First time I've ever tried this Asian pickling melon

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pepperhead212

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Only got 3 melons -two regular size, and one small, though now I have a couple set fruits on the plant, a few days after harvesting. So if this is worth making again, I will probably be able to produce more, picking earlier.

This isn't really canning, but will be sort of a refrigerator pickle, after it sits overnight. The jars have already sealed, and will sit maybe a week in the fridge, before I open one. I am giving one jar to an Indian lady I know, that has problems eating hot stuff, so I left the heat out of that, and just made them separately.

It was made with that pickling melon, which was incredibly unsweet - now I know. It's basically like watermelon rind, once peeled. I scraped all the seeds, and the rest of the "goo" out of them, and got over 2 tb of seeds, in case anyone wants any!
First Asian Pickling Melon of the season, cut open, showing the seeds scooped out of one side. 8-15 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Peeling the dark skin of the melon, before cubing to pickle. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cooking the second qt of Indian spiced pickled melon, with jalapenos added to the batch. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The two qts of Indian spiced pickled melon finished, one with no heat in it. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Seeds from 2 pickling melon - large amount of them, if anyone wants any. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I'll post back later on the flavor. Here's what I used for the recipe for each qt - sort of a mix of some others:

3-3 1/2 c cubed pickling melon, or watermelon rind
1/2 tb pickling salt
1 c water
1 c white vinegar
1/2 tb each fennel seed, coriander seed, cumin seed, and whole black pepper
1 large Indian bay (tej patta), or 2 regular bay leaves, broken up
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 one inch cinnamon sticks
1 med onion, cut into wedges
2 large cloves garlic, sliced thinly
3 or 4 jalapeños, sliced thick (option)
2 tb jaggery, or light brown sugar

I mixed the melon and salt in a bowl, and let sit in the fridge overnight. Then rinsed well, and drained.

Meanwhile, I cut all the ingredients, and measured out the spices, into two bowls. Place the liquids and spices in a 3 qt saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Stir in jagger, until dissolved, then stir in the melon, onion, and garlic, (and peppers, if using) and bring to a simmer. Cook about 3 minutes, then transfer to a cleaned 1 qt jar, though a funnel, pressing the vegetables into the jar, leaving about 1/2" space, and tapping bubbles out, filling almost to the top. Clean lid and jar, and put the lid on. Let sit, overnight, then move to refrigerator. Let sit about a week, to cure, before sampling.
 
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I wonder if that Asian pickling melon is closely related to the Danish "asie" pickling cucumber. The are large. The seeds are scraped out before they are pickled. The word for Asia in Danish is "Asien". There doesn't seem to be an English Wikipedia article about this Danish cucumber. But, there is a Danish article on Wikipedia. Does the picture seem to be the same thing?

https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asie
 
The Danish way of pickling them sure sounds easier! But I wonder how long it takes to 'pickle' them. It doesn't say, perhaps they give it a water bath after?
 
I wonder if that Asian pickling melon is closely related to the Danish "asie" pickling cucumber. The are large. The seeds are scraped out before they are pickled. The word for Asia in Danish is "Asien". There doesn't seem to be an English Wikipedia article about this Danish cucumber. But, there is a Danish article on Wikipedia. Does the picture seem to be the same thing?

https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asie
Definitely doesn't look like the same thing. These look much larger, plus the stripes look different. There are different types of it, however, without the stripes.
 
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The Danish way of pickling them sure sounds easier! But I wonder how long it takes to 'pickle' them. It doesn't say, perhaps they give it a water bath after?
I just had a look at some recipes for pickling "asier" and for pickling zucchini or angelica or pumpkin "as asier". Most say to store cold for at least 12 or days before tasting it.

I have never heard of Danes using a water bath for canning. :ermm:

They only seem to "can" jams, jellies, preserves, and pickled vegis. The instructions usually say to rinse the jar with "Atamon". That's a commercial preservative with Sodium benzoate as the active ingredient. Then the recipe will usually say to add a tsp of the Atamon to a litre of the pickling liquid and add that to the jar.

Sometimes they just say to store it in the fridge, but sometimes they say to store it in the fridge after you open the jar. Nope, no thank you. I'm not storing something at room temperature that hasn't been properly water bath or pressure canned.
 
Definitely doesn't look like the same thing. These look much larger, plus the stripes look different. There are different types of it, however, without the stripes.

I just went down a rabbit hole checking one thing against another on Danish and English Wikipedias.

It seems that both the Asian pickling melon and the Danish "Asie" are in the genus "Cucumis", one is a melon and the Danish one is a cucumber.

BTW, here's a picture of the Danish "asie" that someone is peeling. It gives a better idea of the size.

23.09.12+syltede+asier+og+kokusis+083.JPG
 

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