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Piokled Watbbmelon Bind

A pickled watermelon rind preserved with spices, vinegar, and sugar syrup.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Ladies' Benevolent Society, First Congregational Church (Fall River, Mass .). Ladies' Benevolent Society, Mass.) First Congregational Church (Fall River · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Piokled Watbbmelon Bind

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the rind

  1. Take the thickest rind you can get, pare off the hard green rind and the soft inner pulp, cut into small pieces of uniform size and shape, and put into brine strong enough to float an egg; let them remain from five to ten days, then soak in fresh water for a few days, changing the water every day.

  2. Cover them with water in a preserving kettle in which the soda has been dissolved, heat slowly, then boil gently until tender.

Make the syrup and pickle

  1. Prepare a syrup of the sugar, allowing a cup of water per two pounds of sugar; heat until hot but not boiling.

  2. When the syrup is hot but not boiling, put in the rinds and simmer until they look quite clear.

  3. Take them out and spread on plates, then add to the syrup the vinegar and spices tied up in muslin bags; boil this up, return the rind to it, and simmer fifteen minutes.

  4. Put up in glass jars.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

67Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
17 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Waternot in our table0
Macenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Ladies' Benevolent Society, First Congregational Church (Fall River, Mass .). Ladies' Benevolent Society, Mass.) First Congregational Church (Fall River. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Mace + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  5. Mace + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Watermelon rind (in the method)
Forms the pickle itself, becoming tender and translucent as it cooks in the syrup.
Sugar
Sweetens the pickle and, with the vinegar, helps preserve the rind.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that sharpens the flavor and helps keep the pickle stable.
Soda
Softens the rind during the initial boil so it becomes tender.
Turmeric (in the method)
Gives the pickle its yellow color and a mild earthy flavor.

The step that matters

Simmering the rind in the syrup until clear. Simmering too hard or too long can break the rind apart and make it mushy, while stopping too early leaves it opaque and firm. Gentle heat lets the sugar syrup penetrate slowly so the rind turns clear and holds its shape.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ginger, vinegar, sugar, clove, cinnamon):

  1. Allspicefits better
  2. Cardamomfits better
  3. Nutmegfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against ginger, vinegar, sugar, clove, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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