There are several ways of making this sweet: Many add whole almonds in the sweet while others add rosewater, rose geranium leaves or vanilla to flavor it. I always make it with fresh rose geranium leaves, which provide a wonderful aroma and flavor. I often drink the leaves as a tea, too, especially iced during summer. I keep a couple of rose geranium plants on my balcony as they need little care, keep the mosquitoes away and have a beautiful fragrance, in addition to tasting great in jams and preserves!

One final note: The most important thing is to keep the texture of the rind slightly crispy. I don’t like it when it goes soft and especially if it goes mushy, which means the recipe has failed.

1 kg watermelon white rind (red and green part removed)
800 gr sugar
Rind of 1 organic lemon
Juice of 1 lemon + 3 tsp of lemon juice
200 gr honey (preferably thyme or orange blossom)
2-3 small fresh rose geranium leaves (or, if you can’t find these, vanilla)

Ice
1 ¾ cups water

Step One

First prepare the watermelon rind. Separate the fruit from the rind and then use a peeler to remove the green external part, keeping the white part with just traces of the red part on it (it adds flavor).

Step Two

Once this is ready, slice it into sticks that are about the length of a matchstick (I like it cut into sticks that are around 4cm long and 1cm thick but many often cut it into bigger chunks). Wash with cold water, put in a bowl and cover with cold water and ice cubes. Add in the juice and rind of one lemon.

Step Three

Cover and put in the fridge for a couple of hours. This will help to keep the texture firm and crispy. Strain the sticks and place on kitchen towel to drain (with the lemon rind).

Step Four

Put the water in a saucepan and add the sugar. Bring to boil and add in the watermelon rind (with lemon rind) and simmer for 15 minutes (remove any froth that forms on top with a slotted spoon). Remove from heat, leave it uncovered until it cools, and then cover and let stand overnight in the saucepan (you may leave it standing like this for up to 24 hours).

Step Five

The next day, you need to thicken up your syrup. Remove the lemon rind and throw away. Remove the watermelon and set aside. Turn on the heat and bring the syrup to boil (low heat). Add in the honey, gently stir and simmer at low heat for about 15 minutes until your syrup is starting to thicken. Add in the rose geranium leaves, lemon juice and watermelon. Bring it to boil once again for another couple of minutes and remove from heat. To test if the syrup’s ready, you need a teaspoon and a plate.

Step Six

Drip some syrup from the teaspoon onto a plate, and if it stands on the plate as a firm drop, it means it’s ready. Don’t over simmer because it will caramelize.

Let cool completely and put into sterilized jars. Although it isn’t necessary, I like to keep it in the fridge to keep it chilled. I love eating it plain, on pancakes, or with ice cream, but above all I like it on my plain yogurt.

To convert metric measurements to U.S. and British kitchen units, click here.