How to make candied watermelon rinds: the simplest recipes

During the watermelon selling season, many families willingly delight themselves with these juicy fruits, but they leave behind a lot of hard rinds. The simplest and most delicious thing you can turn them into is sweet candied fruits. They taste like candy or marmalade, but are made from natural raw materials and do not contain harmful additives.

Preparing peels for making candied fruits

Start preparing candied fruits by preparing the main ingredient. Take a watermelon with a thick rind as a basis and follow this algorithm:

1. Cut off the green peel and pulp from the crusts.
2. Fill them with cold water and soak for 2-3 hours.
3. Rinse the raw materials well, let the liquid drain and spread the product on a waffle towel or paper napkins.
4. After the crusts have dried, cut them into small cubes, sticks or strips. They are made into shapes using a special knife or molds.

Simple candied fruit recipes

Candied fruits are easy to prepare; even novice cooks can handle it. Choose the recipe you like and start creating a healthy and tasty treat!

The simplest recipe

A quick recipe for making candied watermelon rinds will allow you to quickly get a fragrant product that you will pamper your family with in the winter.

You will need:

• peels - 1 kg;
• drinking water - ½ l;
• sugar - 1-1.2 kg.

To speed up the process, skip soaking the raw materials and immediately start making candied fruits.

Instructions:

1. Pour granulated sugar into a saucepan and fill with water.
2. Place the container on the stove and cook over low heat, stirring constantly.
3. When the sugar has completely dissolved and only thick syrup remains in the saucepan, place the crust cubes in it and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Remove the container from the heat and cool the product to room temperature.
5. Place back on the stove, bring to a boil and cook until the crusts take on a nice amber hue and become translucent.
6. Leave the candied fruits in the syrup overnight, remove them in the morning and place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment or baking paper.
7. Dry in a dark, well-ventilated room or in an oven.
8. Sprinkle the finished product with powdered sugar and place in airtight containers.

With lemon

To add sourness to candied fruits during cooking, use lemon.

Compound:

• watermelon rinds - 1.5 kg;
• granulated sugar - 1.8 kg;
• water - 750 ml;
• 5 g citric acid or lemon/lime - 1 pc.

Cooking method:

1. Mix water with sugar, add lemon juice and cook thick syrup.
2. Throw in the chopped peels and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, cool and let steep for two hours.
4. Place back on the stove and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Repeat steps 3-4 until the candied fruits become translucent and soft. Most often, this takes 5-10 brews.
6. Strain the cooled product through a colander.
7. Dry it in an oven or electric dryer at a temperature of +40-60°C.

Ready candied fruits should be elastic, but dried out on the outside.

With orange

Another interesting version of candied watermelon is prepared from the following products:

• crusts - 1 kg;
• granulated sugar - 700 g;
• ripe oranges - 3 pcs.

Use the rind of a large, thick-skinned watermelon.It is not necessary to immediately cut them from a large fruit; the raw materials can be collected gradually and stored in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Cooking instructions:

1. Remove any remaining pulp and green skin from the rinds using a vegetable peeler, then cut them into medium-sized cubes.
2. Fill the product with cold water and leave overnight.
3. Using a special knife or fine grater, cut the zest from the oranges and squeeze the juice from the pulp.
4. Place the peels in a deep ladle or pan, add sugar, add orange juice and zest, then add water.
5. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally so that the granulated sugar dissolves and does not burn to the walls of the container.
6. After boiling, boil the candied fruit for 5 minutes, turn off the stove and leave it alone until it cools completely (preferably for 5-8 hours for the first time).
7. Repeat steps 6 until the amount of syrup is reduced. It should only remain at the bottom.
8. Place the candied fruits on a baking sheet and leave in the turned off oven for 2-3 days.
9. The finished treat will dry out on the outside and stop sticking to your hands.

If you add 3-5 tbsp to the soaking water. l. slaked lime and reduce the procedure time to 2-3 hours, this will make the candied fruits denser and more like marmalade. Before combining the crusts with the remaining components, they are washed in running water and dried.

With soda

Baking soda softens watermelon rinds and is added to the soaking water. Thanks to its effect, candied fruits are tender and melt in the mouth. Use it like this:

1. 1 tsp. dilute soda in 3-4 tbsp. hot water.
2. Pour the peel solution and leave for 2-3 hours.
3. Rinse the raw materials well under running water and dry.

After this procedure, use the recipe you like and make a delicious treat for the whole family.

With ginger

Candied ginger is somewhat reminiscent of oriental sweets. To prepare them, they use not only ground root, but also other spices - for example, vanilla, red pepper, cloves and cardamom.

List of components:

• watermelon rinds - 1 kg;
• sugar - 800 g;
• water - 700 ml;
• zest - 1 tsp;
• red pepper - a pinch for taste;
• ground ginger - 1 tsp.

