Watermelons have many uses beyond fruit salad.
Watermelons have many uses beyond enjoying the brightly colored flesh. Every part of the watermelon has a use, not just the fruit. The rind, juice and seeds are all edible. You will never look at a watermelon the same way again after you begin to explore its diverse uses.
Drink
Instead of lemonade on a hot summer's day serve a watermelon agua fresca. This Mexican roadside juice drink is made from a variety of fruits. To make an agua fresca, puree seeded watermelon pulp and sugar. Strain the mixture through a sieve and add lime juice and club soda for serving. The drink will have less sugar than a soda and the added benefit of the vitamins and minerals from the watermelon juice. Eating Well offers a recipe using 8 cups of watermelon, 1 cup of water, 1/3 cup sugar, 4 cups and 1/4 cup lime juice.
Cake
Instead of a birthday cake made from a traditional flour, sugar and butter cake, make a guilt-free cake from a watermelon. The National Watermelon Promotion Board suggests cutting a round, seedless watermelon in half and cutting off the rind. Cover the half-sphere of watermelon with cake icing, whipped cream or thawed frozen whipped topping. Insert candles if the "cake" will be for a birthday, and decorate the top with additional cut fruits such as kiwi slices or fresh berries.
Pickles
Cucumbers are not the only fruit that can be pickled. Bland watermelon rind transforms into a sweet, tart and crunchy snack. Follow a trusted recipe for pickling the rind. Untested recipes could result in spoilage from not having enough preserving ingredients. Cooking Light has a pickled watermelon rind recipe on the website My Recipes. This recipe flavors the rind pickles with sweet spices like ginger, cloves, allspice and cinnamon. These spices complement the sweetness in barbecued meats. A plate of pickles will pair well with any meat made on the grill at a summer barbecue.
Seed Snack
Change up your snack routine from more common sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Watermelon seeds are not just for spitting contests. Remove the seeds from the fruit before serving the watermelon flesh. Country Living has a recipe for toasted watermelon seeds. It simply requires you to toss the seeds with olive oil and salt and toast the seeds in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until darkened and crunchy. Eat the seeds whole as a snack or add them to trail mixes and granolas.
Chilly Desserts
As cooling as a chilled piece of watermelon fruit is on a hot summer's day, you can make it even cooler. Juice watermelon through a juicer or puree the fruit and strain it. Pour the watermelon juice into the wells of an ice cube tray or disposable paper cups. Cover the tray or cups with aluminum foil. Insert a wooden ice cream stick through the foil into each ice cube well or into each cup. Freeze the watermelon pops overnight or until solid. Serve these treats instead of ice cream bars.
Salsa
Make a tomato-free salsa with watermelon. Replace tomatoes with chopped, seeded watermelon in any salsa recipe. Choose a bright red watermelon variety to replicate the color of the tomatoes, or use an orange or yellow-fleshed watermelon for added color. For a simple salsa recipe, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services suggests combining watermelon with chopped green onions, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, cilantro and lime juice. This red and green salsa, called "Fire and Ice," is an eye-catching appetizer served with potato chips, corn chips or tortilla chips.
Tags: lime juice, watermelon rind, agua fresca, club soda, from watermelon,