Fermented Watermelon Rind Pickles and Relish
It’s melon season, and this is the perfect recipe to use watermelon rind instead of wasting it! Fermented watermelon rind pickles are crisp, tart, and ready to eat in 14 days. Once the pickles are fermented, chop them up and turn them into a delicious sweet and sour fermented watermelon rind relish.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Fermentation time: 2 weeks
- Total Time: 336 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 25 ounces
- Category: fermented foods
- Method: fermentation
Ingredients
- 300 grams watermelon rind, chopped
- 400 grams water
- 25 grams sea salt
Instructions
- This recipe at 1x works best with a 32-ounce wide-mouth jar. Please see equipment recommendations above.
- Wash all of your fermentation equipment (jar, weight and lid)
- Wash your watermelon rind in cool water.
- Optional: peel the outer skin off the rind with a vegetable peeler.
- Slice the rind however you would like. Slices are great, and you can easily finely chop the rinds into a relish after fermentation.
- Place your kitchen scale on the counter. Turn it on and set it to weigh in grams.
- Place a mixing bowl on your kitchen scale and tare/zero the scale.
- Weigh out the designated amount of watermelon rind.
- Add the rind and the designated amount of water to the jar.
- Place a small bowl on your scale and tare/zero the scale.
- Weigh out the salt. Then add salt to the jar of rinds and water.
- Add in any spices you want spices. (If using dry spices, you can avoid them floating to the surface. Place the spices in a small piece of cheesecloth or tea bag and tie it closed. Nestle the little spice pouch at the bottom the the jar, under the pieces fo rind. By doing this, you will still get all the flavor from the spices, without anything floating.)
- Place your standard mason jar lid on the jar, and secure it. Shake the jar vigorously for 2 minutes to dissolve all the salt.
- Remove the lid. Place your clean fermentation weight in the jar making sure to submerge the watermelon rind pieces and weight fully in the liquid.
- Secure the lid to the jar.
- Let the watermelon rind ferment for 14 days at room temperature. Set the jar in a glass dish to catch any spills.
- If using a sealing jar lid, you must burp the jar daily when it is bubbling.
- After 2 weeks, remove the fermentation weight and smell and taste test. Your fermented watermelon rind pickles should smell pleasantly sour. They should taste tart, sour, and salty.
- Store in the fridge once it is done fermenting. You can eat them as pickles or turn them into relish. Because of the texture of the watermelon skin, I prefer turning them into relish.
- To make the relish: Strain the fermented watermelon rind, reserve some brine, and finely mince all of the watermelon rind.
- Finely mince 1/2 a white onion.
- Mix the watermelon rind and white onion with 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, two tablespoons of honey, and two tablespoons of reserved brine.
- Store in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge. Use this delicious relish on burgers, hot dogs, salads, and in chicken salad.
