Even if melon WERE acidic enough to can, heating almost totally destroys the flavor. I tried making watermelon jelly once -- as soon as the juice is heated, the flavor changes. The end product tastes like zucchini or grass, more or less -- yuck. The only successful watermelon preserved product I made was a raw freezer jam -- that was pretty good, actually. Actually, I think frozen watermelon and regular melons are pretty good. I believe that the frozen fruit mixes and frozen fruit balls sold in grocery stores contain canteloup, honeydew, and sometimes watermelon (can't vouch for this, don't buy these products as I grow my own, but I've seen them in stores and at parties a few times). Dried melon is also very good. Yield is low, of course, especially with watermelon, but it is tasty.

I saw a recipe on Pinterest. You can find the recipe at simsamsueinahouseofblue.blogspot.com/2011/09/watermelon-jelly.html I am not sure if it is safe or approved for canning. I am sure someone here will know if it is safe or not. Good luck! This post was edited by Christina818 on Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 12:31

I should have clarified on the watermelon preserves that I posted the recipe to further discussion with the original poster who had a question but hadn't included the recipe. I haven't made watermelon preserves. sherribaby, if I were rating preserves 1-10 on difficulty, watermelon ones would probably rate an 11. I think an experienced preserver would have to pull every trick out of his/her hat to get a preserve with discernable chunks floating in a pink syrup. Not that it can't be done but it's definitely tricky. Melissa, it's been probably 30 years since I made watermelon pickles. In fairness, I was using a recipe in a cookbook I eventually got rid of because too many of the proportions seemed all wrong. I made a peach-ginger chutney from that book that practically took my head off. Way, way too much ginger. Now I have more experience under my belt and could probably look at the recipe and know how to tweak it for better results. I think of watermelon pickles as Southern. They're a sweet pickle. Prep is the problem, especially because the rinds today are a lot thinner, so you have much more peeling to get the quantity than people used to. Below is a recipe from a cookbook I absolutely trust. I probably should have made these in the first place. 3-Day Watermelon Pickles "They're worth the effort." "Farm Journal's Freezing and Canning Cookbook" 8 qts. watermelon rind (7 pounds) 7 cups sugar 2 cups 5% vinegar 1/4 tsp. oil of cloves (or 1 T. whole cloves) 1/4 tsp. oil of cinnamon (or 3 sticks whole cinnamon) Red food coloring (optional) 1. Choose a melon with thick, firm rind. Trim off outer green skin and pink flesh, leaving very thin line of pink. Stamp out rind with small cookie cutter or cut into neat 1" squares. Place in 2-gallon crock. 2. Cover rind with salt water solution (1/4 c. canning salt to 1 qt. water) and soak 2 hours; drain; rinse. 3. Place rind in 4-quart kettle and cover with cold water. Bring to boil. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes; drain. Place in 2-gal. crock. 4. Combine sugar, vinegar and spices. (Tie whole spices in a bag.) Heat to boiling. Add coloring, if desired. Pour over rind. Let stand overnight at room temperature. 5. Drain off syrup; heat to boiling and pour over rind again. Let stand overnight. 6. Heat rind in syrup. Remove spice bag, if using whole spices. Pack rind into 8 sterilized hot pint jars. Cover with syrup, filling to within 1/4" of top. Wip rim; adjust lids. 7. Process in boiling water bath 5 minutes. Makes 8 pints. * note: for optimal pickles don't use an overripe melon or one grown late in the season. Watermelon "Sweetmeat" Preserves from "Pickles and Preserves" Marion Brown, 1955, reprinted University of North Carolina Press 6 cups watermelon rind (trimmed of green outside skin and all soft pink inside pulp) 7 1/2 cups sugar 2 1/2 cups water 1 lemon, thinly sliced 1/2 ounce ginger root, broken up Cut preppped rind into pieces. Cover with water and boil 2 hours or until tender. Cool in the water. Drain and measure to make 6 cups. Boil together the other ingredients for 10 minutes. Add the rind and cook for about 1 hour, or until the rind is transparent. Always keep the rind covered with syrup while cooking. If the syrup is too thin, add additional sugar; if too thick, add water. Remove from heat. Seal hot in sterilized jars. (I'd process BWB as per jam.) Well, if anyone gives these a shot let us know. Hmmn. Maybe I'll give watermelon pickles another try. Carol

I finally made some last summer with Silver Queen cobs after stripping the kernels. Turned out tasting kind of like cornbread, pop corn, roasted corn, etc. And it was light brown in color, like chicken broth. Not sure I'll ever make it again, but I might try it with red cobs instead of sweet cobs and see if there is a difference. Now that I've been watching DD&D and seeing how some restaurateurs make soup bases by simmering cobs, shucks, and silks, I might have to add a lot more than just cobs to try next time. Young stalks are actually quite sweet and juicy in spots. About the time baby corn is ready, the stalks are edible. Or at least not too fibrous yet. I had Trucker's Favorite volunteers last fall that grew about a month when I was picking. Really interesting.