Watermelon Sweet Pickles - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 c. lime
1 to 1 1/2 gal. cold water

Preparation

Put in jar.
Pare, cut and weight rinds.
Put in lime water and let remain overnight.
Stir occasionally (8 pounds of rinds makes 1 gallon of pickles).
In morning, wash and soak rinds in several waters.
Cook in boiling water for 1 hour.
Drain in colander.
Make syrup using pound for pound of sugar to rind. Cover sugar with water.
Put rind in sugar to boil hard in covered boiler for 1 1/2 hours.
Pour 1 quart of vinegar on spices in separate boiler to boil for 1/2 hour.
Use any whole spices you like; do not use ground (cinnamon, cloves, allspice, etc.).
Pour vinegar and spices into kettle with rinds and syrup and boil about 1 hour or until syrup thickens.
Seal in hot sterilized jars.
I sometimes add green food coloring for colorful Christmas pickles.