Watermelon rinds page

[Blackcatbone]

Does anyone have any info on them? Like if they have much fructose (I know the meat has quite a bit), nutrients and recipes. I bought some pickled for my boyfriend and have been eating a small piece here and there (OMG, YUM!) but I would like to try making them myself and making them more primal. These are very sweet and a bit too heavy on the clove. He eats watermelon so I'd like to save the rinds and use them.

[JennGlob]

I googled recipes, because you reminded me of them. My mom used to make them. Anyway, I looked at about 5 recipes, they all call for a cup of sugar for each cup of rind... Let us kow if you come up with something edible and less sugar.

[Blackcatbone]

Yeah, I'm thinking about something with stevia or maybe a mix with sugar. The ones I bought are really syrupy sweet so I can't eat more than a little at a time. I bet something lemony would work and be pretty refreshing.

[Betorq]

I ferment tons of foods now, including fruits & fruit juices(yum, like yogurt & traditional kefir cultures, the water kefir grains consume the sugar (I leave a wee bit sweetness in to give a nice aftertaste) & they poop out probiotics, enzymes & carbonation). No need to add more sugar to any fruit. I even do lemons, limes & soon, maybe try grapefruit. So I'd suggest that you just get some kerfir water grains locally, just ask around on boards & meetup groups in your area or thereabouts. It's how I got mine. I'm from & now living in the Deep South, where pickled watermelon rinds are common & yes they are delish, but need not be sugary and non-primal... I should have tried it while I was eating $2 big ass watermelons weeks/months ago, but honestly, I never got around to it, as I eat/ate the rinds along with the sweet flesh. Seeds too! When I was a boy, my grandmother told me if I swallowed the seeds whole, I'd grow a watermelon up from my belly & out my mouth. So I always made sure to chew them up before swallowing...

[Blackcatbone]

Y'know, that's really interesting and I'd never thought of the possibility of fermenting fruits in order to be able to eat them. I have fructose malabsorption so most fruit is off limits, but I wonder if fermenting would render the fructose harmless in my case. I'm seriously intrigued because I really miss fruit. And interestingly, I can eat kefir with no problem but yogurt gives me problems, so I'm gonna have to go looking for kefir grains. I did come across some interesting looking recipes for watermelon rind chutney which would probably be really good with sausages and chops.

[Ferti]

I ferment tons of foods now, including fruits & fruit juices(yum, like yogurt & traditional kefir cultures, the water kefir grains consume the sugar (I leave a wee bit sweetness in to give a nice aftertaste) & they poop out probiotics, enzymes & carbonation). No need to add more sugar to any fruit. I even do lemons, limes & soon, maybe try grapefruit. So I'd suggest that you just get some kerfir water grains locally, just ask around on boards & meetup groups in your area or thereabouts. It's how I got mine. I'm from & now living in the Deep South, where pickled watermelon rinds are common & yes they are delish, but need not be sugary and non-primal... I should have tried it while I was eating $2 big ass watermelons weeks/months ago, but honestly, I never got around to it, as I eat/ate the rinds along with the sweet flesh. Seeds too! When I was a boy, my grandmother told me if I swallowed the seeds whole, I'd grow a watermelon up from my belly & out my mouth. So I always made sure to chew them up before swallowing...

Do you recommend any books for fermenting. Also, can I use my milk based kefir grains to make water kefir and then occasionally give them some milk to keep them happy?

[Betorq]

Do you recommend any books for fermenting. Also, can I use my milk based kefir grains to make water kefir and then occasionally give them some milk to keep them happy?

You can, but wash them/soak them in water very well before attempting to do so. Once you convert them to water kefir, they can never go back & survive in milk. Best to obtain strong, healthy water kefir grains, but this conversion process I've heard does work. Obviously you just need sugar & filtered or distilled water to keep the water kefir grains happy in storage in between making fermented juices. I keep my water kefir happy & in stasis in the fridge in 1/2 sandwich/snack zip locks in a sugar, filtered water solution. For my milk kefir grains, they just stay in their jars in the kefir itself, until I'm ready to drink, filter & use the kefir liquid or the whey liquid itself. The liquid whey is very useful as starter for pre-soaking of potentially high anti-nutrient 20% baked dishes, or even for making your 80% dishes healthier...

The Bible for fermenting, Sandor Katz, "The Art of Fermentation" which I would have bought & had autographed, but I missed his last workshop here in Atlanta, missed hearing him & meeting him. I've never read his book except for excerpts online. My experiments & successes on fermenting have been what little I've read on the net from him & forums & most of it has been hit & miss, which I enjoy. Paleobird's unfounded fears of fermentation are funny to me, as I am the ultimate I'll-drink-eat-this-and-see-what-happens kinda guy. The worst thing has been an explosive & suddenly urgent BM or two, lol.

[Knifegill]

Oh, I never thought about fermenting them. I always just ate them raw at picnics. Invariably, some adult would tell me they caused diarrhea, or they were poisonous, or "you just shouldn't eat them, that's why!". But they are so delicious, and taste like electrolytes. I knew I was getting something I needed from them, so I ate them!

[Ferti]

Thanks Betorq. I also like the experimenting and the "living dangerously" with raw milk (which I actually don't believe is dangerous for me).

[AuroraB]

If you're interested, I've bought kefir grains from Culture for Health. They have grains for milk or water and they have nice video tutorials for fermenting quite a few things.