How to Can Watermelon Rind Pickles (Water Bath)

Pickles, of all kinds, are one of the most versatile and easiest foods to make when canning at home. If you like classic dill, sweet bread and butter, or something more exotic, they are just the thing for sandwiches, chutneys, and a whole lot more.

But I’m willing to bet there’s one kind of pickle that even the most ardent pickle lovers haven’t tried: watermelon rind pickles.

Normally, watermelon rind is tough, bitter, and overall pretty gross. But when pickled in a salty brine and then packed with a sweet, tangy syrup, they turn into something that’s borderline magic. They are crisp, savory, sweet, and just indefinably good.

If you’re up for a new kind of pickle experience or you just want to completely use the watermelons you work so hard to harvest, this recipe is for you. Roll up your sleeves and we’ll get going.

Budget a Couple of Days for This Recipe

This recipe is a “two-parter”: you’ll prep the rind and marinate it overnight on the first day, then finish cooking, packing and processing it the next day. Plan accordingly!

What You’ll Need

If you’ve got a water bath canning setup, you’ve got pretty much everything you need besides ingredients and some common kitchen tools. Gather all of the following, and then it’s time to get started.

Watermelon Rind: You need watermelon rind taken from fresh, perfectly ripe watermelons. To make a load of about five pint jars’ worth, you’ll need about 6 lbs of watermelon rind. Not a 6 lb watermelon, but 6 lbs of watermelon rind by itself.

Water: Water is necessary for making the canning process work, of course, but we will also need it to make the brine and the syrup, both of which are essential for this recipe.

Tap water is fine for filling the pot for the canning process, but you’ll want to use filtered water for both the brine and the syrup.

Ice Cubes: We will chill the water when brining the rind pieces initially. To do a good job of it, we’ll need about 2 quarts’ worth of ice cubes, which is roughly equivalent to two standard ice trays.

White Vinegar (5%): The essential ingredient in the syrup. 5% white vinegar is what’s needed. You’ll need 3 cups.

Salt: The brine is made with common table salt, but a fine grind works better. You’ll need 3/4 of a cup for the brine.

Sugar: To make the syrup, we’ll need sugar, and plenty of it. Common white granulated sugar works perfectly well, but you’ll need 9 cups.

Lemon: A few slices of lemon will add acidity and a little bit of zingy flavor to the syrup. You’ll need one large lemon.

Cinnamon Sticks: The spicy warmth of cinnamon will add depth and dimension to our syrup and is the perfect spice for watermelon rind pickles.

You want to use whole cinnamon sticks here, not powdered cinnamon, because it will infuse the flavor into the syrup more evenly without being overwhelming.

Plus, we will add a cinnamon stick to each jar when packing. Get six cinnamon sticks, plus more if you are making a larger load; one for each jar.

Cloves: Another warm spice and a constant inclusion in lots of pickling recipes, including this one. Plan on about one tablespoon worth of whole cloves, which is about 50 individual ones.

Canning Rack: The central component of our water bath canning setup.

The canning rack holds the jars securely, keeps them up off of the bottom of the pot, and also prevents them from banging into each other or the walls of the pot. That can be disastrous because it will lead to breaking or seal failure.

Pot, Large: A large pot that can hold the canning rack and one that is deep enough so that you can cover the jars with at least 2 inches of water safely.

Saucepan, Large: We’ll use a large saucepan for cooking the rind pieces at various steps – and also for prepping the syrup for packing.

Saucepan, Small: For preparing the syrup. It should be able to hold a couple of quarts.

Mixing Bowl, Large: A big mixing bowl comes in really handy for holding the watermelon rind pieces during brining and also letting them marinate overnight in the syrup. Make sure it is big enough to hold an entire batch based on how much you’re making.

Cheesecloth: Cheesecloth, or a cheesecloth bag, is essential for holding all of our spices so that we can infuse our syrup with their flavor without letting unwanted chunks and bits float everywhere.

If you don’t have a cheesecloth bag, simply take two layers of cheesecloth and fold them into a sack that can hold the spices. This can be tied off with twine and used like a big tea bag.

Pint Jars: Pint jars are perfect for this recipe since we are cutting the rind into smaller pieces, and their smaller volume makes processing quicker and more reliable. You can use new or vintage jars, but inspect them closely for cracks, chips, and other signs of damage.

Jar Lids: Jar lids must be brand new and in perfect shape. Never, ever attempt to reuse a disposable lid as this is highly likely to cause seal failure. Note that if you are using jars that have attached lids designed to be reusable, that’s fine.

Jar Bands: Jar bands hold the lids in place during processing and ensure a good seal. Note that bands can be reused as long as they are in good shape and undamaged. Any bands that are rusty, cracked, or bent should be thrown out. Don’t try to straighten them out and reuse them.

