TIP OF THE DAY: Make A Watermelon Boat

August 30, 2013 at 8:04 am · Filed under Fruits, Nuts & Seeds, July 4th/Independence Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Recipes

Put your fruit salad or munchies in a
watermelon boat. Photo courtesy Old World
Gourmet.

Have you ever carved a watermelon basket? The simple watermelon boat shown in the photo is a charming presentation. Most people fill it with fruit salad, but you can create rows of assorted munchies: cheese cubes, crudites, fruit, salami cubes.

While it puts some labor into Labor Day, you can carve a true work of art from a watermelon, and it’s a fun project.

The National Watermelon Promotion Board is here to help you, with almost 60 carved watermelon designs to inspire your fruit artistry. Beyond the conventional basket filled with fruit salad, there are:

Animal watermelons: cat, fish, hippo, ladybug, moose owl, penguin, pig, porcupine, rabbit, robot, seal, shark, turtle, T-Rex, whale

Kids’ watermelons: Minion (from “Despicable Me”), pirate skull and bones, smiley face, treasure chest, Viking helmet

Sports watermelons: eight ball, football helmet, golf ball, race car, sailboat, surf wave

Summer theme watermelons: beach bucket, flip flops, flower garden, flowers,

Assorted fun watermelons: Angry Birds, mermaid, purse, submarine, tea pot, tiki mask

There are more, of course, including lovely basket designs and holiday-themed watermelon boats: Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc.

RECIPE: WATERMELON RELISH

Take some of that watermelon flesh and rind and make yummy watermelon relish. Use it to top burgers and hot dogs, mix it with yogurt for a dip, mix it with mayonnaise for a sandwich spread.

Ingredients

2 cups watermelon rind, dark-green skin removed and white part cut in 1/3-inch dice

2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons salt, divided

2½ cups water and ¾ cup water, divided

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon zest, finely grated

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 pinch each cinnamon and cloves

2 cups diced watermelon

Watermelon relish. Photo courtesy National Watermelon Promotion Board.

Preparation

1. MIX rind with 2-1/2 cups water and 2 tablespoons salt. Let stand covered at room temperature overnight. Drain and rinse well.

2. COMBINE in medium saucepan the sugar, 3/4 cup water, 2 teaspoons salt, the lemon zest and juice, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the rind and cook gently for about 40 minutes or until the rind is translucent and tender (do not boil hard as mixture might caramelize). When done, remove from heat and cool.

3. MIX in the diced watermelon.

Makes 3/4 of a quart. The watermelon relish will keep refrigerated for 4 days.

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