July 12, 2018

Candied watermelon rind

Finished strips of candied watermelon rind.

Candied watermelon rind is a fun treat and a terrific way to use some of your food scraps and turn them into something you'd want to eat!

Watermelon rind is edible, though not especially tasty raw. My kids are watermelon monsters, so I buy one almost every week in the summer, leaving us with A LOT of rinds to compost or throw away.

I always enjoy coming up with ways to use up foods that otherwise may be tossed. Things like making pestos from some greens (like the tops of carrots or radishes), eating beet greens, making broths and stocks with the tops of celery and onion peels. These are all great ways to reduce food waste.

The process to candy the rind takes about 4 days, but most of the time is completely hands-off. I scaled up the recipe to make more and I added some drying time in the direct sunlight. 

It's an imperfect process that you have to play by ear; a dehydrator may be helpful here and cut down on drying time, but mine turned out delicious without one!

Pieces of watermelon rind lying on a baking sheet during the drying process.

Candied watermelon rind is similar to other candied rinds like oranges, lemon, and grapefruits. Watermelon rind is bland in flavor - it does not taste like watermelon. The lemon in this recipe adds the flavoring to the end product.

You can use other flavors if you prefer - lime or ginger would be great ones to try in this recipe if you don't want to use lemon, or don't like lemon flavor.

These are a fun and tasty treat to eat out of hand for a few days - they are almost like a fruit snack in a way. Their shape and texture also remind me of a gummy worm - sweet, a little tart, and a touch chewy. We eat them out of hand, but you can use them to decorate the tops of cupcakes or other treats as well. 

When your are planning to make watermelon rind candy, I suggest using rinds from watermelon that you have cut up into a fruit salad or similar. You don't want to collect up ones that people have been touching and eating from with their mouths. Remove the fruit from the rind with a knife and then use that rind for making candy.

Pouring sugar into a bowl of watermelon rinds and water.

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Yield: about 10 servings  
Author: Amy Bartlett (Savory Moments)

Candied Watermelon Rind

Candied Watermelon Rind

Candied watermelon rind is a fun treat and a terrific way to use some of your food scraps and turn them into something you'd want to eat!

Ingredients:

Part 1
  • about 6 heaped cups watermelon rind, cut into about 2-inch strips approximately 1/4-inch wide and green portion removed (it's okay to leave some pink, though it takes longer to fully dry)
  • 6 cups water
  • 1-1/2 tablespoons salt
Part 2
  • 3 cups water
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 lemon, sliced

Instructions:

  1. Part 1: In a large bowl or container, stir everything together. Cover with plastic wrap/lid and let the rinds soak in the refrigerator overnight. Drain and rinse the rind. Place the rind in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and then reduce and simmer for one hour. Drain again.
  2. Part 2: In a saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Stir and when the sugar is dissolved, add the watermelon rinds and lemon slices. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain again and then transfer the rinds to a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon mat. Let dry for about 36-48 hours, turning halfway through (I put mine out into the sun for about 4-5 hours halfway through to help).

Notes:

You can add other flavorings with or without the lemon like ginger or cinnamon as well, if desired. The finished product does not taste like watermelon. It tastes like sweet lemon. Store in an airtight container and snack on as desired.
Created using The Recipes Generator

I hope you give these candied watermelon rinds a try! Let me know in the comments below. 

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Finished strips of candied watermelon rinds.

Recipe slightly adapted from Sew Historically.

Check out these other recipes for reducing food waste:

Broccoli Stem Slaw w/ Cranberries

How to Freeze Basil in Olive Oil

How to Make Vegetable Scrap Broth in the Slow Cooker 

Carrot Top Hummus

60 comments:

  1. I've never had this but it looks brilliant. So tasty!

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    1. I have made with a bit of a twist. I added vinegar to the last step for tartness and a tiny bit of ascorbic acid to powdered sugar and corn starch for a coating to keep them from sticking in a bag. I also used dehydrator to dry. Not bad stuff.

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    2. I made watermelon pickles for years. I canned them after brining and cooking in a sugar syrup with vinegar. Or you can just keep them refrigerated in a jar. They last forever.

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    3. We also enjoy watermelon rind pickles. I haven't made them in quite a while, but they are always a hit.

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  2. I love this idea! It's a great way to have a nice snack and reduce waste!

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  3. I am definitely intrigued. I am going to have to give this a try when our CSA gives us melons!

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  4. Wow! I didn't know about this idea and this is definitely my favorite part of the watermelon!

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  5. What a unique treat! I haven't seen this before now I will have to try it for sure.

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  6. this seems like a real labor of love, but worth it in the end!!

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  7. Wow Amy, Thank you for sharing this. I love watermelon. I never thought and I have never tasted candied watermelon before. I will try this. Thank you for coming over to my place too. Appreciate it. Have a great weekend.
    https://www.kocinadepinay.com

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  8. What a tasty was to use all the melon! Summer melons are the best!

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  9. Amy this looks absolutely beautiful ! xo

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  10. What a fun treat! My kids would love this. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friday!

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  11. Thanks for trying out the recipe. I'm glad you liked it! :)

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  12. Ohh I haven't done this in so long and forgot how good it is! Great recipe Amy

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  13. I grew up eating watermelon rind preserves and since make rind candies. I love your method for the candies and will be trying it. Thanks for sharing!

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  14. This looks brilliant and tempting, please can I have some? 😂 😂

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  15. Wow! This is simple recipe yet a delicious rind, I will be the first person to make this in estate. Thanks Amy.

