Tutti Frutti from watermelon rind is a great way to use up scraps and waste. A wonderful and delicious addition to cakes and cookies which not only adds color and flavor but you also feel good knowing you saved money by making something useful out of waste.

Tutti frutti from watermelon rind is not just economical its also good for the environment! Another great way to use up the watermelon rind is to make Watermelon Rind Sabzi/Curry out of it. if you have ever eaten gourd/kaddu(in Hindi), it tastes just like that.

Some other ways to use up the watermelon is to make Watermelon Panna/juice and Watermelon Popsicles .Both are great options for summers. Panna is a sweet,salty and tangy drink made out of watermelon juice. Kids love the popsicles and parents can feel good knowing they are made at home with fresh fruit and no chemicals.

Moving on to the recipe, here is the written recipe followed by the step by step pictorial one-

Tutti Frutti from Watermelon Rind

Aanchal Gupta

Tutti Frutti from watermelon rind is a great way to use up scraps and waste. A great and delicious addition to cakes and cookies

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings cups

Ingredients

8-9 cups diced/cubed watermelon rind
8-9 cups water for blanching
2 cups sugar
2 cups water for sugar syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp citric acid
Food colors of choice I used Red, Green and Orange

Instructions

Remove the green skin of watermelon and discard. Chop/dice the tender white rind into pieces
In a large pot bring 8-9 cups water to a boil
In boiling water, add rind and cook till the cubes turn clear
Strain and leave for 1-2 hours to drain

for sugar syrup

In a pan,on High, boil 2 cups water with 2 cups sugar
Add the blanched,semi transparent rind to the boiling sugar syrup and continue to boil for 7 minutes
Cool in pan
Add vanilla extract and citric acid and mix well
Divide equally into 3-4 bowls(along with syrup)
Add food color of choice, cover and leave overnight
Strain the rind from the colored syrup and drain well(leave in the strainer for few hours)
Place on paper towels and let them dry on your countertop
Once the tutti frutti dries, it will not be sticky.
Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator

Notes

For boiling the rind, use a large pot. Most of the diced rind will turn clear/semi transparent,not all. Its ok. When making sugar syrup,we are not trying to achieve 1-2 string consistency. Since my home is airconditioned, it actually took 3-4 days for the tutti frutti to dry on the countertop on paper towels. A faster way may be to leave in the sun(which is not an option for me) or in a strainer or under the fan to dry faster.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Here is the step by step pictorial recipe-

Remove the green skin and discard

Dice the white rind into small pieces