Trim off green rind and pink portion of watermelon rind. Cut into 1- inch cubes or any size desired.
Soak in salt water at least 12 hours or overnight. Drain.
Rinse and cover with cold water. Cook until fork-tender but not soft. Drain and pat off excess water with towels.
Combine sugar, vinegar, oil of cloves and oil of cinnamon. The oil of cloves and oil of cinnamon keep the rinds clear and translucent.
Heat to boiling. Pour over rinds and let stand overnight.
Next morning heat rinds in syrup. Optional: Green or red food coloring may be added and will make pretty pickles for the holidays.
Pack into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, clean rims of jars and attach two piece lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Makes 7 pints.
Notes
For this recipe, you will need to purchase a watermelon WITH seeds. Seedless watermelons have too thin of a rind to be useful for making these pickles. For reference, I bought a 27 pound watermelon and it yielded 7 pounds 1 ounce trimmed rinds.