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  16. Congratulations on the feature on Foodie Friday. This recipe sounds very interesting. I'm anxious to try it.

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  17. You could add candy flavorings too to make it taste like watermelon or strawberry watermelon

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  18. This is so pretty! It would be great on top of a cake!

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  19. My kids are always trying to eat the rind when they have a slice of watermelon. I'll have to try this with the next watermelon we get.

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  20. How fun is this to make and EAT

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  21. This is SUCH a fun idea! Next summery watermelon we pick up, we'll definitely have to try this out!

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  22. I am a little intimidated by 4 days, but you know what? I have nothing but time on my hands...this is happening!

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  23. I can't wait to give this a try- these sound delicious!

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  24. These really make me want to go buy a watermelon just to make them!

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  25. Can I do this same recipe but with apricots to make candied dried apricots?!

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    1. I don't know! I've never made fried apricots or tried to candy them before. It would be a fun experiment.

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  26. I’ll give it try this weekend and keep you posted !!! Have a tree and now have 20lbs of fresh apricots !!

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  27. I tried these and I love them ... I’m also going to make more of them and hang some from my Christmas tree ... with a metal hang tag for an ornament ... hanging dried fruit on my Christmas tree makes it very beautiful and smells wonderfully delicious as well ... a little bit of dried orange lemons grapefruits dried and hung as well in my tree with a few little cloves attached on some and cinnamon and sugared lemon dried hung etc.. with. Little a little bit of real thyme branches plucked and placed on my Christmas tree next to the dried fruit hung ... makes a great natural old time new fresh modern smelling Christmas tree at my house this year ... and maybe others
    Homes too .!! Mmm I hope a senior citizen home gets a tree like this one for them to enjoy and smell and sing some carols around the trees ��..!!

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    Replies
    1. I love that idea! What a lovely way to decorate for Christmas.

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    2. Why couldn’t you use the candied rind in fruit cake,use food colors for red,green,yellow, etc?

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  28. Like can we let it sit in brine for 14 hours too?

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  29. Great recipe folks! Trying it out right this god damn second homies

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  30. My Great Auntie used to make candied watermelon rind we I
    was little . I have never found a recipe for it till now.
    Thank You ! I always loved it as a very special treat

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  31. Instead of lemon I used some chunks from the center of the melon with the juice and blended it. Added water to that to make the 3 cups of water. Cooked that as directed above with the sugar and about a quarter teaspoon of salt. They have a subtle sweet watermelon flavor. Without a dehydrator, how can I dry them faster?

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    Replies
    1. Hi. Great idea to use some watermelon juice. I always dry these outside in the sun. You could try an oven at the lowest setting too.

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  32. I have mine in the dehydrator now; going to speed the drying up some

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    1. I'm thinking that too dehydration. How did it turn out? I have mine in the first stage

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  33. By Joyce Cooer
    What about strawberry. Or extract flavors. And wondered I dried a few bags in oranges, lemon’s and blueberry. I have several different flavors

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  34. I am brining mine now as I type this. When they are ready to dry I'm wondering if I can use the dehydrated setting on my air fryer?

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  35. I've never used an air fryer before, but a dehydrator should just speed up the process.

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  36. Hey this sounds great but why you put them in salt water first? Any particular reason for that…i know may be you did that for making it tender but what’s the significance of brining in this process?

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    Replies
    1. Hi. Yes, it's really just to start breaking down the tough rind a bit.

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  37. Brining now. What do think about a little vanilla extract? Would that be weird?

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    Replies
    1. Vanilla should be fine in place of the lemon. It depends how you want the end flavor to taste.

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  38. After simmering a huge pot full, they still were slightly crunchy because I skipped the brining step. Is that how they usually are or should I just expect a different texture?

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    Replies
    1. Brining is an important step as it begins to break down the rind to achieve the correct texture. The end texture is soft and gummy like a gummy candy.

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  39. Never made this kind of candy before, so this might sound silly. But how do you prevent bugs from landing on it while it’s in the drying process? Do you cover it with a towel or anything?

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    Replies
    1. You can use a mesh drying screen for drying foods outdoors. Or, use a dehydrator indoors to speed up the process.

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  40. If you are expecting watermelon candy (as I did) - read through the entire recipe first! Disappointed that the disclaimer that this candy doesn’t end up tasting like watermelon was left for the “fine print” in the note at the end of the recipe. I’m only halfway through the multiple steps so hopefully I can salvage this with a recipe from elsewhere.

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    1. As stated in the post, watermelon rind doesn't have much flavor (similar to if you ate the white part fresh - it doesn't taste like watermelon). Lemon is used to flavor the rind. You can try other flavors as well like lime, ginger, or orange.

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    2. I made it but added unsweetened Kool aid packet to the sugar when I boiled it. It is in the dehydrator now but I did taste it sticky it's a lot like a gummy worm. Thank you I've been throwing away rinds for years this will reduce garbage waste .

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  41. Can I put it in the oven to quicken the drying process

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    1. You could out the oven as low as it can go (usually 175/200 F) and use it similar to a dehydrator and keep checking on it.

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  42. I made these last week and they were great!! I used lime slices and fresh ginger. Everyone in my household loved them. I bought another watermelon yesterday for the sole purpose of making these again. This time I’m using fresh lime again and I’m going to add tajin right before I put them in the dehydrator. I hope they are just as amazing as the first batch! 🍉

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