Jar Lifter: A jar lifter, also known as jar tongs, is super helpful for loading and unloading hot jars safely. Even if you have a canning rack that is designed to lift out easily, these will always come in handy. Get yourself a pair!

Canning Funnel: Although not strictly necessary, a canning funnel helps reduce mess when filling jars with the rind pieces and the syrup.

Bubble Tool: Preventing trapped air pockets in filled jars will prevent spoilage. A bubble tool will get them out, but you can improvise one of these using a chopstick or a wooden skewer.

Colander: You’ll use your colander at multiple points throughout this recipe to rinse the watermelon rind pieces and let them drain.

Kitchen Knife: Cutting through watermelon rind can be tough work, so I recommend a sturdy kitchen knife over a smaller paring knife. Make sure it is sharp!

Slotted Spoon: Helpful for stirring the watermelon rind pieces and filling jars.

Cutting Board: A cutting board is a must-have for prepping the rind pieces and also for protecting your countertops from hot jars. You can use any sort of cutting board you want for the food prep, but choose a heat-resistant plastic or wooden cutting board for setting the jars down.

You don’t want to use a metal or stone one for this purpose because that can cause temperature shock and breakage. More on that later.

Paper Towels: No matter how hard you try, there will be some messes to deal with during this process. Paper towels can take care of it, and you will also use these to wipe off your jar rims prior to capping them with a lid.

Timer: Precise timing is crucially important during all canning procedures, and this one is no exception. Use a mechanical kitchen timer, an app on your phone, or anything else. Just make sure you keep an eye on it and that it has an alarm!

Instructions

Before you dive in, take a moment to read over all of these steps. It will be helpful to understand the process from front to back, and a few of the steps are time-sensitive, so you don’t want to dilly-dally.

Step 1: Sanitize your tools and equipment. Pull out all of your kitchen tools and canning equipment, and give everything a thorough wash and scrub in hot soapy water. If you have a dishwasher, run all of the dishwasher-safe stuff through a very hot cycle before you get started.

Note that you will only start the canning proper the day after you begin because the rind pieces will need to chill in the refrigerator overnight. Plan on cleaning accordingly.

Step 2: Wash and prep watermelon rind. If you’re starting with a whole watermelon, give it a good rinse and wipe down before you start cutting. If you’re starting with leftover rind pieces, I hope you washed them previously.

Start by carefully trimming off that dark green outer skin on the rind, and make sure you get rid of all of the sweet, pink flesh. You should be left with the white or cream-colored rind. Cut these into small cubes or chunks that are about 1 inch square.

Step 3: Mix brine in bowl, cover rind pieces. In your mixing bowl, combine the 3/4 cup salt with 3 quarts of cold water. Stir thoroughly to dissolve the salt. Add your rind pieces:

Step 4: Add ice cubes to brine, stir, let stand for 4 hours. Now dump the ice cubes into the brine mixture, stir it once more, and let it stand for 4 hours.

Step 5: Drain and rinse rind pieces. After the 4 hours is up, drain and then rinse the rind pieces in the colander.

Step 6: Add rind pieces to saucepan, cover with cold water, and boil. Transfer the pieces to the saucepan, cover them just barely with cold water, and then simmer them until they are fork-tender:

This will take 8 to 10 minutes. Stay nearby the whole time because you don’t want to overcook them! Move on to the next steps. In the meantime…

Step 7: Mix spices in bag, prepare syrup. In your small saucepan, combine the nine cups of sugar, three cups of vinegar, and three cups of water.

Stir everything together as best you can for now. In your cheesecloth bag, add six cinnamon sticks and the tablespoon of cloves. Tie off the bag and toss it into the saucepan with the syrup mixture:

Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, set a timer for 5 minutes.

Step 8: Drain rind pieces, return to bowl, and cover with boiling syrup. When the timer goes off on your rind pieces, drain them thoroughly, then transfer them to a clean mixing bowl.

After 5 minutes have elapsed on the boiling syrup, pour it over the pieces, making sure to cover them completely:

Step 9: Add lemon slices to bowl, stir, and chill overnight. Slice the lemon into thin rings and remove the seeds. Toss these into the bowl with the rind pieces and syrup, then stir everything together.

Once the bowl has cooled down to room temperature, transfer it to the refrigerator and let it stand overnight:

Step 10: Return rind and syrup to saucepan, boil gently for 1 hour. The following day, transfer the rind pieces and syrup, with the lemon and spice bag, to your large saucepan. Bring it to a gentle boil and cook for 1 hour:

Once you’ve got 30 minutes left on the timer, move on to the next steps.

