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watermelon rind pickles for Jenka

Sorry Jenka, I forgot to copy your email address.  here's the recipe my mom
made throughout the 60s and 70s!

WATERMELON RIND PICKLES from the Freezing and Canning Cookbook of the Farm
Journal published by Doubleday in 1964

rind of 1 watermelon (you want a melon with a thick, firm rind)
1 gallon cold water
2 T salt
2 c vinegar
7 c sugar (I have no idea how much you can cut this down - I guess it depends
on how sweet you want them)
1T whole cloves
2 or 3 sticks cinnamon

trim off the outer green skin of the rind and the pink flesh, leaving only a
very thin line of pink flesh.  cut the rind into the shape you want (my mom
suggested small squares or using a cookie cutter).  soak the cut up rind
overnight in a brine made from the water and salt.  in the morning rinse the
rind in cold water and then let it sit for an hour in ice water.  drain.
 cover the rind with boiling water and simmer until tender.  drain.  make a
syrup with the vinergar, sugar and spices (you could tie the spices up in
some cheesecloth for easy removal; my mom just threw hers in the pot loose).
 add the drained rind to the boiling syrup and cook gently until the rind is
transparent.  remove the spice bag.  put rind and syrup into a pot or bowl
with a lid and let sit 24 hours or longer.  pour off the syrup and bring to a
boil. pack the rind into hot sterilized jars and pour boiling syrup over the
rind to within a half an inch of the top.  Seal the jars.  process in a
boiling water bath for 5 minutes.  makes 6 pints.

the recipe notes that one 16lb melon will yield 5 to 6 lbs of rind.  1 lb
rind is equivalent to 1 quart.  1 quart rind will yield 1 pint of pickles.

Good luck!  -Rosemary

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