DONE! Watermelon Pickles

Have you ever tried Watermelon Pickles?  

I know, watermelon and pickles should not be two words next to each other in a sentence, but they are so fun and different, and you'll use almost all of your next watermelon.  In our family, they're an old-fashioned favorite, sweet and sour and a taste of summer preserved.  My grandma made them and they always had a special spot on the relish tray between the pickle slices and black olives at any family gathering or holiday.  Wanting to re-create the unique flavor and memory for my own family, I set out to learn how to make them myself.  I scoured the Internet and my canning books for recipes that sounded like how I remembered them to taste and finally came upon this one from the Ball website.  It's very important that you use a recipe when canning - use the one that I used, or find one that suits your taste.

I gathered the simple ingredients and started cutting up watermelon rinds

white vinegar, white sugar, pickling/canning salt, cinnamon sticks

cut off the green rind and use the white part of the watermelon with a touch of the pink 

soak the rind in a salt and water combination overnight - this starts the pickling process

drain and rinse in cold water

follow recipe and add ingredients - cook down according to recipe

transfer to canning jars and can using the boiling water method

watermelon. pickles.