Never again!!!

Here is our bounty of pickled watermelon rind, yup that's it, no more and never again. In case any of you want to give this a try let me give you the steps.

First cut all the outer layer of the watermelon (green stuff), takes an hour or so

Then cut away any of the pink watermelon, if not you will get slimy pickles

Now cut all the pieces 1x2 inches. place in large glass bowl, better give yourself another hour

Then cover in a salt brine, weigh it down with a plate and a few jars and leave overnight.

Stick with me, we aren't done yet!!

Now drain a rinse at least 3 times

Cook the rind in water until fork tender, drain, takes 30 to 45 minutes

Cook the pickling mix until cinnamon is defused in sauce, maybe 30 minutes (Not giving the recipe because you would be nuts to try this)

Now add the drained watermelon rind and bring to a boil, simmer on med high for 40 minutes. add food coloring and mix well

Pack rind into jars, cover in sauce

Water bath can for 15 minutes, let stand in canner for an additional 5 minutes and cool overnight.

All of this work will yield you 1 and 1/2 pints of watermelon pickles, if you try this you need to be locked up!!! I very rarely say never again but this is truly a once in a lifetime experience that I will NEVER do again.

Update on the watermelon jelly, the jar in the refrigerator is a little bit set, the jars on the canning shelf are still lose, I might re-can it all using pectin at some point but no time soon, I am OVER watermelon for quite awhile.

I started doing inventory in the canning/laundry room today. I need to sorta know what I have so I will know how much more or less I will need next year and also to know how much to increase the garden next year. I didn't get very far, once I got to the watermelon jelly I got P... off all over again and stopped. maybe a cup of tea and a walk around the garden will put me in a better frame of mind and I do need to get the okra that grows overnight in so I can have another thrilling evening of canning.