Pickled Watermelon
By: Sheri Wetherell
Published: Saturday, December 5, 2009 - 2:00am

Ingredients




9 cups water
1/2 cup coarse pickling salt
11 cups watermelon pieces
5 cups granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick, broken up
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/2 cups white vinegar

Preparation

1 Stir water and salt together in a large bowl. Add watermelon balls. Cover and let stand on counter overnight. Drain. Rinse and drain again. 2 In a large saucepan combine next 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. 3 Add watermelon. 4 Return to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for about 20 minutes. 5 Remove cinnamon pieces. 6 Pack fruit into hot sterilized pint jars to within 1 inch of top. 7 Bring syrup to a full rolling boil on medium-high heat for approximately 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickens. Don't boil too long or syrup will start to caramelize and change color. It will thicken a bit with a tinge of golden color. 8 Pour syrup over fruit to within 1/2 inch of top. 9 Place sterilized metal lids on jars and screw metal bands on securely. 10 Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.