Dehydrating Watermelon

I like watermelon enough that I want to have some in the middle of winter. Thanks, I will.

@DaddyEvil I still have an entire half to gobble up. I'm looking like a watermelon now.

@DianneN We just bought four more so we have plenty to dry as well as stuff ourselves silly... Oh, come on... I can't see you turning round, no matter how much watermelon you eat.

@rakski I like eating them fresh, too... but I also want to eat watermelon when there is snow on the ground and you can't do that with fresh watermelon. Winter is outside their growing season here, so this is the only way to eat them in winter.

I didn't know that, either, until I found an article online about it. So I decided to try drying it myself. It worked out very well.

@DaddyEvil I prefer eating them fresh

@DaddyEvil Interesting food I am interested tasting it one.

@rsa101 Have you eaten the candy "fruit roll ups"? That is what it reminds me of. I like it.

Yes, the fresh watermelon is my favorite but when it is snow and ice outside I will still be able to eat dried watermelon.

The seeds are the undeveloped ones I usually eat without noticing... I usually have some fruit gummies in my bedroom closet. I don't eat them often but like to have some around, just in case. Most people are saying they thought the photo was of bacon. Bacon...

@DaddyEvil Don't say that, I cannot have bacon.

@Juliaacv Oh, you poor soul! You're life must be miserable without bacon in it!

@DaddyEvil We both do not like smoothies, but I could use some pieces to make a Watermelon Margarita.

@LadyDuck Thanks. You're lucky...

I've put half a dozen quart baggies in the freezer. I'll eat a few pieces after thawing them but Pretty usually uses them in smoothies before I get very much of them.

Dehydrated watermelon seems to get one of two reactions from people who have tried it... either they love it or they say it tastes funny and they don't want any more of it. *shrug* That's fine with me, I happen to like it. Watermelon jelly? I've never heard of that... Hmmm... I may give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion. Uhm... although, why did you say "thankfully the youngest son and family loved it."? Nobody else liked it?

@crazyhorseladycx I don't usually say they're spoiled when they won't even taste something new... I usually don't say anything, I just think something at them really hard and hope they get the message. Yeah, I'm not supposed to eat bread anymore, although I still do on occasion. To try watermelon jelly, I'd definitely make an exception. (The problem there is that if I make it and Pretty doesn't like it it would go to waste since I really do try to stay away from bread. )

@DaddyEvil leathery fruits're 'n 'cquired taste i've found. some folks'll turn their nose'p oft without e'en tastin'. spoilt lot, lol. watermelon jelly 'tis definitely somethin' ya ought'a try. i'd send ya some if'n i'd known. the hubs's to the point he'll not partake'n anythin' i fix, e'en a glass 'f water.... i'm certain if'n the daughter lived closer her'n family would'a been a huge fan. the youngest'n family 'dore 't, e'en her folks, so seemed the sensible thingy to do. i rarely make bread 'r pancakes fer myself these days, so'd lil use fer 't.

@DaddyEvil thanks I’ll screenshot this to remember.

@shaggin You're welcome.

You cut them a quarter inch thick and turn them every five or six hours until they are dry. (They should feel like good beef jerky when done.) Most people think they look like bacon strips.

Hmmm... that sounds good. I may try dehydrating them next. Thanks for the idea.

Thanks. I will.

Well, you'll just have to make a trip up to visit and taste it for yourself, young lady. People who've tried it have either told me it is really good or they think it tastes funny and don't want any more of it. *shrug* That leaves more of it for me to enjoy.

@cintol Chinese (Cashew Chicken) is my favorite food! Heck yes we can get it again! I don't know... I haven't seen her try it.

@DaddyEvil I might just have to do that, can we get Chinese again? So does Tara like the watermelon or not?

It's really a pain in the tush to do, but we were given several watermelons and I didn't want them to go to waste. We couldn't eat them all before they went bad, so I tried my hand at drying them. Drying tomatoes was pretty easy. (I've never bought dried tomatoes, so have no idea if mine came out like the ones that can be purchased.) I'm not that fond of apples, so haven't tried drying them.

Hello Dearheart. I'm happy to see you. How are you and your family doing?

@DaddyEvil We're good nothing much happening. You should try grilled watermelon next.

@Namelesss I'm happy to know that. Grilled watermelon? Now that sounds even weirder than dehydrated watermelon. I hate to cooking outside. I get carried away by mosquitoes and Pretty eats everything I've grilled before I find my way home again. *sigh*

I've had mixed reactions from people I've given some to... either they love it or they say it tastes "weird" and they don't want any more of it. (It can be difficult to make so I usually only give a couple of strips to each person. It's funny when some of them give me one of the strips back. I love fruits of all kinds and try to acquire and taste new-to-me fruits any time I learn of one. There have been a few I didn't like, like star fruit... to me star fruit tastes like very juicy cardboard... and not the good kind of cardboard, either.

@porwest I've actually tried star fruit twice. When I mentioned what it tasted like to me, a friend suggested that I'd gotten one that was still green, so I bought another one... still tasted nasty. I won't be trying it again!

@DaddyEvil I have seen star fruit, but never once have put it into my mouth. I will just take your word for it, and never put it into my mouth.

Yes, sort of like mangoes although mangoes aren't as water saturated so take a lot less time to dry.

@DaddyEvil yes unlike melon, wonder what's left in dehydrated watermelon when actually it's almost water.

No. I do freeze some watermelon every year to eat when the snow is thick on the ground but this involves my dehydrator. Drying watermelon takes a lot longer than drying veggies but it is worth it to me.

I wasn't aware watermelon could be dehydrated until I found an article about it online. The strips on the plate are my first try at drying it. (They taste sweet and have a concentrated watermelon flavor.) You're welcome.

Yes, it does... but it tastes like sweet, sweet watermelon. Hello... how have you been doing?

I also freeze some watermelon, too. Freezing it makes the texture kinda rubbery, but it still tastes great. (The taste makes me remember summers from the past.)

I'd never heard of it before, either. I just happened to come across an article about it online so decided to try it. It is very good, even if it does take three days to make it.

Yes, it does look like bacon. I like fresh watermelon, too... but I want some to eat when there is three feet of snow on the ground, as well.