Here is another recipe from Dining on a Dime.
Watermelon Pickles
3 pounds white portion watermelon rind, cubed
5 cups sugar
2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. whole cloves
1 Tbsp. whole allspice
3 cinnamon sticks, 3 inches each
1 lemon, sliced
Put watermelon cubes in a large pot with enough salted water to cover. Soak overnight. Drain. Cover with fresh, cold water and bring to a boil. Cook over low heat until tender. Drain. In another large pot, combine sugar, vinegar and water. Tie cloves, allspice, cinnamon and lemon in a cheesecloth bag. Add to sugar mixture and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Boil 5 minutes. Add watermelon cubes and simmer until translucent, about 15 minutes. Remove spice bag and pack pickles in hot, sterilized jars. Refrigerate 2 weeks before using. Makes 4 quarts.
From: Dining on a Dime
photo by: gudlyf
have been looking for a recipe like this for years.
I have never had them but every once in a while my husband recalls some that a relative made.
One question. Can I do without the lemon slice or can I substitute it for something else not citrus.
I think you can leave out the lemon. I have seen different recipes for these and they are divided on the lemon. Half have it and have don’t so I would say just leave it out. It is probably more for flavor but with all the other spices it shouldn’t make that big of a difference.
I love watermelon pickles! Thanks for the recipe! Just to clarify a couple things… These are refrigerator pickles so no processing? I am assuming that you full the jars with the brine as well as the pickles, right? Do they have to remain in the fridge after the 2 weeks and about how many pints or quarts does the 3 lbs yield? Thanks!
That’s right they are like refrigerator pickles so no processing. Yes fill the jars with brine and pickles. Yes it is best to keep them in the fridge. It makes 4 quarts.
Ref: watermelon pickles..How much does this recipe make & what size jars did you use? Do I just leave them all in the refrigerator? I’m excited! I love these pickles & they are very expensive to buy! Thanks…
It makes 4 quarts and just leave them in the fridge.
Can’t wait to try these. My daughter and I were talking about watermelon pickles just yesterday, wondering where we would find a recipe. Never had any but the ingredients sure make them sound good.
What other containers can be used besides glass jars? I’m wondering about using Rubbermaid Square storage containers.
Lynn usually glass jars are best because you are using hot boiling juice or are going to can them but I don’t know why if you let the solution cool before putting it in the containers they wouldn’t be ok to use.
The only other thing would be if you leave them in the containers for quite awhile sometimes things can absorb and get a plastic taste to them but you know for something this spicy I don’t think that would be a problem either.
If the store has watermelon this week I think I will try these. We get those small seedless ones but not enough rind on them to really make the pickles.
just re read this and see no canning needed so that is a definite plus.
I was wondering you’re only using the rind in this recipe correct. Not the watermelon pulp.
Yes just the rind.
these are my favorite pickles! I actually can mine in pint jars and enjoy them all year long. they definitely taste better after a wait time.
Sorry, but I just can’t stand watermelon!Even the smell is awful to me. I am reading a book called “Stone Gables”, about a family raising ten children in rural Georgia in the 40′s and 50′s. She, the author, tells of when a watermelon came up in their garden. They did not plant watermelon and thought maybe the seed was mixed in their packet of squash seeds.When they cut into it it was a white color, not red. The mother thought it was a citron. I have never heard that term for a type of melon. Anyone know what that might be? I forget what the mother did with it, but they did not waste anything, so maybe it became some type of pickles.
It is what original watermelon was and is found in Africa and Egypt. It was grown to repel bugs there. You can eat it like regular watermelon but most people like it best pickled or something like that.
Jill, I googled citron and found this information. Wish I liked melons. They are so abundant in the summertime, and when you order a fruit cup in a restaurant, it always has melon. Tried cantelope just a couple of weeks ago, thinking maybe my tastes have changed, but no, still don’t like it!
not keen on cantaloupe but muss melon I like.
mom used to get us to eat it by giving us a quarter or smaller piece with the rind still on it and topping it with vanilla ice cream.
I buy it a lot when Don is night shift. It makes a nice addition to the fruit bowl I leave him.