Cinnamon Watermelon Rind Pickles

   OK, I have a question for you. What kind of eater are you? Are you an adventurous eater? In other words, do you purposely order something from a menu specifically because you've previously never tried it? Or are you a "stick to the plan , never stray from the path, stay with the tried and true" kind of eater? If you know me, you already know that I fall squarely into the former category, not that there's anything wrong with the latter. Some people know what they like, and that's fine, but I'm always one for trying new foods, especially when it comes to canning!
 I had heard of pickling watermelon rind, but I had never tasted it, and it has been on my to-do list ever since I learned how to preserve things in jars. And now I've finally gotten around to making it! So here we go.
 Where does one even find a pickled watermelon rind recipe? In my many google searches, I discovered that this is clearly a big Southern thing, and it's also very frugal since you are using up just about the entire melon. I discovered that many famous chefs and cooking personalities have their own versions of it, so it was kind of hard trying to decide which direction to go. I looked at Martha Stewart's recipe, Paula Deen's, Alton Brown's, and several others. I also immediately noticed that many recipes for pickling any kind of fruit often have warm spices in them. I found recipes with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and so forth. I guess that makes perfect sense that you would preserve your melon rinds and fruits during the summer, and then eat them in the Autumn and Winter months. So I needed to decide how spicy I wanted to go. For my first time pickling fruit, I thought "lets just keep it simple" (that's often the best rule in cooking). I decided to go with this recipe is from Ball Canning, or as I like to call them "the canning people." Side note, I ALWAYS use their line of mason jars and canning materials, and I have more than one of their canning cookbooks. As far as I'm concerned, they are simply the Canning Authorities.
 But anyway, lets talk about the TASTE! I mean, that what everyone is wondering, correct? I absolutely love them and could eat them right out of the jar, especially when they're chilled. In fact I'm already trying to find ways to use them in other recipes. My niece Attie's reaction was "interesting." (Still not exactly sure how she felt about them.) My nephew, Gregger, immediately said that it tastes like apple pie. Well, yes, you do get a hit of cinnamon at the first bite, and the texture is very similar to apples baked in a pie, but the vinegar syrup will quickly tell you that this is definitely not an apple pie. And my sister, Cathy, was too polite to say that they weren't exactly her favorite thing. But hey, I get it! Not every food is for every person! Like my Mom always said "You don't have to like it, you just have to try it." So I'm thrilled that Cathy was good enough to give it a try.
 So that brings me back to my original question: What kind of eater are you? If you're looking for a new something to try, this might be the recipe for you! It was DEFINITELY worth the effort for me, and I will absolutely be making them again. And yes, I bought the watermelon specifically so I could pickle the rind. (You knew I was gonna say that, right??) Let me know if you give them a try. I'm curious to know what you think!

16 cups sliced peeled watermelon rind* (about 2 medium)

1 cup Kosher salt (or pickling salt) 

8 cups cool water, divided

6 cups granulate sugar 

4 cups white vinegar

3 cinnamon sticks, broken in half

4-5 16oz (pint) glass preserving jars with lids and bands.

To prepare watermelon rind, remove dark green peel from watermelon rind and discard. Cut rind into 2- x 1-inch slices.

  Layer watermelon rind and salt in a large crock, glass or stainless steel bowl. Add 4 cups of the cool water. Place a large clean inverted plate on top of the rind and weigh down with two or three quart jars filled with water and capped. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

 Transfer rind to a colander placed over a sink. Drain and rinse in cool running water. Drain and rinse again. Drain thoroughly. Add rind and remaining 4 cups cool water to a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently until rind is fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Combine sugar, vinegar, and cinnamon stick halves in a clean large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, until cinnamon has infused the liquid. Add drained rind and return to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, until watermelon is translucent. Discard cinnamon sticks. Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside. Pack hot rind into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover rind leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight. Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Tips:
 If you'd like to learn how to preserve things in jars, this is a good place to start: https://www.freshpreserving.com/
I followed this recipe exactly to the letter, but decided not to discard the cinnamon sticks. I LOVE the cinnamon flavor of the pickles and figured it might look nice to have a cinnamon stick in each jar, so I went with it!

 Not a fan of cinnamon? Or maybe you don't like sweet pickles at all? Just use a regular dill pickle brine instead!

 It may seem tedious to salt the rinds overnight, but I see this step in many pickle recipes. I believe it helps to pull some of the extra water out of the pickles which is better for the final product when you're canning. I have no idea where I read that, but I'm sticking by it. If you'd rather not do the salting and the canning, there are lots of other recipes out there where you can just keep the pickles in the fridge. There are lots of different spice variations too, so make whichever one sounds good to you!
Now I need to decide what fruit to pickle next... hmmm... I'm thinking maybe peaches?!?!