Hi everyone,
I just started writing for ConstantContent.com and am working on an article on watermelon–specifically, how to get the most bang for your buck out of one. Did you know 100 percent of the watermelon is edible? You can pickle the rind, make it into coleslaw, or use it in a stir-fry. Toasted watermelon seeds are also popular in Africa, as is watermelon seed oil (which ain’t cheap!) Anyway, I hate to see food got to waste, so I thought I’d post this.
If you want a good website with a lot of watermelon recipes, visit the Watermelon Board’s website at http://www.watermelon.org
I did learn some fun things. The watermelon originated in Africa, with the first recorded harvest occurring in Egypt in 5000 BCE. The fruit was popular because it was an excellent way to rehydrate. Many pharaohs, including King Tut, had watermelon seeds buried in their crypts. The Moors brought the watermelon to Europe and China, which is the leading producer of watermelon. It is unclear how it got to America, but the traditional story that it was brought by slaves is probably not true (not to mention it’s extremely ******). The first cookbook printed in the U.S. in 1796, “American Cookery” by Amelia Simmons, had a recipe for watermelon rind pickles. Ancient Hebrew manuscripts have special instructions for tithing watermelon, and categorize it with grapes, figs, and pomegranates.
How do you get the best mileage out of your food?
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BECKATSILA thank you very much. I learned allot.
I’ll be having a garden this year. I book marked
your site
Interesting stuff! I never really thought about the fact that you could use more of a watermelon than just a rind, but if it tastes good, I don’t see how it could hurt.
This has got me wondering about some of the other foods I eat on a regular basis.
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That’s interesting about watermelon! I’ve never tried watermelon pickles but have seen them in stores.
Going directly to an end result, we compost all fruit and vegetable waste to be used to enrich the soil when planting most things in our landscape.
We freeze a lot of fruits and veggies before they hit the compost bin, tho. They usually don’t unfreeze well for eating but they do great in many recipes…banana bread from turned bananas, spaghetti sauce from wimpy tomatoes, bake and puree a pumpkin and freeze for future recipes, roast the seeds.
We have been making meat jerky for several years and finally invested in a better dehydrator and want to start drying certain fruits…not quite gotten “into it” so far but the You Pick it farms for blueberries are just opening for this season so we shall see!
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MINTJULEP thats great my be you can share some of
your recipes and what you dehydrator.
I hate food waste and I’ve taken steps to avoid as much waste as possible. I freeze a LOT. Especially fruits and vegetables. I also bottle where possible. It’s especially a challenge for me since I’m diabetic and the berries I turn into jam have to be sugar free (so no sugar as a preservative), which means I even freeze my jams so that they last 
. I also have a dehydrator for excess veggies, which can be great snacks. Even cheeses get cut up into small blocks then frozen. Did I already mention I freeze a lot?
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THESUGARFREELIFE my husband a diabetic to.
Our daughter learning to can. But we been trying
to find a jelly or jam recipes to can do you have
any good recipes?
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@Bonnie. I have been trying and testing many, many recipes since I was diagnosed a year ago. I made some blackberry jam the day before yesterday that came out quite delicious (berries are the only fruits I eat regularly). I’d be happy to write it up and send it to you, if you like.
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THESUGARFREELIFE yes please and thank you. That be a great
help to me
@bonnie.squires I’m so sorry it took so long to get back to you. Here’s what I did:
- Mashed up two small cartons of blackberries in a small pot.
- Bloom a sachet of flavor free gelatin into a cup and a half of water for a couple of minutes, then add it to the pot and mix everything up.
- Squeeze one fresh lemon into it.
- Added 1/2 cup of powdered erythritol ( I thought it was a little sweet, by hubby loved it. Next time I’ll probably use 1/3 cup to to see how it tastes).
- Bring it up to a boil. Stir it occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom.
- Reduce the temperature so that it simply simmers.
At this point I left it simmering for about 45 minutes. After that I poured it into a canning jar. When it was at room temperature, it went into the fridge.
Note: Since it doesn’t have sugar as a preservative it will only last a week or so. I usually freeze half and let my family go at the other half. It unfreezes just fine.
THESUGARFREELIFE its ok life comes first thank you for
posting this. I’ll give it to our daughter. Does this work with
any kinds of fruit?
@bonnie.squires I’ve used the same formula for almost all berries and kiwis (sounds strange, I know, but tastes great). Those are basically the only fruits I’m allowed. The only difference is the length of time you need to let it simmer as some contain more liquid than others. If when you mash the fruit, it’s very watery, use 1 cup of water and it will cut down on the simmer time. It only ‘jellifies’ when it has been refrigerated.
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THESUGARFREELIFE you so much i sent your last one to
my daughter she does the caner. There no way i can lift
the pot i brought her.
