Ginger-Lime Watermelon, Cooler Edition
Cubed watermelon soaked in ginger syrup with lime zest. Built at the car, eaten cold.
- calories
- 110
- weight
- 1.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 92
- protein
- 1 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- 120 ml boiled
- 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
- Cooler only
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Day hike
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Watermelon | 6 cups, cubed | one small melon, halved at home to save cooler space |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1/4 cup | |
| Water | 1/2 cup | |
| Fresh ginger | 2-inch piece | peeled, sliced into coins; keeps for weeks unrefrigerated |
| Lime | 1 | zest goes in, juice is optional |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Make the syrup at home if you can: sugar, water, and ginger coins in a small pot, brought to a boil, then held at a bare simmer for 10 minutes.
- In camp, do the same over a low flame. Watch it. A quarter cup of sugar scorches fast in a thin titanium pot.
- Pull it off the heat and let it cool completely. Warm syrup on cold melon turns the melon to mush.
- Strain out the ginger coins and pour the syrup over the cubed watermelon.
- Grate in the lime zest, add the salt, stir, and put the whole thing back in the cooler for 20 minutes before serving.
Watermelon is 92% water, which makes it a bad thing to carry and a good thing to eat where a car is parked. This one stays in the cooler-only column on purpose. The syrup is the reason to bother: it fixes an underripe melon, which is most melons bought at a gas station on the way to a trailhead.
Sugar alone would just make it sweet. The ginger simmer pulls out enough heat to cut through, and the salt makes the melon taste more like itself. Make the syrup at home and this stops being a recipe with a cook time at all.
One real constraint: cut melon is a two-day food even on ice. Plan it for the first night out, not the last.
Packing
Cube the melon at home into a lidded container and make the syrup ahead in a small jar. Both ride in the cooler. The lime travels loose. Doing it this way means camp is a pour and a stir instead of a stove and a cutting board.
Variations
- Skip the syrup entirely: lime juice, chopped mint, and coarse salt over melon slices takes two minutes.
- Minced seeded jalapeño, cilantro, and a drizzle of olive oil turns it into a side for taco night.
- Halved kalamata olives and torn basil if you want the salty version.
https://ohmyveggies.com/4-simple-watermelon-side-dish-ideas