If we had a lot of veg sitting around in the fridge that would need to be used isn't really an issue for me, as I believe vegetables can be used in a variety of ways anyway, plus I prefer them over fruit. But with fruit, that's another issue. Especially fruits that you cannot buy a small quantity of, and if there's a risk that it's not a "good" one... Well, that's an additional thing.
My husband and children LOVE watermelon. I don't; I dont even really like them but I'll eat some if it's a good one. Only if its a good one! Unfortunately, that's not always the case. Some just thate terrible. And I was so fed up with throwing out watermelons (that even hubby and kids wouldn't eat), BUT fortunately I found quite a few solutions to that problem. Ironically, despite watermelon isn't really appealing to me to eat as is, the "alternative ways" to use them up are usually scrumptious. So, what do I do with watermelons?
- Jam making. Jam making is something I do a lot, especially during the summer months, and I found that most fruits are suitable for jam making, even the fruits you wouldn't expect to be good jam bases! So last year I tried to make watermelon jam and it was absolutely scrumptious. Whenever we had a "bad" watermelon, this was one of the things I did with the fruit. I made jam a few weeks ago, using a very big watermelon. It was so big that it didnt fit in my 8L pot at once, and we gifted some of the jam to family members. Jam always makes such a nice gift, in my opinion! As for the taste, it doesn't really taste that watermelon-y anymore, it's a bit like a cross between strawberry and fig jam.
- Dehydrating fruits. My kids love dried watermelon as a snack. Its very sweet, even if using a "bad" watermelon that isn't too sweet. Dehydrating especially comes in handy when you have a LOT of watermelon because it shrinks a lot.
- Juice/smoothies. I don't have a juicer so I just use half watermelon, half water and some additional sugar. I don't really like this but my kids do. Since we only drink water and tea, juice or a smoothie every now and then is really a treat for them. You could also make syrup, just like the jam but thinner, and then dilute it with water. Syrup should stay good for a long time in the fridge.
- Cold soup. Also known as gazpacho. Usually this is made with tomatoes, but mine is watermelon based. Adding a bit of onions and herbs, this is really a refreshing drink. I do add some tomato paste just for the colour but that isnt really necessary.
- Fry them up! Yes, even that is possible... Apparently, it's a vegan alternative to fish that's used in sushi. I'm not a vegan but I do like these kind of tricks if that means I can save produce from going to waste. Again, this is something you can't really taste that it's watermelon.
I'm not done yet! All of the above was only about the flesh. The rinds are totally edible too; although I wouldn't recommend to eat it plainly, I've successfully used the rind in various ways. I love fermenting so that's what I'd regularly do with watermelon rinds. I also just boil them and use that as additional "vegetables" to any meal. Yes, technically it's fruit and not a vegetable, but since they resemble vegetables in taste, I treat those rinds as a vegetable. Not very different from how I'd treat a tomato, which, in the end, is fruit as well.
I think I haven't heard of a fruit that is that versatile in terms of using them other than eating plainly, hence the title of this post! Now I certainly don't really mind if there's a sub par watermelon in our fridge.
