Best Watermelon Rind Jam Recipes

WATERMELON RIND JAM (CANDIED WATERMELON RIND)

Steps:

• 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.

WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES

Steps:

• Peel off the green part of the watermelon rind, and slice into 2 inch pieces. Soak the rind in a solution of 1 gallon water and 1/2 cup salt overnight.
• Remove rind from the salt water, and place in a stockpot with clean water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the rind is tender. Drain.
• In a large pot, combine the sugar, 8 cups water, and sliced lemons. Tie the cinnamon and cloves into a cheesecloth bag, and place in the pot. Bring the syrup to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Add the rinds, and cook until transparent. Remove spice bag. Stir in red food coloring, if using. Ladle preserves into hot sterile jars, and process to seal.

WATERMELON RIND JAM

Steps:

• The first step is to peel off the tough green skin, chop up the white remains with some of the pink still on it.
• In a stainless steel saucepan (or Dutch oven), add the rinds, apple pieces, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Lower heat and stir until the rind is tender and translucent (could take up 60-120 minutes...mine took about 1 hour).
• When it is translucent, remove from heat. Let cool down and carefully emulsify.
• Carefully spoon the jam into sterilized jars. Apply lids jars.
• Wipe rims with a clean, damp towel and screw lids on securely but not too tightly.
• Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
• Carefully remove jars using tongs. Use potholders to tighten the lids. Place jars on a rack upside-down and let them cool. When they've cooled down, store them in the refrigerator. The jam should keep unopened for several months.

WATERMELON RIND JAM

Steps:

• Cut rind into 1/3-inch strips. Cover in cold water and bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat, and let simmer slowly until transparent, about 30 minutes.
• Drain, and reserve 1 1/2 cups of liquid.
• In a heavy pot, completely dissolve sugar in reserved liquid. Add honey and lemon peel, and bring to a boil, skimming as needed. Add drained rind and seeds and boil gently over medium heat, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside overnight.
• Boil again over medium heat, until syrup thickens, about 15 minutes. Test for doneness.
• Add lemon juice and mastic or cardamom 5 minutes before jam is done. Let jam cool completely then store in a sterilized jar.

WATERMELON RIND JAM

Steps:

• Remove and set aside the red flesh from the watermelon, leaving about one centimeter of rind.
• Remove the dark green outer rind with a sharp knife or peeler.
• Cut the light green rind and the red pulp into bite-size pieces.
• Add two liters of water and 200 ml of apple cider vinegar. Bring to a boil and let everything cook on medium heat for about 2 hours.
• Pour the rind mixture into a glass bowl and chill with cold water.
• When cooled, put the rind mixture back into the pot. Add half a liter of water, the juice of one lemon, a kile of jam sugar and a packet of vanilla sugar. Cook everything until the mixture has thicked.
• Puree the mixture partially or completely according to your desire.
• Pour the hot jam into sterilized jars. Close the jam jars and turn them upside down for 5 minutes. Leave the jam jars in a kitchen towel for half a day.

WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES OLD TIME

Steps:

• Trim green peel and red flesh from watermelon. Cut rind into small cubes (14-16 cups).
• Place cubed rind into stainless steel pot (Dutch oven size) and add one part sugar to two parts rind (I use little less sugar in my recipe). Let sit until sugar dissolves, a couple or hours or overnight (preferably overnight). Rind and sugar should have made its own liquid.
• Start cooking on medium, checking and stirring until it starts to boil, about 20-30 minutes.
• Add thinly sliced lemon, juice and zest of the other lemon. Stir in ground or whole spices of your choice.
• Turn down heat to low and cook on low heat until rinds are translucent, checking and stirring often (don't want the sugar to burn). (Approximately 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours more or less, until rinds are translucent).
• If using red food coloring, add a few drops to desired color at this point, stir well.
• Seal in prepared jars, clean jars, lids and rings placed in boiling water until ready to fill. Approximately (8) 1/2 pint jars, (16) 1/4 pint jars, or (4) pint jars.
• Immediately after filling jars I like to turn them upside down for 5-10 minutes, supposedly to help them seal.
• Optional instead of ground spices add with lemons:
• Cinnamon sticks (eight short pieces, 1 for each jar).
• Whole cloves (16-32 cloves, 2-4 for each jar).
• Grated fresh ginger (1 tablespoon).
• Red food coloring.

WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES

Steps:

• Trim green skin and pink flesh from watermelon rind; chop enough rind to yield 6 cups. In a large bowl, stir salt and 2 quarts warm water until salt is dissolved. Add 6 cups chopped rind. Cover and refrigerate 5-6 hours. Drain and rinse in cold water; drain. Cover rind with cold water and let stand 30 minutes. Drain. Transfer rind to a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until just tender, 10-15 minutes; drain., To make preserves, in a stockpot, combine sugar, lemon juice and 7 cups water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in rind. Place cinnamon, cloves and cardamom on a double thickness of cheesecloth. Gather corners of cloth to enclose seasonings; tie securely with string. Add to stockpot. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until rind is clear, 30-45 minutes. Discard spice bag., Remove from heat. Ladle hot mixture into 6 hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight., Place jars into canner with water simmering, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.