One of the food-focused podcasts I regularly enjoy is Ingredipedia, out of Melbourne.
From the Melon episode, I learned that the rind of a watermelon is edible.
I’m a man who hates waste, so – seeing as it’s watermelon season here, and we’re getting through quite a bit – I thought I’d give it a try.
So far, I’ve added it, in 1cm cubes, to a potato and watercress soup, where it adds a pleasant zucchini-like presence without imparting any particular flavour.
My second batch, I cubed, blanched and froze, before adding to a vegetable curry, which worked well.
My latest lot, I’ve sliced with a mandolin into noodle-like lengths, before blanching and freezing. I’ll see what these are like stir-fired.
It’s versatile: there are quite a few recipes online, and a colleague tells me that you can pickle it. The fact that it would otherwise have ended up in the compost bin fills my heart with joy.
