So, my wife tried to make watermelon rind pickles using a recipe that everyone online said was absolutely amazing. The watermelons themselves were good, they made for great jam and jelly, but these watermelon rind pickles taste like raw fish! We were hoping to sell them at the upcoming County fair, but there’s no way! What’s wrong here? Did we not leave them long enough, they were only made a day or two ago.
Recipe source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=bFuidKmTfvA&si=J9W7fbqV5GtG3XLE
by Aether_Warrior
5 Comments
Can you share the recipe so we can see what might have happened?
Did you refrigerate them? Did you wash the outside of the watermelon before cutting it up? How much water, vinegar, and sugar did you use?
Also, almost any pickle, including watermelon rind pickles, need to sit in the jar after processing *at least* 4 weeks. The usual recommendation is 4-6 weeks.
But if yours tasted fishy, something else is going on, Throw them out.
“When in doubt, throw them out!”
Wife who made the pickles. Found out AFTER everything was made that a family member had also tried making these (don’t know what recipe she used) and came up with the same problem.
I make rind pickles all the time using NCHFP process and have never come across this. I have not watched your video, but can tell from the photo you posted that the rinds were not cooked. You need to cook them until translucent before putting in jars. This softens them enough for the brine to absorb and to ensure you’re not storing raw rinds.