Sabor Eats

Sabor for the kitchen & tea for the soul.
Sabor Eats is an experimental food blog created by Erica and Wasc, two students who love food, culture, and travelling.

Candied Watermelon Rind

Have you ever wondered if there was something you could make with all the watermelon rind that gets thrown in the trash after eating juicy watermelons? I always thought it was wasteful, but I wasn’t about to try eating them raw myself. Hahaha.

I was very surprised when I read about candying the watermelon rind. I thought, ‘What a great way to use up all of the watermelon!’ I have never tried to candy something before, so when my mom bought a baby watermelon to eat, I knew I wanted to try making candy!

This is the type of candy that I remember eating when I was young during Chinese New Year. Very dense, not chewy and gummy, but medium toughness when you first bite into it—then it becomes softer and melts in your mouth as you chew it.

I’m not sure if I will be making/candying again anytime soon, as it has appeared I have outgrown this type of candy. Actually, I never really cared much for this type of candy as a youngster either. This was more to experiment and so that I would know how candying worked for the future. Now let me tell you, candying takes a LONG time. Not more than one day, but the entire afternoon into the evening! And all just for a bit of candy! This is the reason why I will not be candying again for a while, hahaha. My mom on the other hand, says she wants to try making this again herself. Maybe because she is reminded of her grandma, who used to love candying tangerine peels.

 

I’ve included the recipe below in case you also want to try candying for yourself.

-Erica

Candied Watermelon Rind (adapted from AZ Cookbook)

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb cleaned and peeled watermelon rind
  • 1.5 tbsp baking soda
  • 1 lb granulated sugar
  • 7.5 cups water
  • Seasoning of choice—I used 3-4 cloves and a pinch of lavender

Recipe:

  1. After cleaning and peeling the pink off of the watermelon rind (be careful when peeling…I cut myself…), chop rind up into squares/rectangles. To make the shapes fun, use a crinkle cutter.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together rind, baking soda, and enough water to cover the rinds.
  3. Leave to soak for 2 hours. Soaking in baking soda hardened the rind so that it doesn’t break apart during the candying process.
  4. Drain rind then rinse (2x)
  5. Place rind in a heavy saucepan, fill with enough water to cover rind, and heat on medium until mixture boils for 2 minutes.
  6. Remove from heat, drain, rinse, then repeat Step #4 and #5.
  7. Add sugar and the 7.5 cups of water. Bring to a boil on medium, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
  8. Bring to a simmer and keep the simmer for 2:30 (keep saucepan uncovered during this time), stirring occasionally so that the sugar doesn’t burn/stick/crystallize.
  9. After 2:30, add in your seasonings and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
  10. By this time, the white/cloudiness in the rinds should have disappeared. The rinds should look clear all the way through, but yellow in color (see photographs). This is when you will remove the saucepan from the heat.
  11. Remove the seasonings and cool preserves in the pan.
  12. Once the pan has cooled, pour the preserves (syrup and all) into a sterilized jar or container (if you will be eating the preserves soon/quickly) and cover, making sure the syrup covers the rinds.
  13. Store in a cool and dry place.
  1. saboreats posted this