Part of my wiki travels suggest that the suspected ancestor of sweet watermelons was indeed bitter and stringy as well. A close relative continued to be grown for jams (due to its high pectin content) as citron melon. I imagine it’s quite a niche product.
This recipe for watermelon rind jam - no watermelon flesh - sounds very similar to what you were describing. Looks translucent!
e: it appears there are in fact many receipes for watermelon rind preserves (cubed) - most stating they are old recipes, some from the Depression era, or traditional recipes hailing from Iran, Armenia, Greece… I reckon if you get a cheaper watermelon that’s got more rind than usual it would be great for making these preserves.
Part of my wiki travels suggest that the suspected ancestor of sweet watermelons was indeed bitter and stringy as well. A close relative continued to be grown for jams (due to its high pectin content) as citron melon. I imagine it’s quite a niche product.
This recipe for watermelon rind jam - no watermelon flesh - sounds very similar to what you were describing. Looks translucent!
e: it appears there are in fact many receipes for watermelon rind preserves (cubed) - most stating they are old recipes, some from the Depression era, or traditional recipes hailing from Iran, Armenia, Greece… I reckon if you get a cheaper watermelon that’s got more rind than usual it would be great for making these preserves.
Oooh thanks for the recipie - this looks very similar.