will not make watermelon rind jam out of all the watermelons you get to eat in the summer, but taking the time to do this at least once or twice, it's really worth it.
You will love these sweet, jewel-like pieces of watermelon rind, you will probably not be able to eat half a jar in one go, but you will be delighted with a moderate amount of it on your toast or just being able to pop a small piece of candied watermelon rind in your mouth whenever you crave something sweet.
One piece of candied watermelon rind and you will forget about chocolate, gummy bears, or candy or whatever sweets you normally cannot resist. At least it works for me, but I was never much into chocolate, gummy bears or candy... 🙂
And try some regular watermelon jam as well, the sort that is using the pulp of the fruit.
How to make watermelon rind jam?
Well, the process is easy but it involves a few steps and a bit of chopping. But like I've said it before, it is well worth it!
The result will be a jam the likes of you probably never had before, unless you're Romanian and grew up on a thing called “dulceata”, which is some kind of jam, but quite different from the regular jam you are used to. I think you will love those rather firm watermelon rind pieces surrounded by that sweet and heavy syrup.
Dulceata or “sweetness” is a kind of preserve made with whole fruits (in this case the chopped watermelon rind) boiled in a lot of sugar, normally on a 1:1 ratio, until the liquid becomes a clear syrup surrounding those glossy fruit or fruit pieces.
As dulceata is way sweeter than regular jam, you will only need a small amount of it on your buttered toast, for instance. And the fruit can be used not only to eat as it is, but you can also put it into cakes, stir it into desserts and so on.
Steps:
- Remove the green skin of the watermelon completely.
- Make sure to leave a tiny amount of red watermelon flesh attached to the rind pieces you want to use for the jam. It makes things prettier, however, you don't want to leave too much of it attached, I would say about 2 mm/ 0.08 inches.
- Chop the rind as evenly as possible, about 3-4 cm/ 1.2-1.6 inches.
- You should weigh the watermelon rind now and prepare more if necessary, you will need roughly 750 – 850 g/ 1.7 – 1.9 lbs, weighed after preparing the rind. If you don't have enough, prepare some more.
- Cook the watermelon rind pieces in water and vinegar, this step takes about an hour, but it is a necessary step. The vinegar will help the watermelon rind pieces hold their shape and not get soggy.
- After cooking the watermelon rind in vinegar, let drain well. When cool enough to handle, press with your hand to remove more of the excess water.
- Weigh the drained and pressed watermelon pieces. You will need exactly the same amount of sugar as the rind weighs, so 1 to 1 ratio. You will have more or less 500 g/ 1.1 lbs of watermelon rind pieces.
- Place the sugar in the rinsed pot you used before.
- Add 250 ml/ 8.5 fl. oz/ 1 cup water to the sugar and turn on the heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. When the syrup comes to a boil, add the watermelon rind and the lemon juice.
- Cook until a light syrup forms, it took me exactly 38 minutes.
- Place the watermelon rind jam into the sterilized jars and seal well.
- Keep in a dark cool place. If the jars are sterilized and well-sealed the jam should be good for a very long time.
For more info on sterilizing jars, have a look at this post explaining how to sterilize jars.
How long to cook the jam?
- The most difficult thing for me when making dulceata is finding the perfect time to stop the cooking process. If the jam is cooked too shortly, the syrup will not form properly and the jam will be runny.
- If you overcook the jam, the syrup will taste too much like caramel and become too hard, I had to throw away a whole batch of cherry dulceata because I was not even able to stick a spoon in the finished and cooled product...
- *However, to make it easier for you, I measured the cooking time exactly, and considering you will follow the instructions and use a pot that has roughly the same size as mine, you should be able to stop the cooking process at the right time.
- I used a soup pot with a diameter of 23 cm/ 9 inches and a height of 14 cm/ 5.5 inches. Of course, I don't expect you to have the exact same pot or to buy one extra for this, but a similar sized one will help you with keeping the indicated cooking time better.
- If your pot is wider, start checking if the syrup is formed before the indicated time is over, if your pot is narrower it might take a bit longer.
- The syrup should have more or less the consistency of runny clear honey.
The source of this recipe is Silvia Jurcovan's Cookbook. I only made half a batch and got 2 ½ small jars.
And what to do with this candied watermelon rind or watermelon rind jam? Except for eating it as it is? Why not try putting some in a fruitcake, either a regular boozy fruitcake or a non-alcoholic fruitcake?
More preserves?
Watermelon Rind Jam (Candied Watermelon Rind)
Ingredients
- 750 – 850 g/ 1.7 – 1.9 lbs watermelon rind weighed after preparing it
- granulated sugar about 500 g/ 1.1 lbs (depending on how much cooked rind you have)
- 1 liter/ 34 fl.oz/ 4.2 cups water
- 150 ml/ 5 fl.oz/ ⅔ cup white wine vinegar
- the juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Remove the red flesh of the watermelon, leaving only one very thin layer of red flesh attached to the rind, about 2 mm/ 0.08 inches. Remove the green skin of the watermelon completely.
- Chop the watermelon rind into even pieces of about 3-4 cm/ 1.2-1.6 inches. You should weigh the watermelon rind now and prepare more if necessary.
- Place 1 liter/ 34 oz/ 4.2 cups water and the vinegar in a pot with a diameter of approximately 23 cm/ 9 inches and a height of 14 cm/ 5.5 inches (*See the marked paragraph above).
- Bring to a boil, add the watermelon rind and let cook for about an hour or a bit more until the rind pieces are glossy and somehow transparent. It is a necessary step, the vinegar will help the watermelon rind pieces hold their shape and not get soggy.
