Take pity on a Yankee girl, wouldja? I thought I was being all clever about the head when I put up a batch of watermelon rind pickle and another of rind preserves during my pickling vacation* this past August. Thing is, when I recently popped open a jar for a pre-dinner relish tray, my North Carolinian husband asked me if we had any Cheez Whiz in the fridge. Huh?

It seems that in his youth, Douglas' grandmother Memama's very best girlfriend Janie, upon hearing word of his arrival in Plymouth, would pull down a Ball jar, and show up chez Memama with a platter of watermelon rind pickle, Cheez Whiz and Captain's Wafers. The best I could do this past Sunday night was accompany the pickle with some double-cream brie and store brand Ritz-ish crackers that we had on hand. Oh, he swore up and down that it was just perfect, but he's all polite like that.

So, what I'm wondering now is if any of you have a particular familiarity with watermelon rind pickles, and if so -- if I bring along a jar to Thanksgiving dinner, should I tote along the Whiz & wafers, or was that strictly a Janie thing? Might plain ol' crackers suffice, is there another standard methodology, or should we all just stop fretting and enjoy?

Crisp Watermelon Rind Pickles
(from Charleston Receipts c. 1950)

1 watermelon rind
1 quart vinegar
5 pounds sugar
1 ounce stick cinnamon
1 ounce whole cloves
1 vial lime (note - I used Ball Pickle Crisp)

Prepare rind by removing all red and green. Cut in squares. Soak over night in water to which lime has been added. Drain, but do not wash. Cover with water and cook two hours. Drain again and cook slowly for one hour in syrup made of remaining ingredients. Syrup should cover rind. Seal in jars while hot. Lime available at drugstores.

-- Mrs. Francis C. Ford Jr, (Elizabeth Coker)


For the watermelon rind preserves, I prefer the Lee Bros. recipe.


*More on The Pickling Vacation later. There are black walnuts, grape catsup, okra and a county full of heirloom veggies.