RISMEDIA, July 20, 2007—One of the most popular summer fruits is the watermelon. This cooling, sweet king of fruits is also very healthy. You can buy one in a supermarket cut, sliced, and in chunks. However, they are fresher when you buy them whole and cut them yourself. Tackling this summer treat may seem intimidating at first, depending on the size of the watermelon, so here are a few helpful tips and suggestions in mastering the art of watermelon cutting:
Wash the rind of a watermelon with regular soap or with a vegetable wash. Everything which the knife touches on the outside of the melon will end up in contact with the watermelon flesh as it slices through.
Use a sharp knife to carefully slice off the top. A serrated knife works best for items that have a softer interior and tougher exterior like melons, tomatoes, and breads.
Stand the melon on end, and carefully slice down through the center. Note that if you cut along the dark stripes on the outside of the watermelon, then the watermelon seeds will end up on the outside of the pieces of watermelon, making them easier to remove.
Cut each half into sections.
Hold the section in one hand while you slowly remove the melon from its rind.
Slice down from the top to the rind in even slices. Continue in this way until each section has the fruit removed.
Place each section into a bowl.
Try arranging them on top of a fruit platter for a delicious, refreshing, and healthy treat.
Other healthy watermelon tips include:
Watermelon can also be enjoyed with salt, cottage cheese, feta cheese, and/or salad greens for a delicious cool summer lunch. If you want to try something unusual, try adding a couple drops of hot sauce.
Some people like a bit of citrus such as lime juice sprinkled over the pieces for an especially refreshing snack.
Sprinkling a dash of salt and pepper also enhances the fruit’s taste.
Different gourmet sea salts taste differently on melon flesh.
Watermelons are seedless as well as seeded. Choose carefully when shopping to make sure you buy the type you want.
It’s great to cut it so the rind remains intact. The rind makes a great handle for kids!
Most cutting injuries occur when pushing the knife away from the body, and losing control of the knife at the end of the motion. Any use of knives should be with great caution, but it is not unsafe to cut in this manner.
Blend watermelon in a blender or food processor (without the rind or seeds) for a wonderful summer beverage!
Try a watermelon milkshake! It sounds weird, but it’s amazingly good. You will want to use pureed watermelon with vanilla ice cream in a ratio of about 1/3 watermelon to 2/3 ice cream. (You can vary it depending on how strong a flavor you want, of course.) Put the watermelon into the blender or food processor first and blend it just enough to make it into mush. Put that into a separate container, then blend the vanilla ice cream by itself until you get the consistency you want. Then add the watermelon to the ice cream and blend the whole thing together. Pour it into a tall glass (if you have that much patience–if you’re like me, you’ll start eating it straight out of the blender with a spoon…) and serve.
Always remember to keep safety in mind when using sharp knives.
For more information, visit http://www.wikihow.com/Cut-a-Watermelon.