- Drain in a sieve, refresh with cold water and, when cool enough to handle, press with your hand to remove more of the excess water.
- Weigh the watermelon rind again. You should have more or less 500 g/ 1.1 lbs cooked rind. Set aside.
- Measure the sugar, you should use the same amount of sugar as you have of cooked watermelon rind, so about 500 g/ 1.1 lbs.
- Place the sugar in the rinsed pot you used before. Add 250 ml/ 8.5 oz/ 1 cup water to the sugar and turn on the heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. When the syrup comes to a boil, add the watermelon rind and the lemon juice.
- Cook until a light syrup forms, it took me exactly 38 minutes, but as I have mentioned above, the cooking time depends on the size of the pot as well. I used a soup pot with a diameter of 23 cm/ 9 inches and a height of 14 cm/ 5.5 inches.
- If your pot has a similar size the time should be OK, if your pot is wider the cooking time will probably be shorter, if your pot is narrower the cooking time will probably be a bit longer. The finished syrup should be light in color and have more or less the consistency of clear honey.
- Place the jam into the sterilized jars and seal well. Keep in a dark cool place. If the jars are sterilized and well-sealed the jam should be good for a very long time.
Anca says
I love watermelon jam. My mother used to make it and I've made it myself a few times. It's nice to have something different, that can't be bought from a supermarket shelf. Your jam looks amazing! x
Tieckey says
I made this today and i must say it was perfect. 1st time i tried it and i will most definitely make it again. Thank u so much.
My name is Tieckey and im from South Africa
Adina says
Thank you, Tieckey, I am so happy to hear it!
Chris Scheuer says
Very unique and delicious looking!
Rosa says
Your post made me chuckle!! Too funny. 🙂 Watermelon was always part of every meal when I was growing up. My grandmother also chilled it in the fridge and it was the most perfect treat for those hot summer days in my grandparents' backyard or at the beach. 🙂 I have never heard of preserving the rind of a watermelon but it sounds delightful! I have never preserved fruit (I mostly like to bake with it) but I will give this recipe the next time we eat it. Thanks for sharing!
Millie says
This tastes very yummy. Thank you for sharing the recipe, it is also nice if you add a little bit of ginger or add pineapple pieces when you cook it
Adina says
Hi Millie. Thank you for your feedback and suggestions, I will keep them in mind for next summer. ?
Kittie says
You're doing it wrong. Pare the thick dark green part off the rind and leave a wee bit of pink meat on the white part. Chop evenly, toss into a pot. Cover with sugar until it turns to water THEN start cooking it. No need for vinegar and multiple steps. Cook until the syrup forms a thread then transfer into heated canning jars. Close tightly and let the heat form a vacuum seal. Cool and store in cool, dark pantry.
Kittie says
Errr let sit until the sugar turns to liquid. Sorry for confusing above.
Annie says
The method isn't wrong, Kittie. It's just different. Your method relies on natural fermentation, hence no addition of vinegar. It takes a lot longer to fermet something without adding vinegar. I'll try both methods when summer arrives
Kittie says
This recipe isn't fermented. However, I do adore a spiced ("pickled" with simple syrup, white vinegar, and whole cloves) peach and that of course makes me want to try a "pickled" watermelon preserves.
Ashlie rivera says
These are delicious, but definitely candy. I made a single batch just to try it out, and I may make it again, but I think one jar will be plenty for me for quite some time. Thank you for the recipe!
Adina says
Thank you, Ashlie. A jar definitely goes a long way. 🙂
Jisela says
Hi! I was wondering, I never canned anything before. Does this have to be canned? Or can I just use a empty cleaned pasta jar I have in the cabinet?
Adina says
Hi Jisela. You don 't have to can this. Give the jam into sterilized jars. There is a link in the blog post that will lead you to another post where I explain how to sterilize jars.
Ian says
I modified it slightly by adding new ginger and orange zest. Delicious. I will also try it with finely diced beetroot. I also used citric acid and tartaric acid instead of lemon juice.
Adina says
So happy to hear it, Ian. Thank you.
Lissette says
Hi Thank you so much for your blog and posts. I've lived inflorida for over 20 years and still miss al the canni g and preserving we did in Wisconsin. After reading so.e of your receipes I am all excited to do some fruit cannig again!
Adina says
Thank for your nice comment, Lissette. Happy canning! 🙂 🙂 Florida sounds so amazing to me, only hearing the word seems magic: sun and warmth all the time.
Jesse-Gabriel says
Genuss pur, vielen Dank für das teilen!
Viele Grüße sendet,
Jesse-Gabriel aus Berlin
Adina says
Dankeschön auch. 🙂
Peg says
IS this supposed to be covered during the cooking times? Mine cooked out of liquid before the times were up, like 1st cook was well below an hour.
Adina says
Hi Peg. I didn't cover the pot. You could do it, leaving a crack open while you cook the rind in vinegar, if you feel it boils down too quickly. Or turn the heat down a bit. You should definitely NOT use a lid while you cook the jam.
Susy says
What if my rinds with some pink flesh are under 1+ inches?
Adina says
It's fine; they are always more or less like that, I suppose. When I talk about the 0.08 inches/2 mm, I mean only the red part that's still attached to the white rind.
Cassie says
Excellent instruction. Easy read
Kendall says
Making this for the first time tomorrow. What other vinegar can I use? Rice vinegar? ACV? Regular? Thanks in advance ☺️
Adina says
Apple cider vinegar is ok.