watermelon jam gone wrong!

[NICKY 74]

my husband has gone crazy! can anyone tell us how you know when a watermelon is ripe, according to yates, when it goes yellow on the underside and makes a dull hollow sound when tapped!well, we picked one we thought was ready a couple of weeks ago and it was totally white inside (i thought it could have been one of the fancy varieties that he had ordered off the internet, but no just not ripe yet) so yesterday we picked another one that was massive, around the size of a basketball or bigger, and yet again this was also white, it did have a faint tinge of pink in places (if you looked hard through squinted eyes)
anyway, to the part where dh went crazy: he thought he would make watermelon jam, why would you try making jam from a fruit that doesnt even taste nice? so, it didnt set! he played around with it for ages, i said just chuck it away, but he said no i will turn it into apple and cinnamon jam tomorrow  so alas today we have some weird jam that still didnt set!!!! anyone heard of throwing good money after bad
sorry, just had to share that with someone!
has anybody actually had watermelon jam?
he says he has once at it was more like a jelly that you would serve on a cheese platter (maybe he should have used gelatin then)
thanks for listening, nicky

[Cuilidh]

I love your watermelon adventure, Nicky.  Unfortunately I cannot help you at all, just had to say thanks for posting your story and putting a smile on my face first thing in the morning.  Hope someone can help you out.

[andiesenji]

When I get a less than ripe watermelon it is time to make pickles.

Sweet pickled watermelon rind is sweetish, in thick syrup, and a wonderful condiment to accompany rich meats and poultry, especially duck and goose but also wonderful with wild game.  It is a staple in the south (of the U.S.) where I grew up.

Of course this is not a TMX recipe but will certainly go with many of the dishes prepared in the TM.
Sweet Pickled melon rind recipe

You can also make this with other types of melons - I use honeydew, Cranshaw, cantaloupe and even bitter melon.

[achookwoman]

Nicky74 don't waste it.   I'd put it back in the pot with some berries,  any type and use it as a base for berry jam.   you also could keep a jar to use as a glaze for fruit tarts.  We all have disasters,  but  waste not want not.

[judydawn]

I have no advice either Nicky but like Cuilidh, I appreciated hearing your story too.  It is nice to share disasters along with our successes. Speaking of watermelons, in front of me at the check-out yesterday a women bought a huge round one weighing
almost 8kg and it cost her over $23.00 

[meganjane]

Sorry, no advice here. I used to make relish and jam from pie melons and used a fair bit of lemon in the jam to help with setting.

Wow andie! The many things you can do with watermelon rind! A whole website dedicated to it. I'll never throw it away again....

[cookie1]

On the end of the watermelon that is not attached to the vine is there a small tendril? If so I think that when that is dried your watermelon should be ripe.

[NICKY 74]

thanks everyone for your replies, its still in the fridge and dh put it on the kids toast for brekkie this morning, i had a taste but didnt really like it, i will check out that website though, some great advise thanks everyone for your tips and ideas, and yes cookie, my dad just told me that tonight, so next time we go to pick one we will look for that. i wonder if it is possible to leave it on too long? thaought i would also share with you all that we picked 12 cucumbers tonight, and took the toddlers for a walk before bed to deliver them to all our neighbours! gave the last one to a random lady out for a power walk, she was very grateful!
there are only so many cucumbers you can eat!!!!!

[cookie1]

I know the feeling, I am starting to look like an apple cucumber.

[amgrantham81]

Watermelon Jam needs added pectin in large quantities or gelatin.  It wont set on its own.  I gave up trying to get ours to set adn decided I would make roll ups with the failed batch, but that didn't work either, so it then went in the bin.  But I didn't add anything else to it to make it roll ups.