Watermelon rind has it tough. It lives next to sweet, pink, refreshing fruit that can be eaten as is, or easily become the base of colorful drinks, salsas, granitas and soups. How many of us even acknowledge rind as food? How many of us stop eating when we reach the unsexy, white, flavorless stuff? How many rinds end their lives needlessly in landfill?

Too many to contemplate.

But watermelon rind is food too, and there’s no reason to throw it away, or even compost anything but the hard, dark green skin (less than a millimeter thick). Although the rind is not as flavorful as the rest of the fruit, it is slightly sweet and has a firm, crisp texture that holds up well to cooking. It can be incorporated into the aforementioned drinks, salsas, granitas and soups — but also does well on it’s own in both sweet and savory concoctions.

Take that, sexy, pink, attention-grabbing watermelon flesh

I’ve been in the mood for Indian food lately, so when I found myself with 10 cups of watermelon rind earlier this week (harvested from a 7 pound watermelon), I decided to use it to make chutney. The recipe is below, and the result is a spicy, sweet, sour, aromatic condiment that makes a perfect accompaniment to Indian food, meat dishes or strong cheeses.

Watermelon Rind Chutney

Ingredients

Cubed watermelon rind

• 10 cups watermelon rind, diced in ¾ inch cubes with dark green skin removed
• 2 cups raisins
• 2 serrano peppers with seeds, minced
• ½ cup ginger, skinned and coarsely chopped
• 1½ Tbsp garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp red pepper
• ¾ tsp cinnamon powder
• 
½ tsp cardamom
• ½ tsp ginger powder
• ¼ tsp powdered cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups cider vinegar
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1½ cups sugar

Directions

• Place watermelon rind, raisins, serrano peppers, ginger, garlic, red pepper, cinnamon powder, cardamom, ginger powder, powdered cloves, salt and half of the vinegar in a large pot.
• Add enough water to just cover the fruit, and give everything a good stir.
• Bring the liquid to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to low.
• Cook on low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the rinds take on a translucent quality.
• Add in the rest of the vinegar, the lime juice and the sugar, and stir until sugar dissolves.
• Bring the liquid to a gentle boil, and, stirring frequently, continue to boil until the liquid has the consistency of jam.
• Put the chutney in a sterilized jar.

This chutney will stay fresh for several months in the refrigerator.