Quick Post: Using (Almost) All the Watermelon

Use All the Watermelon Parts

Last week my sister got a small watermelon, and yesterday I saw it in the fridge.  I had completely forgotten that it was there.  While she was napping, I was making bread, and I decided to make a water melon drink and save the rind for making my first solo attempt at lacto-fermentation.  I am familiar with home fermentation, because I grew up making sauerkraut.  It has just been a long time, and we only ever fermented cabbage when we were growing up.  I am also not planning to can it like we did with sauerkraut.  If the rind ferments properly, I will put it the fridge, and we can probably eat it in short order over the next month or two.

Spicy Watermelon Smoothie

Watermelon blended with 1 seeded jalapeño, chopped fresh cilantro with stems, ground black pepper, paprika, Cheyenne pepper, and a little salt.  All seasoning is to taste.  I did not measure anything.  Finish it with just a bit of simple syrup. It is also good with a shot of tequila.  NB: It get more savory as it sits.  If you want it sweet and fruity, serve it as soon as you blend it.  Either way is good.

Fermented Watermelon Rind

On Monday afternoon, I peeled and chopped all the rind I saved from Sunday.  I cut it in 1/2" squares, and the portion that is fermenting now was cut into smaller pieces like mini matchsticks (at least in width).  I saved one 2.5" square of rind to put on top and hold all the small pieces under the brine.  After looking at recipes and discussions of fermentation, I decided to go fast and loose with my brine method.  I do not have a scale, so making a perfect percentage solution is not an option.  Plus we never measured when I was a kid adding salt to the layers of cabbage anyway.  It was just learned knowledge.  Sandor Katz does recommend just salting the vegetable to taste, especially for something you know you will use in a month or two.

In the bottom of the jar I put the seasoning: two cardamon pods, maybe 1/2 a teaspoon each of mustard seed and cumin seeds, about the same of cracked black pepper corns, two whole garlic cloves crushed and peeled, and a bay leaf. After I made about two cups of mini-match sticks, I salted them with  maybe 3.5 tablespoons of salt and mixed.  I added them to the jar and pressed them down.  I cut up another cup or so and added salt.  Once the jar was nearly full I added the larger square and additional salt.  I added room temperature filtered water until everything was covered.  The only thing I am missing is a glass or pottery weight to keep everything safely under, but the large piece is well wedged and I will be burping the jar daily.

Monday Dinner: Curried Watermelon Rind

I curried the rind that did not fit in the jar for fermentation to go with dinner.  I used the recipe at My Heart Beets, but the only ingredient I omitted was the mango powder.  I also used jalapeño instead of serrano, because that was what I had available.  My sister has all the other spices called for.  (I forgot to take a picture of the whole plate before I ate.  I just wanted to dig in and check it out.)  It definitely comes out spicy like the recipe says, but it was so good with the rice after you adjusted.  If you do not do heavy spice, leave the hot pepper ingredients out. I liked leaving some of the pink melon on the rinds.  It added pretty color, and I did not have any issues with texture. Each piece had the nice texture of a firm cucumber when fully cooked.

In the end, the only waste was the skin I peeled off the rind and the stem.  Everything else became food.  I am always going to make savory watermelon rind dish going forward.  It is too good to pass up.  The counter-top fermenting process should be completed in a week or two, so I will update the blog with results then.