I don't know about pureeing it, but I do think that frozen watermelon is included in the frozen melon ball mixes sold at most grocery stores, so I'm sure it would work this way. You probably should put just a little sugar and maybe some fruit fresh with it to prevent browning. I've never frozen watermelon, but I still have some of last years cantaloupe in the freezer, it's good frozen just as a fruit.

Even if melon WERE acidic enough to can, heating almost totally destroys the flavor. I tried making watermelon jelly once -- as soon as the juice is heated, the flavor changes. The end product tastes like zucchini or grass, more or less -- yuck. The only successful watermelon preserved product I made was a raw freezer jam -- that was pretty good, actually. Actually, I think frozen watermelon and regular melons are pretty good. I believe that the frozen fruit mixes and frozen fruit balls sold in grocery stores contain canteloup, honeydew, and sometimes watermelon (can't vouch for this, don't buy these products as I grow my own, but I've seen them in stores and at parties a few times). Dried melon is also very good. Yield is low, of course, especially with watermelon, but it is tasty.

Kate, I lurk over here once in awhile, and happened to see your post. I do smoothies in several ways. Recently I've bought some little push-up containers for freezing and I'm making popsicles that are 'the bomb' - excuse the pun. I'll start with two recipes for popsicles that were given to me 30 years ago, and they easily converted to sugar-free, fat-free. The first is for fudgesicles. Mix a 3 oz box of instant sugar free chocolate pudding mix according to package directions, using nonfat milk. Then blend in a ?13 oz? can of nonfat evaporated milk (not the sweetened kind, just plain evap milk. If you're not watching your fat grams, regular evap milk makes a creamier fudgesicle, but these aint half bad.) Pour into molds and freeze. (If you're not on a diet, a cup or two of brewed flavored coffee and a can of that sweetened evap milk, frozen, is also yummy. But I digress......) The second is for dripless popsicles. It calls for a 3 oz box of any flavor Jell-o, mixed according to package directions. Do not chill. Instead, add a can of evap milk to make a "Dreamsicle", or 2 cups of mixed fruit, (mashed or pureed). Pour into molds and freeze. Now, for what I call a "milkshake", soften 2 tsp. of unflavored gelatin in about 1/2 cup water. Then place this in the microwave until the gelatin has melted and the mixture is kinda like eggwhite. This takes only 30 seconds or so. Into your blender, place whatever kind of fruit strikes your fancy. I like peach, banana or strawberry the best, or a mixture. Maybe about a cup. Add about half cup of water. If you want it like a smoothie you would not add dry milk, but I add 1/3 cup dry milk because I like it better that way. Start the blender, and while it is whirring, pour in the hot gelatin. Then start dropping ice into the blender until the mixture thickens and becomes smooth. Pour into a glass and eat it with a spoon. If your fruit is not sweet enough on its own, add some artificial sweetener or sugar. Smoothies can be made with all kinds of different fruits, and lot of times I just throw frozen fruit into the blender in lots of different combinations: plum and banana with some frozen apple juice concentrate. Canned pineapple and frozen strawberry with some frozen orange juice concentrate. Something tart with something sweet, you know? You can leave out the gelatin if you don't want to go to the trouble, but I like the smooth creaminess it gives to the finished product. You can make a very nice 'cheesecake' by using the gelatin, fat-free cream cheese, some dry milk powder and lemonade concentrate. Of course there's sugar in the lemonade concentrate. You can also make a 'chocolate shake' by using the gelatin mixture recipe, replacing the fruit with 1 cup water and another 1/3 cup of nonfat dry milk powder, and adding maybe a tablespoon of cocoa. I like to go to Allrecipes.com and I notice they're featuring a lot of smoothie recipes there. So if none of these appeal to you, try there. They have a search function you can use, just search on 'smoothie'. I'm not connected to them in any way, I just like the site. Oh, and BTW, lots of things can be frozen and eaten without thawing (besides cookies, but I'm digressing again...). Grapes are delicious frozen, as are blueberries, peaches and apple slices (dip the apple slices in salt water, drain and freeze, 1 tbsp to a gallon -- do the math for smaller quantities, you don't taste it and it keeps the apple from turning). Bananas can be frozen in the skin, but not for a very long tine. To eat, run water over the skin to thaw it a bit, score it down the length of the banana and pry up along one edge. It will peel right off, usually in one piece. The skin will have blackened but the banana inside is still yellow and creamy. My kids used to call frozen banana 'ice cream'. LOL You must eat it while it's frozen though because when it thaws it's not a pretty sight. Watermelon and cantaloupe make wonderful popsicles. The trick is to puree them first. Cantaloupe is wonderful blended into apricot jello for popsicles. I think they have watermelon flavor jello now but I haven't tried it. There are all kinds of possibilities for smoothies, and any smoothie can be made into a popsicle. If you're interested, I bought my popsicle push-up molds at organize.com (not affiliated with them either). They're called cool cones. I like them very much. They don't leak out the bottoms so when I freeze them I set them upright in the freezer and let the 'stems' hang down between the wires of the shelf until they're solid. I hope this helps! --Ilene

This is one of the old-time "icebox desserts" from the 1930's. BANANA MARLOW 18 large marshmallows 1/2 cup boiling water 3/4 cup mashed bananas 2 tsp. lemon juice 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup whipping cream, whipped (wait to whip) Combine marshmallows and boiling water in top of a double boiler. Cook over boiling water, stirring frequently, until marshmallows melt. Stir in banana and lemon juice. Cook an additional 2 minutes or until mixture is smooth and creamy. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Chill until slightly thickened. Fold whipped cream into chilled mixture. Spoon into 8" square pan. Freeze until firm. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Slice into bars or squares. Can be drizzled with chocolate sauce. 8 servings.