GLYKO KARPOUZI
Glyko karpouzi is a traditional Greek sweet made by preserving watermelon rind, usually in thick, syrupy slices or chunks, often flavoured with lemon, clove or cinnamon and sometimes garnished with crushed walnuts. It’s a type of glyko tou koutaliou (spoon sweet) commonly served in small portions with coffee or as a dessert, originating from Greece where home preserving fruits and making spoon sweets has been a long standing culinary tradition, particularly in rural and island communities.
It’s a wonderful way to use up what is normally a wastage product like watermelon rind. Lots of different spoon sweets are creating, such as cherries, walnuts and figs, but the rind is a great one to test yourself out on, as you can give it a shot in small batches when you buy a watermelon.
GLYKO KARPOUZI
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GLYKO KARPOUZI 〰️
(GREEK WATERMELON RIND SWEET)
Time: 4 hours + 30 minures
Serves: big batch of spoon sweets
900gm watermelon rind
2 lemons (a lot of recipes will call for quick lime/pickling lime, but it’s incredibly hard to source in Aus)
540gm caster sugar
6 cloves (optional)
Begin removing the rind from the watermelon to make 900gm worth. I like to keep some on the red flesh on the end for appearance. Then carefully using a peeler, peel all the green part of the watermelon off completely until is just the white part and a little bit of red flesh. I like to take an extra layer of white off as well.
Chop into small cubes and add into a big pot with enough water to just cover with juice of 2 lemons. Add a plate on top to weight the rind down before leaving to the side to soak for 1 hour.
Remove water from pot and add in the sugar and cloves. Put onto medium heat and all the sugar to melt and the watermelon to steep out its liquid. Bring to a high simmer and allow it to simmer for 2-3 hours. The cooking time will be completely dependent on the size of the watermelon and how solid your simmer is. Give yourself the afternoon in case it needs to go longer.
The result you want is a golden sweet that has a bit of a bite to it and resembles like a greek candy. Stir in some extra lemon juice at the end if you have to help keep its colour and for balance.