The Best and Least Messy Way to Cut Large Fruit

At some point in your life, you will be faced with the challenge of slicing up a giant melon. Strawberries and kiwis are good practice, but your paring knife skills will leave you ill-equipped for cutting watermelon, honeydew or pineapple. When it comes to effectively slicing large fruit for the first time and every time, take these tips into account to do it in the safest and least messy way.

Set up your station

A melon may start as small as a fire hydrant, but that’s nothing compared to how much space you need for the butchering process. Before you get started, set up your smart station. This includes a large cutting board with a mat or non-slip material underneath, a free work surface, a large bowl for chopped fruit pieces, and a bin or compost bin on the floor next to you. Bonus points if your cutting board has a groove to collect juice that runs out. You will also need a sharp knife that matches the size of your project. Instead of a paring knife, now is a good time to use an 8-inch or 10-inch chef’s knife, which scares you a little.

Set up your slicing station with the right equipment:

• Viking Acacia Wooden Cutting Board with Juice Groove
• Chef knife Wüsthof Classic
• Sealed Food Storage Containers (Set of 5)

The first cut should be small.

This may not sound like news to you, but many fruits are round. They don’t like to sit still, they like to ride. Pair this movement with a sharp knife and cutting the melon is more like a circus trick. The first cut stops the ball from rolling. Make a small stabilizing cut to create a flat surface where there was none before. It will take two seconds, and it won’t take away your dignity. What it will do is protect your fingers and body parts from harm.

Hold the fruit firmly with your non-dominant hand and cut off a small disk of skin about three to four inches in diameter – simple, shallow, straight. Let your fruit lie on this flat spot on the cutting board. If you cut a pineapple, you will end up trimming both the spiny leaf end and the stem end, so either can be your bottom.

Remove seeds

Now that the fruit is on the flat bottom, you can make larger cuts. If you are cutting a fruit with a central seed pocket, such as honeydew melon, cantaloupe, or other cantaloupe, you need to peel it further.

Support the melon with your non-dominant hand, pressing it to one side, and place the blade of the knife on top along the center line. First press on the tip of the knife and then press on the heel to make an incision.

If the fruit is too big, don’t try to cut it in half with one slice. Cut one side and remove the knife. Rotate the fruit (or the whole board if you like) 180 degrees and complete the cut on the other side.

Now you have two halves. Spoon the seeds into a bin or compost bin near you.

Cut with peel

Sometimes the preservation of the rind suits the occasion. If you’re leaving the skin for a slice of melon to handle, flip one half of the melon over so that the flat side of the cut is on the cutting board (always choose a stable surface). Cut into even slices, about an inch and a half apart. If the fruit is much larger than your knife, you can always repeat the process of slicing the side closest to you, then turn the fruit or the entire board and finish the cut at the opposite end. Give the world delicious crescent moon slices, cut them into slices or cut them in a different direction like a grid and make a presentation on a stick .

peel off

To make bite-sized pieces to keep in the fridge for a quick snack, cut the peel off the hemispheres before cutting it into pieces. Place one half of a melon on a cutting board, seeded and cut side down.

Always cutting away from the body, cut strips of the peel, starting at the top and curving down the sides. Rotate the fruit or cutting board so you can keep cutting strips without twisting your body at odd angles.

When the peel is gone and all you have is a clean ball of melon, cut the melon into slices and those slices into bite-sized pieces.

How to cut a pineapple

When cutting a pineapple, place it on one of the two flat ends. Slicing from top to bottom, start peeling off the skin in strips. You should remove any green or brown skin, but it’s okay if some “eyes” remain – they’re completely edible, but you can remove them with a paring knife if you absolutely don’t like them. To slice a pineapple, turn the fruit on its side, slice and use a round cookie cutter to cut the core out of the slices. For slices, leave the pineapple standing at the end and slice straight down, slightly off-center to avoid the core. Then cut these plates into small pieces and perhaps put the core in a water bottle .

Keep your work area clear of strips of peel scattered around (that’s what the nearby trash is for), and take your time. If your fruit releases a lot of liquid, take a break, drain the board into a cup and take a good juice break.