Spiced Watermelon Rind
| Watermelon rind, | 21/3 lbs. |
| Sugar (brown), | 1 lb. |
| Vinegar, | 1 cup |
| Cinnamon (ground), | ½ teaspoon |
| Cloves (ground), | 1/3 teaspoon |
| Allspice (ground), | ½ teaspoon |
| Ginger root, | small piece |
| Whole mace, | 1 teaspoon |
| Bay leaves, | Two |
One day when watermelons were in their prime Adelaide's mother bought a part of one for dessert. She told Adelaide to save all the rind and the next day she would show her how to make another tasty relish to be eaten with cold meats.
In the morning Adelaide pared the rind neatly and cut it into many attractive shapes. The saucepan had been previously placed over the fire, containing the pound of sugar, the cup of vinegar, the piece of ginger root, the whole mace and the bay leaves. The ground spices, one-half teaspoon each of cinnamon and allspice, and the one-third teaspoon of cloves, were tied in a small piece of muslin and added to the syrup. When the syrup reached the boiling point Adelaide dropped in the watermelon rind, and it was cooked slowly until perfectly tender. Then Adelaide lifted out the rind very carefully with a silver fork into a dish, covered, and stood it away over night. The saucepan was removed from the fire and placed aside to cool. Next morning, Adelaide let the syrup again come to the boiling point, and added the rind. She watched carefully, and when it came to the boiling point a second time she lifted the rind carefully with a silver fork into the sterilized jar. The syrup she poured in until it overflowed.
Inserting a silver knife between the jar and the rind Adelaide let all air bubbles rise to the top and break, then fitted the new rubber on smoothly, sealed quickly and stood the jar upside down out of the way of any draft.
In the morning Adelaide wiped off all stickiness from the outside of the jar, examined it carefully to be sure it did not leak, pasted on the label and stored it away in the preserve closet.