My hubby first made this awhile back and I couldn’t stop eating these naturally pickled  rinds. They’re kinda chewy yet still a little crispy. Who would have thought I would meet a pickle that I couldn’t get enough of.  I’ve never been the pickle type. Those dilled cucumber pickles from the  grocery store shelves and even from the Deli never appealed to me.  I remember seeing many at Disneyland eating whole pickled cucumbers at the height of summer and relishing them. I could never get it.

These brine pickled rinds became an instant favorite in our household.  I would buy watermelons with pickles in mind.  I  love how these pickles aren’t the sweet-sour or too salty-sour kind , like a lot of pickles out there are. These rinds just have a hint of salt too , and when fermented for about a week at room temperature, they get just a little tangy, just the way I like it.  We like our food  with a kick so we use a lot of jalapenos, thai chilies and green chilies in our food. For those who like things less spicy, you don’t need any chilies at all for this. These pickles are just as tasty, fermented in just your basic black peppercorn, water and salt.

 

So next time you eat a watermelon, save all the rinds and try pickling them. You might be pleasantly surprised at how much you like them.  If the watermelon is organic, don’t peel the skin but just scrub the skin well and slice the  rinds very thinly. I actually prefer the rinds with the skin on , like when hubby made it, because the skin gave it something more to bite and chew. I preferred this chewy texture version.  Try it either way and see how you like it. You can substitute pickling cucumbers for the rinds.

In The Dill Crock (1984), John Thorne describes half-sours as “cucumbers still, not pickles-little cucumbers who [have] died and gone to heaven.”

This is a recipe for naturally fermented brine pickled watermelon rinds. It’s another form of cultured vegetables.

Ingredients:

The rind of 1 watermelon ( scrape off any red bits , wash them, and then slice the rinds in food processor or by hand )
1 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed
1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
A couple broken bay leaves
1 to 2 heads of  garlic, peeled and smashed
A bunch of fresh dillweed
Whole Thai chilies, Whole green chilies, sliced jalapenos to taste ( we put in probably 2 cups because we like heat and  eating the chilies too )
4 1/2 tablespoons sea salt dissolved in 9 cups water  ( if you need more brine solution, the ratio is 1 1/2 tbsp sea salt to 3 cups water )

 

Directions:

Makes 1  to 2 gallons of pickles, depending on how much you pack into one jar. We pack ours loosely so we spread it around 3 or 4 half gallon jars or two  1 -gallon jars.

Put the peppercorns, coriander, bay leaves, and garlic cloves into a couple of half gallon or gallon glass jars. Pack the jar with the rinds, adding the dillweed and chile peppers in between them. Add the brine solution, and pour it over the rinds, leaving at least 1½ inches headspace. Make sure the rinds are kept under the brine. Push them under the brine solution if they stick out. Keep the jar at room temperature in a cool place away from the sun, and with a dish underneath just in case it overflows.

Within 3 days,  you should see tiny bubbles forming in the jars. This is fermentation taking place. Sometimes, the pickles are so bubbly that the liquid overflows. That is why it is wise to have  plates underneath the jars if you have them in the cupboards. We have ours on the dining table so we can see the activity going on. Replenish with more brine solution if the liquid no longer covers the rinds. The pickles should be ready within a week, when they taste slightly sour. Well done pickles need a week long fermentation. We start eating them around day 3 because we can’t wait a week   Whatever is left after a week, we refrigerate. Refrigerating halts fermentation or slows it down. Some say the pickles are best eaten within about 3 weeks in the refrigerator but we’ve had them longer in the refrigerator and they still tasted great. Many say that half-sour pickle is like a fine wine in that it doesn’t go bad; it just gets better. With time, the half-sour becomes a sour pickle.