Sunday, July 20, 2008

the (almost) zero waste watermelon

Watermelon is in season here, and it's one of my favorites. Next time you enjoy one, though, don't throw the rind away...use it to make preserves! They're delicious (probably because of all the sugar), it's one more way to cut down on food waste, and it wasn't too much work at all.

The recipe is here - the only advice I would give is that although the finished product is quite soft, the rinds were still rather crispy for me until I let it cool and sit for a while. Then, however, they were wonderful and delicious. And now the first batch is gone. Guess I'll just have to eat more watermelon.

Enjoy!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am def. going to try this. I was just complaining yesterday that the scrap from one watermelon clogs up my worm bin for up to 2 weeks.

Allison said...

I have never heard of wtaermelon rind preserves. I may try this. We are growing our own watermelons this year, well hopefully they will get bigger.

Anonymous said...

I too love watermelons. I do feel bad for throwing away the rind, though I feel a little less bad since we started composting our food scrap.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will have to try it.

Years ago, my mom used to peel off the outer skin of a watermelon, cut the rind into 1 inch long strips and stir-fry it with hot peppers. It used to be one of our staple summer dishes.

Melissa said...

organicneedle, this will definitely help the situation in the worm bin...I'd had the same problem!

allison, my watermelon plants still haven't even made any flowers yet. They're not dead, but somehow I get the feeling I won't get any food from them either.

cindyw, that sounds pretty good! what did she season it with? I might give that a try!

Chile said...

Interesting looking recipe! Have you tried watermelon rind pickles? I made them last year and they've been a huge hit at CSA tastings. Lots of recipes online for them.

Melissa said...

Wow, 7 cups of sugar...that sounds like my kind of recipe!