Preparation:

1. Make a thick syrup from sugar, water, ground pepper, zest and ginger.
2. Soak the peels in it for 2-3 hours, then bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes.
3. Cool the product and repeat the procedure several times until ready.
4. Dry the candied fruits at a temperature of +40-60°C and enjoy the aromatic dessert.

In a slow cooker

A multicooker will facilitate and speed up the process of preparing candied watermelon rinds.

Compound:

• peels - 1.5 kg;
• granulated sugar - 2 kg;
• drinking water - 1.5 l;
• powdered sugar - for sprinkling.

Cooking steps:

1. Soak watermelon rinds in cold water and refrigerate for 3 days. Don't forget to change the liquid to fresh one 2 times a day.
2. Rinse the raw materials, place in the multicooker bowl, fill with water (it should completely cover the crusts), set the “Steam” mode for 20 minutes.
3. Drain the liquid, add sugar and water.
4. Turn on the multicooker to the “Pilaf” mode.
5. Cool, drain excess syrup through a sieve.
6. Dry the candied fruits, mix with powdered sugar and distribute into jars or containers with lids.

In the dryer

Busy housewives will find an electric dryer useful; it will help save time.

Cooking method:

1. Boil the soaked peels in sugar syrup until transparent.
2. Strain through a colander and clean gauze folded in several layers.
3. Place the product in an electric dryer and finish cooking.
4. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Children will love colored candied fruits. To give the desired shade, simply add food coloring or half a cup of concentrated juice from blueberries, cherries, chokeberries, and currants to the syrup.

In the oven

In the oven you can quickly and efficiently dry candied watermelon rinds. For this:

1. Prepare dessert according to your favorite recipe.
2. Drain the syrup using a sieve or cheesecloth.
3. Place the sweet sticks on a baking sheet so that they do not touch each other.
4. Place in an oven heated to +40-60°C and dry in convection mode. If the oven is not equipped with a fan, then lower the temperature to +30-40°C.

Read also:

How to make delicious and simple jam from watermelon rinds.

The most delicious recipes for pickling whole watermelons in a barrel for the winter.

Features of growing watermelons in Siberia in open ground: step-by-step instructions.

Candied watermelon pulp

If you add orange peels to the pulp, you will get interesting candied fruits with a watermelon-citrus aroma.

List of ingredients:

• watermelon — 7-9 kg;
• sugar - 3 tbsp;
• mint or lemon balm leaves - 3-4 pcs.;
• orange peel - optional.

Cooking method:

1. To create these candied fruits, the pulp is suitable, cut off next to the peels along with the white layer.
2. The raw materials are cut into strips, covered with granulated sugar and left for 20 minutes to release the juice.
3. Place on the stove, add mint leaves, bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. The product is cooled, mixed with orange peels and boiled again until a thick consistency is obtained.
5. When the pieces of watermelon and orange acquire an amber hue, cool them, place them on a sieve and allow the syrup to drain.
6. The candied fruits are ready. They are served immediately or dried in the oven for long-term storage.

The syrup remaining after preparing candied watermelon is poured into a glass jar and used as a sauce for pancakes.

Benefits and harms of the product

As a result of heat treatment, watermelon loses some of its beneficial components, but the finished candied fruits include:

• vitamins B, C and P;
• magnesium;
• fructose;
• organic acids;
• calcium;
• vegetable fiber;
• iron.

Candied fruits have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, cleanse the body of waste, toxins, heavy metal salts and improve metabolism.

Candied fruits rarely cause harm to the body and have a small number of contraindications. These include:

• product intolerance;
• allergy to its components;
• ulcer;
• gastritis;
• flatulence;
• diabetes.

Watermelon rinds are an effective diuretic, so their frequent use leads to leaching of potassium from the body.

How and where to store candied fruits

For storage, candied fruits are distributed into jars or containers, tightly closed and placed in a dark, dry place without drafts. A good choice would be the far corner of a kitchen cabinet.

Reference. To store candied fruits throughout the winter, immediately after cooking, pack them together with syrup in clean jars and roll up.

Reviews

On Internet forums there are mostly positive reviews about candied watermelon rinds.

Angelika, Tomsk: «For a long time I considered such candied fruits a second-rate product and did not understand why people spend so much time preparing them. Last summer my mother-in-law treated me to it.She spent a long time asking where she bought them, but my mother admitted that she made them herself from the rinds left over from the watermelon. I took the recipe from her and now enjoy seven healthy candied fruits in July-August. There is no way to prepare it for the winter, since the children and husband eat them up very quickly.”

Ivan, Orenburg: “We are growing watermelons at our summer cottage, and I accidentally came across a recipe for making candied fruit from the rinds. We’ve been making them for several years now, our grandchildren like them, they keep for a long time, we eat them instead of sweets.”

Conclusion

Now, if you come across an unripe watermelon or feel sorry for throwing away the rinds, you know how to make tasty and healthy candied fruits at home. Choose any recipe and please the whole family with a natural treat. The main thing is to follow the cooking rules and the specifics of preparing raw materials.