Preparing fresh melons can make a mess, with juicy running everywhere and take ages to peel. Here is a simple tip that will cut the preparation time in half!
First, choose a firm, fairly hard melon that looks and smells fresh. Avoid melons that contain bruises and/or moldy patches.
How to tell if a Cantaloupe is Ripe:
It if still has a partial stem attached, chances are the melon has not ripened properly. Smell the end (near the stem), if it has little or no smell avoid that fruit and simply pick out a better one.
How to tell if a Honeydew Melon is Ripe: at the “stem” end or Blossom end of the melon, gently press your thump into the slight indentation. You want a melon that has a gently give, but not one where your thumb goes through (overripe/rotten!) or where the fruit offers no give at all, as this means the fruit is not ripe.
Now, just prior to cutting the melon, be sure that it is washed thoroughly to avoid passing potential contaminants that may be on the skin into the flesh of the melon itself. We recommend the cutting board method to avoid sopping countertops! Cut the melon in half and then cut each half again, making quarters. Gently scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard (or dry them out and plant them!). Using a fillet knife, carefully fillet the fresh melon from the rind. This is the easiest way to quickly peel the fruit with minimal effort.
Once the rind has been removed, dice the fruit, toss it into a bowl, cover it and place it in the fridge. As you can see from the smaller container pictured above, we’ve found over the years that these 1 cup ziploc containers create perfect 100 calorie snack packs or 100 calorie portion control meals.
i used to work in restaurants cutting melons frequently! trust me, it was a buffet style restaurant so taking less time cutting is a must! the easiest, quickest, and safest way to cut them is to cut off each end and stand it up on one of the cut ends and start cutting the skin down the sides.
after that cut in half, scoop out the insides and place flat side down on cutting board and do the slicing and dicing!! it takes no time at all and you don’t have to worry about knife accidents 🙂
I’m not sure how this stops the juicy mess. I use this all the time and it doesn’t matter how you slice them if they are juicy they make a mess on the counter, as it runs off the cutting board. The idea above looks excellent and I will try it.
Try cutting them on a cookie sheet, that way the juicy mess in on it instead of the counter.
You can put a towel under the cutting board to catch juices and helps prevent the board from slipping.