Candied Watermelon Rind
The white part of the melon you usually throw out, boiled in syrup and dried into trail candy.
- calories
- 160
- weight
- 1.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 107
- protein
- 1 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 1 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 1 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Dessert
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Day hike
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Watermelon rind | 2 lb trimmed | green skin peeled off, pink flesh scraped away, cut into 1/2-inch cubes |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 2 lb | roughly equal weight to the rind |
| Water | 2 cups | kitchen only, none of this goes in your pack |
| Lemon | 1 | juice and a few strips of peel |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground cinnamon | 1 tsp | optional, added after drying |
Method
- At home: layer the rind cubes with the sugar in a pot, add the water, and leave it a few hours until the sugar pulls the liquid out and dissolves.
- Bring it to a low boil with the lemon juice, peel, and salt. Simmer until the cubes turn from opaque white to translucent and the syrup runs thick, about 90 minutes. Stir now and then so nothing scorches.
- Lift the cubes out with a slotted spoon and drain them on a rack. Keep the leftover syrup for pancakes; it does not travel.
- Dry the cubes at 135°F for 8 to 12 hours, or on the lowest oven setting with the door cracked, until they are tacky rather than wet. They should not stick to each other.
- Toss with cinnamon if you want it. Cool fully before bagging.
- On the trail: open the bag and eat.
The pale rind under a watermelon’s skin is mostly water held in a firm pectin structure. Sugar swaps places with that water over a long simmer, which is why the cubes go from chalky white to clear. That swap is also what makes them keep: there is not enough free water left for anything to grow in.
The original is a jar of jam in syrup, which is glass and liquid and not going anywhere in a pack. Drying the drained cubes gets you the same thing at a fraction of the weight and no container to protect. Dry them past tacky and they turn to gravel, so pull them while they still give under a thumbnail.
Packing
Bag it once it is fully cool, or condensation will glue the whole batch into a block. A hard container is not necessary but it keeps the pieces from getting pressed flat. Rice paper or parchment between layers helps in hot weather.
Variations
- A knob of ginger simmered with the syrup makes it sharper and cuts the sweetness.
- Dry it less and it stays soft like a gumdrop, but plan to eat it inside a week.
- Cut the cubes small and it works as a mix-in for morning oats.
https://savoriurbane.com/dulceata-din-coji-de-pepene-verde-lubenita-harbuz-reteta-de-coaja-de-pepene-confiata