Ingredients:

  • 2 lb peeled watermelon rind (about 4 cups)

  • 1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar

  • 1 ½ cups water

  • 1½ cups granulated sugar

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

  • 3 cinnamon sticks

  • 6 whole cloves

  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, cut lengthwise into strips

  • pink peppercorn, optional

Watermelon Rind Pickles

recipe adapted from Serious Eats

Don’t toss those watermelon rinds! Once the green skin is removed, the crisp white rind makes a delicious pickle. These sweet-tart pickles are spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and ginger and make a great addition to a summer cheese board, sandwich, or snack plate.

Instructions:

  1. Thoroughly clean 3 pint size jars.

  2. Prepare the rind. Cut away the dark green outer skin and any remaining pink flesh. Cut the white rind into approximately 1-inch pieces.

  3. Make the brine. In a saucepan, combine the apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt, cinnamon stick, cloves, and ginger. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar and salt dissolve.

  4. Pack the pickles. While the brine comes up to temp, pack the watermelon rind pieces into clean jars.

  5. Transfer the hot brine to the jars, leaving about ½ inch of headspace. Divide the cinnamon sticks, cloves, and ginger pieces amongst the jars too. Add lids, allow to cool to room temp, then refrigerate.

  6. For the best flavor, refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating.

Notes:

  • These are refrigerator pickles, not shelf-stable canned pickles. Keep them refrigerated and use within about 2–3 weeks.

  • Trim off as much pink flesh as possible - it doesn’t have the best texture after pickling.

  • Rind yield differs greatly by the melon! You can generally expect 1.5 - 2 lb of rind per large watermelon.