Max Use Of Watermelon

[dcarch]

Summer = watermelon

Do you know that watermelon is one of the most expensive summer fruits? Around here in NY they are about $0.65 a lb. Since Watermelon is 92%water, and considering throwing away the thick rind, it may work out to be $11.0 to $12.00 a lb, LOL!

This is how I enjoy to the max almost the entire watermelon.

I consider watermelon has three parts; First the sweet center. As you get closer to the rind it gets less and less sweet. Finally you have the throw away rind.

I only eat or serve the sweetest center of the melon.

I use the less sweet part for salads. You really don’t want a salad to be too sweet.

I also use the not so sweet part to make crispy watermelon chips with my dehydrator. I highly recommend this. The crispy chips become very sweet because they have 92% of the water removed. They make wonderful snacks.

The white/pink part of the rind is delicious cooked or pickled.

Even the seeds can be turned into wonderful sprouts, but that will be another post, how to sprout watermelon seeds.

I suppose you can make watermelon ice, ice cream, ------

What other things can you make wioth watermelon?

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A few dishes I made for July 4^th:

dcarch

Pan fried Cod and watermelon rind, beet stems

Making crispy Watermelon chips

Watermelon celery salad

Pasta with clam sauce and sautéed watermelon

Edited July 9, 2012 by dcarch (log)

[Dakki]

Fantastic photos as usual, dcarch. Not a fan of fruits in my salad but those crisps look interesting.

Coincidentally, I got a terrible watermelon today. Have to brush up on my fruit selection.

Anyway, blended and strained the pulp, added lime juice and syrup. If life gives you bad watermelons you make agua de sandia, I guess.

[SylviaLovegren]

Wow! I'm impressed. How does the clam/watermelon thing taste? I can't imagine it and am skeered to try...

I like watermelon/basil/feta salad -- very refreshing on a hot day.

Grilled watermelon with sherry butter sauce is supposed to be good but I'm not wild about it -- the watermelon picks up a fishy texture and taste -- to me -- that I don't care for.

I LOVE Italian watermelon pudding with chocolate "seeds". Recipe: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Sicilian-Watermelon-Pudding/

Do you eat the watermelon rind with the cod? Do you peel it first? Curious how you do it.

I want to try those chips!

[Hassouni]

I just eat the hell out of my watermelon in big-ass slices. That's my max use, or to use econ terms, how I derive maximum utility out of said fruit

[lesliec]

Something I discovered in France a few years ago is watermelon jam - confiture de pasteque, IIRC. Marvellous stuff, but Googling hasn't found me a recipe that sounds like it would give me what I've had in Europe. My suspicion is the French/Spanish versions use at least some of the rind. However they do it, there's big sweet juicy lumps of ... something in the jar.

I'll be very happy to be pointed in the direction of a 'proper' recipe.

[CaliPoutine]

Watermelon in Cali is inexpensive. The last one I got was 7lbs for 1.00( Mexican market). I actually did a price match at Walmart, so I got it for the same price.

I've been making smoothies with it, todays was watermelon, cantelope, a peeled lime, ice, water, a dash of agave and a bit of crushed pineapple. Blended in the vitamix, so refreshing.

[heidih]

As Cali Poutine noted they are dirt cheap here in So Cal. My favorite is chunked in the blender with ice - my favorite way to start the day. First had it blended like that in SIngapore and crave it in hot weather.

[Will]

My (Chinese) MIL cooks up the thin-sliced watermelon rind with some oil, salt, garlic, and I think not much else. It's pretty tasty. One of those dishes that probably originated in necessity, but is pretty tasty.

Doing a quick web search, I see some more elaborate recipes, including this one, which has meat, garlic chives, and some other ingredients.

[Shelby]

We have a huge watermelon patch and I'm counting the days until they are ripe!

I've never thought about dehydrating them. Going to try that! Approximately how long do you dry them?

Yesterday we were out in the corn field and noticed a TON of watermelon plants growing in a path leading down to the river. The raccoons either dragged our melons from last summer down there to eat, or the seeds came out in their....er....waste. SO, we are going to have a LOT of watermelons. Luckily the other farmers around have no problem helping us eat them lol.

[BeeZee]

I have plans to make a watermelon "gazpacho" for a dinner in a couple of weeks...

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Agua de Sandía (as detailed by Dakki above) and Jugo de Sandía (using the reddest and sweetest of the flesh - pulsed in the blender with a tiny amount of water, then strained, and otherwise not adulterated or sweetened at all) all the way here, then watermelon rind pickles for the remainders. Watermelons are insanely cheap down here (I pay $3 for 10-pounders) and they're the best ever summer juice.

I've never thought to saute the flesh - I'll have to try that!

[Kerry Beal]

Something I discovered in France a few years ago is watermelon jam - confiture de pasteque, IIRC. Marvellous stuff, but Googling hasn't found me a recipe that sounds like it would give me what I've had in Europe. My suspicion is the French/Spanish versions use at least some of the rind. However they do it, there's big sweet juicy lumps of ... something in the jar.

I'll be very happy to be pointed in the direction of a 'proper' recipe.

Maybe this?

or this?

Edited July 9, 2012 by Kerry Beal (log)

[dcarch]

Thanks Dakki. Terrible watermelon (not sweet) can be good for salads.

Thanks SylviaLovegren. How well watermelon pairs with clams? Depend on how the clam sauce is made. Yes, You need to peel the skin off the rind, it is kind of tough.

Nice video, Will , thanks.

Shelby, I think 10 hours should do it in the dehydrator. It depends on how thick you cut the slices.

Thank you all for great ideas. So many possbilities!

dcarch

[Alex]

For the Heartland Gathering in Chicago, in 2008, I made watermelon-tomato-mint soup. Dead simple. In a blender (or, even better, a Vita-Mix or Blendtec), puree seeded watermelon "meat," peeled and seeded in-season tomatoes, and fresh mint leaves. Proportions can vary according to taste. Serve at room temp or slightly cooled. Finish with just a bit of fleur de sel or similar.

[lesliec]

Something I discovered in France a few years ago is watermelon jam - confiture de pasteque, IIRC. Marvellous stuff, but Googling hasn't found me a recipe that sounds like it would give me what I've had in Europe. My suspicion is the French/Spanish versions use at least some of the rind. However they do it, there's big sweet juicy lumps of ... something in the jar.

I'll be very happy to be pointed in the direction of a 'proper' recipe.

Maybe this?

or this?

Thanks, Kerry. The lumps in the European stuff were softer, less 'cubic' than both of those and there was more jammy stuff surrounding the lumps, but you've given me something to work with.

[TheCulinaryLibrary]

Always good in fruit salad

[dcarch]

TheCulinaryLibrary, very beautiful!

dcarch

[Dakki]

So I have an excess of watermelon rind. I'd heard about pickling the stuff but when I searched for recipes, all I got was some kind of cinnamon syrup thing, which, no.

Any savory watermelon rind pickles out there? If not, I think I'll just make a batch of pickled chiles and add the watermelon rind.

[ScottyBoy]

I've had good savory results from a pickling with soy, mirin and sugar.

[Heartsurgeon]

_{go over to ideasinfood.com and scrol down, they do an entire riff on using all the left over bits of the watermelon...}

Edited August 24, 2012 by Heartsurgeon (log)

[scubadoo97]

I maxed out today with 3 dishes. Cubed watermelon as is, watermelon gazpacho with basil oil. and pickled watermelon rinds

[sparrowgrass]

I eat the middle, the chickens get the rest.  All that is left when they are done is a very thin rind.

[TicTac]

Some interesting ideas, but watermelon with clam pasta?

 

Ugh!