Step 11: Preheat jars. Load your jars into the canning rack, put that in your large pot, and then cover them with water, enough so that there are at least 2 inches above the tops of the jars. Turn on the heat and bring the water to a boil to preheat your jars.

Step 12: Protect counter, remove jars. As the timer starts to wind down on your boiling watermelon rind pieces, use your jar lifter and carefully remove the jars from the rack, setting them on a clean cutting board or folded kitchen towel, mouth up.

Step 13: Pack jars with rind pieces and syrup. Once the timer goes off on the boiling rind pieces, work quickly but carefully.

Use your funnel and spoon to fill each of the jars with the rind pieces, leaving about a half inch of headspace. With this done, quickly but carefully pour the still boiling syrup into each jar, covering the pieces but leaving the half inch of headspace.

If any of the watermelon pieces are sticking out or if any jar needs a little more syrup, adjust the headspace now.

Step 14: Add cinnamon stick, de-bubble, wipe off jar rims. Open up the spice bag and place a cinnamon stick into each of the jars.

Use your de-bubbling tool to remove trapped air pockets, then wipe off the rim of each jar with a moistened, clean paper towel. This is needed to prevent seal failure in case anything splashed on the rims of the jars.

Step 15: Cap jars. Place a jar lid on each of the jars, then carefully secure them in place with a jar band. Screw them down until they are just finger-tight; do not over-tighten the bands!

Step 16: Load canning rack. Use your jar lifter and put the jars back on the canning rack in the pot of hot water.

Be vigilant and keep the jars perfectly upright and level. Do not let the contents of the jars slosh and contact the lid, as that can lead to a failed seal and a wasted jar.

Step 17: Process jars. Let the water in the pot come back up to a full boil. Once it does, start your timer and process the load accordingly:

• If you are at sea level or up to 1,000 ft in elevation, process the jars for 10 minutes.
• Between 1,001 and 6,000 ft, process for 15 minutes.
• If you are above 6,000 ft in elevation, process for 20 minutes.

Step 18: Rest jars, then remove to cool. Once the timer goes off, cut the heat to the pot, but don’t remove the jars just yet. Let them rest in the water, undisturbed, for about 10 minutes.

Once the jars have been set aside, carefully remove them using the jar lifter as before, keeping them perfectly upright and taking great care to avoid tipping them or sloshing the contents around.

Set them on a folded kitchen towel or a clean wooden or plastic cutting board to cool down completely. Do not set them on a metal or stone surface or expose them to cold drafts as this can cause cracking or shattering.

Give the jars at least 12 hours to cool off, but possibly as long as 24 hours.

If you hear popping sounds, don’t worry about it! It’s what you want – provided the lid has “popped inwards”. This is actually what guarantees you a good seal!

Step 19: Check lids for good seal. Once the jars have cooled down completely to room temperature, check the lids for a proper seal.

Start by pressing the top of the lid, in the middle, with your finger. It should not flex up or down or make a popping sound. If that’s good, remove the band.

Then, holding the lid just by the edges, lift the jar straight up off the counter about an inch. You shouldn’t hear any hissing or bubbling, there should not be a pop, and the lid should not move at all.

(Keep in mind this kind of pop is different from the one mentioned in the step above.)

If a jar passes both of these tests, it is good. If it doesn’t pass one or either, it’s no good. Set it aside and I’ll tell you what to do with it later.

Step 20: Wipe off and store. Take your good jars and gently wipe them off with a moistened paper towel to remove any lingering residue.

Then you can stash them inside a cool, dark space where they will keep for a long time. Make sure the space is not subject to temperature fluctuations, either!

Step 21: Finished! And with that, you are done with your batch of sweet, savory, tangy watermelon rind pickles. Well done!

What to Do if a Jar Seal Fails

If any of the jars that you just tested have a bad seal, don’t throw them out just yet. It doesn’t mean they aren’t safe to eat, but it does mean they won’t keep for a long time.

So you’ve got a choice: you can either pop open the pickles and eat them as is, though they won’t have full flavor until they have had time to sit for a bit, or you can stash them in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

Your other option is to pour the contents of the jar into a fresh, clean jar and use a new lid to reprocess them. This will soften them even more, and they won’t be quite as good, but if they seal properly this time, you can store them as normal.

If you don’t want to mess with either of those approaches, then you’ll just need to throw them away.

Shelf Life of Watermelon Rind Pickles

Your watermelon rind pickles have a room temperature shelf life of around a year, possibly a bit longer if kept under ideal conditions of around 50° F to 60° F (10° C to 15° C). Keep them safe from light and temperature changes, and they will go the distance.

As mentioned above, you’ll get the best results if you leave your pickles to sit for at least 2 weeks prior to opening them up; that way, they will develop their full, bold, and nuanced flavor.