This recipe comes from my father’s paternal grandmother, Mendocino May (Plaskett) Mansfield. It makes 5 pints’ worth of Watermelon Pickles. To set the historical time frame, I will mention that she happened to be the first non-indigenous child born in Mendocino County, CA.
Ingredients
- 4 quarts one-inch pieces of watermelon rind (i.e., cut off the green and much of the pink)
- 3 quarts cold water
- ½ cup salt
- 1½ quarts cold water
- Syrup
- 1½ quarts cold water
- 3 cups vinegar
- 6 cups brown sugar (firmly packed)
- 3 tablespoons each of allspice, whole cloves, cinnamon, and lemon zest
- Supplies for jarring
Directions
- Soak the rind overnight in 3 quarts of cold water with ½ cup salt.
- Drain and rinse with fresh water.
- Put this rind in 1½ quarts of cold water and boil about 10 minutes, until tender, then drain.
- Bring the syrup mixture to a boil and add the rinds, cooking 45 minutes.
- Seal in jars.