#KBFMakingOf: No-Waste “Mustard Gherkins” with Watermelon Rind

2021/07/06

Dieser Blogbeitrag ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar.

It is the time for Summer cooking and the first preparations for the colder and darker days – because the now emerging abundance invites you to put some sun, flavour and vitamins in your pantry, too.

I have already mentioned elsewhere that we are not quite as busy with the latter this year, as we still have jars from last year, the contents of which should last a while longer.

But there are always a few things that need to be done. For example, processing watermelon rind.

Die Wassermelonen essen wir natürlich der Jahreszeit entsprechend frisch. Früher warf ich die Rinde immer weg. Dann hWe eat the watermelons fresh, of course, according to the season. I used to throw the rind away. Then I married an American and learned that in the southern states of the USA, watermelon rind is traditionally made into a delicious side dish that, depending on how it is seasoned, is quite similar to our mustard gherkins.

Presumably, watermelons from one’s own garden are traditionally used, but since we neither have a garden nor space to grow melons on the balcony or let alone in the flat, we buy our watermelons at the health food shop. Those who do not do this by default should definitely go for organic produce if the rind is to be consumed.

At first, we used a traditional recipe from the South of the USA for the pickled watermelon rind and also prepared mustard gherkins from stew-cucumbers, a variation that Kim, for example, was not familiar with. But in recent years, due to prolonged drought, the stew-cucumbers were often bitter, so we finally no longer risked buying any at all. Bitter pumpkin fruits, which also include cucumbers and courgettes, should never be eaten because they have a toxic effect on the body. Finally, I had the idea of using watermelon rind for our mustard gherkins. That works out great!

Since our Southern-style sweet and sour pickled fruits (peaches, apricots, plums) are seasoned very similarly to our version of Southern-style pickled watermelon rind, we gradually switched to pickling the rind only in the style of mustard gherkins.

Last year I finally realised that I should avoid vinegar for the most part because of my autoimmune problems. I think it was only recently that it developed that way. And of course just when we had learned to make vinegar ourselves and bottled many different variations. Well, the vinegar does not go bad if stored properly, it even gets better, and Kim likes to drizzle a portion over his salad or other dishes, once in a while.

Last year we pickled the sweet and sour fruits in syrup with the same spices, but without vinegar. This way I can still enjoy them and Kim can mix in some of our homemade vinegar if he wants to, later on.

This year, I thought about how I would continue to make my mustard gherkin-style watermelon rind and decided that I would simply omit the vinegar and increase the sugar content a little – just like with fruit in syrup. Instead of water as the liquid for the syrup, I chose one part sea-buckthorn juice for the acidity (I tolerate it well in moderation) and four parts apple juice. I reduced the sugar content according to the naturally contained sugar in the apple juice. I also replaced some of the sugar with the amount of honey that goes into the original recipe. This was a bit of arithmetic – luckily Kim is better at this kind of mathematics than I am – but it was worth it. I also learnt something, because Kim actually had a much more understandable way of working everything out than the one I once learnt at school and never really understood.

For information: The sea-buckthorn juice contains almost no sugar, our apple juice contains about 11%. This can usually be found in the nutritional information on the bottle label.

For our fruit in syrup, I use as little sugar as possible – that is, an amount that I personally know will still preserve sufficiently in any case. It may be possible to use even less sugar – and anyone who has experience with this is very welcome to share it in the comments, as I am always happy to learn. But since I did not want to risk anything, I stuck with the amount I knew would work.

In fact, the result tastes very good to us and as a side dish we also do not find it too sweet. Of course, I know that sugar also turns into acid in the body later, but in moderation it seems to work for me, as do lacto-fermented foods, at least when I ferment them myself. Vinegar, on the other hand, does not seem to work anymore.

By the way, watermelon rinds are also great for lacto-fermenting, like traditionally fermented cucumbers, and they do not fall apart so easily, either. But that is another story.

To cut a long story short, I wanted to show you how my recipes are created. It is a constant rethinking and reinventing – and sometimes you discover the unexpected.

Just like anything else in life, really.

Here is the recipe if anyone wants to try it:

Watermelon Rind in the Style of Mustard Gherkins, without Vinegar

Ingredients:

• 500 g organic watermelon rind, peeled
• 1 ¼ tsps salt
• 50 g onions
• 1 ¼ tsps yellow mustard seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• ¼ tsp whole pepper grains (or papaya seeds, in the spirit of the no-waste)
• some freshly grated horseradish to taste and availability (we still have some from last Winter)
• 400 ml apple juice (11% natural sugar content)
• 100 ml sea-buckthorn juice
• 180 g sugar
• 30 g honey (this corresponds to about 2 Tbsps.)

Method of Preparation:

1. Rinse a large jar (about 700g capacity) and a smaller jar (about 350g capacity) with twist-off lids hot to sterilise them. Of course, you can also use three smaller jars (about 350g capacity).
2. Cut the peeled watermelon rind into even pieces about 1 cm thick. The more uniform the pieces are in size, the more evenly they will cook later. Sprinkle with 1 ¼ tsps salt and fill with enough water to cover them. Leave to soak in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
3. The following day, strain the water and briefly rinse the watermelon rind under running water so that the salt is washed off again.
4. Now heat the juices, sugar and honey in a medium saucepan, while stirring, until the sugar and honey have completely dissolved. Then add the rest of the ingredients except the watermelon rind and bring the mixture to the boil. Next, add the watermelon rind and cook it in the gently simmering brew with the lid on until it is firm to the bite. For me, this takes about 15 minutes, but the time can vary depending on the cooker and other circumstances. The pieces should still have a bite, but should be easy to chew so that they have a pleasant mouthfeel when eaten, later.
5. Fill the watermelon rind into the prepared jars while it is still hot. In my case, the large jar was enough (we used the small jar to collect the rest of the juice and preserve it). If necessary, heat the brew again briefly and pour it over the watermelon rind. Fill the jar to the brim. Close it tightly and turn it upside down on a tea towel for five minutes.
6. Then turn over again and leave to cool completely.
7. After a couple of weeks of soaking, the watermelon rinds in the style of mustard gherkins are ready for tasting. Unopened, they should keep for about a year, but in this particular case I have not yet been able to try it out, as we only just started using the new recipe. For me, however, the products pickled in this way usually keep longer, which requires fresh produce, clean work and intact pickling utensils.

Do you also like eating mustard gherkins?
Do you know any delicious no-waste recipes?
Do you also deal with food intolerances or do you prefer a certain lifestyle for other reasons?

Are you ready to shine a bright light of awareness on the path of beingness, today?

Much Love,
Steffi

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