Candied Watermelon (Gliko shalqini)

To prepare candied watermelon, start with the rind, which must be thoroughly cleaned of red flesh and then cut into strips 1. Then peel the rind, removing the darker part, using a peeler 2. Cut into cubes of about 3/8 inch and now you will have to repeat this operation three times to ensure the rind has the right consistency 3.

Fill a pot with cold water and immerse the cubes 4. As soon as it comes to a boil, cook them for 10 minutes 5 then drain them 6.

Repeat this process 2 more times 7. On the third and final time, drain the cubes, placing them in a bowl 8 and then cover with plenty of cold water 9.

Leave the cubes to soak for 24 hours, ensuring you change the water 10 7-8 times throughout the day 11. At this point, weigh the cubes and remember that for every kilogram of boiled rind, an equal weight of sugar is needed. In our case, we obtained 1.1 lbs of cubes, so we poured 1.1 lbs of sugar into the pot. The water should barely cover the sugar, so ensure this in the pot before proceeding. In our case, 7 oz of water was needed 12.

Turn on the burner and let the mixture reach a viscous consistency similar to honey; it generally takes 20/25 minutes. Squeeze the lemon and strain the juice 13, add the split vanilla bean to the syrup 14, and then the strained juice 15.

Add the rind cubes 16 and let them cook for about 50 minutes on very low heat, stirring occasionally 17. Once the cubes are candied, turn off the heat, remove any foam on the surface using a skimmer, and then cover with the lid 18.

Let cool completely at room temperature 19, then transfer into a jar and seal 20. The candied watermelon is now ready, store it in the refrigerator 21.