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After creating Watermelon Jam, Watermelon Rind Pickles, and Watermelon Rind Preserve, I had some rind left over so I made Watermelon candy! This candy was so good! It was a little “sticky” but the sugar helped make it less sticky.
The recipe was fairly easy, the hardest part was just waiting on the liquid to become a syrup. My 9 year old loved it! He kept on going back and getting more! I’m sure we’ll be making more Watermelon Candy next summer!
Ingredients
– 4 cups watermelon rind – WHITE PART ONLY –
– 1 quart water
– 1-1/4 cup water
– ¼ cup salt
– 2 cups sugar – plus more for the coating
– 1 lemon – peeled
Directions
- Cover the rind with hot water and boil for 5 minutes. After finished, drain.
- When cooled, cover with 1 quart water and ¼ cup of salt. Set aside (or in fridge) for 6 hours or overnight.
- Drain and rinse 3 times and cover rind with water. Simmer until rind is fork tender and drain. Rinsing is important – do not skip this step. If you don’t rinse the rind enough, the watermelon candy will turn out very salty. Almost too salty.
- In a sauce pan add 2 cups sugar, 1-1/4 cups of water, and lemon peel. Cook until a drop forms a soft ball in cold water. I didn’t time this, but I would estimate about 20-30 minutes.
- Add the rind. Simmer, stirring very well – be sure to lift the rind from the bottom of the pan while stirring to avoid scorching.
- Cook until rind is clear and syrup forms. Remove the rind and drain.
- Drop each piece of syrup rind into the sugar for coating and shake off any excess. Lay the rinds separately on a rack to cool and dry. Add sugar as needed.
I hope you have a good turn out and everyone loves your watermelon candy!
