Cooling and thirst-quenching, watermelon rind is actually a great health remedy.

In the summer, watermelon is the fruit of choice for most people. After eating the flesh, most people discard the rind. In fact, the rind has many uses. For example, in ancient times, people used the buoyancy of watermelon rinds to make lanterns for floating on rivers. It can also be cooked into dishes that are refreshing and delicious, and it also has significant medicinal effects.

1. Cooking Dishes

Although watermelon rind offers many health benefits, it is not as delicious as the flesh and is generally not eaten directly. However, it can be used to make delicious dishes. First, Braised Pork with Watermelon Rind. The method is similar to braised pork. Add the chopped watermelon rind to the pork when it is nearly cooked, and simmer on low heat until the flavors are infused. It is best not to add sugar during the process to maintain the rind's texture and nutritional value. Second, Cold Watermelon Rind Salad. Peel off the green outer skin of the rind, leaving only the white part, and cut it into small pieces. Place chopped cilantro and minced garlic in a bowl, add an appropriate amount of salt, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and boiled water. Mix well, then pour over the rind and stir.

2. Skin Care

Watermelon rind is rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin E, making it a great material for external skin care. You can mash the rind into a paste and apply it to your face, leaving it on for 15 minutes before washing. Consistent use can make the skin fair, tender, and smooth. The citrulline in watermelon rind has diuretic, antipyretic, and wound-healing properties. It also promotes skin metabolism, whitens and moisturizes the skin, and helps fade acne scars.

Stir-fried Watermelon Rind with Chili

3. Sunburn Relief

Watermelon rind is effective in treating sunburn: Cut the rind into thin slices and apply them to the sunburned skin, replacing them every 5-10 minutes. For severe cases, you can refrigerate the rind first for a cold compress. Consistent use for a week will show significant results in healing sunburn.

4. Treating Heat Rash

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), heat rash is caused by summer heat and dampness accumulating in the skin, blocking the pores. Watermelon rind has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, and promoting urination. Therefore, both external and internal use can be effective in preventing and treating heat rash.

5. Treating Mouth Ulcers

TCM refers to watermelon rind as "Xigua Cui Yi" (Watermelon Green Robe), used for clearing summer heat, promoting the production of body fluids, and quenching thirst. Unlike the flesh, the rind does not contain a lot of sugar, making it suitable for everyone. To relieve summer heat: Boil watermelon rind in water, and drinking the resulting decoction can effectively clear heat and relieve summer heat. Dry the green part of the rind, grind it into a fine powder, and apply it to the ulcer to effectively alleviate it. Boil watermelon rind with two bowls of water down to one bowl and drink it to effectively treat a sore throat.

Cold Watermelon Rind Salad

6. Clearing Heat and Relieving Summer Heat

The most important function of watermelon rind is as a medicinal herb to prevent and treat diseases, truly embodying the value of "waste not, want not." In medical texts, watermelon rind is also called "Xigua Cui," "Xiao Qing," or "Xigua Cui Yi." The medicinal part is the outermost skin of the watermelon. It has a mild taste and is excellent for clearing heat, relieving summer heat, quenching thirst, and promoting urination. It is commonly used to treat summer heat with vexation and thirst, scanty urination, and mouth sores. "Danxi Xinfa" records using watermelon rind ash to "treat severe mouth sores"; "Ben Hui Yan" contains a case study of using watermelon rind ash to fill tooth sockets to treat toothaches.

7. Treating Oral Diseases

A white crystalline substance made from watermelon rind mixed with mirabilite is called "Xigua Shuang" (Watermelon Frost) in pharmacology, which is a primary medicine in dentistry. Its function is to treat conditions like acute laryngitis, throat obstruction, mouth sores, and dental caries. It is usually used externally as a powder blown onto the throat or taken internally by being mixed into herbal decoctions. The "Yu Yao Shi" (Jade Key) from "H Sha Zheng Gai Yao," used to reduce inflammation and swelling and treat white, ulcerative sore throats, and the "Gua Shuang San" (Melon Frost Powder) from "Zhi Hou Jie Yao," used to treat diphtheria, are both long-standing and effective throat remedies with watermelon frost as the main ingredient.

Watermelon Rind Stir-fried with Edamame