I call this post "how not to candy watermelon rind" because what I did last week was boil watermelon rind with spices and a lot a water. I used the recipe from Food com but instead of just letting the watermelon rind sweat, I filled a deep pot with water and then let the watermelon rind and sugar sit for 12 hours. What I wound up with after adding vanilla, cinnamon, lemon juice and pieces of lemon rind and chili powder, was spiced water and chewy spiced watermelon rind. It's pretty delicious and you can use the pieces of rind in yogurt parfaits, but my favorite way to use this recipe is in beer.
I went to a krewe recruitment party on Sunday and brought a jar of this watermelon rind. They had a keg (sadly this was my first keg party) of Abita Amber and after one or two Solo cups I had the idea of combining the beer with the spiced water from the rind. It was SO out of this world delicious that I had a couple more Solo cups' full. There wasn't any water at the party besides what I brought (just beer and Jameson and other alcohols) so I was not drinking enough water. Although I had fun meeting new people and swimming in Lake Pontchartrain, I got very dehydrated and had a miserable night.
Lesson learned!
Right now I don't want to drink or eat the watermelon rind, so I'm not sure what to do with it... Just the smell of it makes me feel nauseous. I'll give it a couple weeks and see if I feel better.
Please don't equate candied watermelon rind with feeling sick, though. I love this recipe and highly recommend it! Just don't put water in the pot; only peeled and diced watermelon rind with sugar. Let it sweat for 4-12 hours and then proceed with the recipe. Hopefully your end product will be chewy and delicious, like my second attempt will be.
Enjoy!
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