How to cut a cantaloupe
Here is how to cut a cantaloupe 3 different ways - thin slices, wedges and bite-sized cubes.
Ingredients
- 1 cantaloupe ripe
Instructions
Peeling and Removing Seeds
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First, I start by cutting off both stem ends. The stem ends are where you can see a little spot from where the cantaloupe was growing on the vine.
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Turn the fruit up on one of the flat sides. Then, take your knife and carefully use a downward cutting motion, almost in a C shaped curve, to remove the skin.
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Keep rotating the fruit around until you have removed most of the skin/ peeling.
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Go back around and use your knife clean up any little remaining fragments from the peeling.
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Leave it sitting on that flat base, just like when you were peeling, and cut straight down the middle.
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Use a spoon to scrape around the seeds and the membranes. This loosens things up. And then use that same spoon to remove the seeds.
How to Cut Thin Slices
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Follow instructions for peeling and removing seeds above.
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First, turn the cantaloupe hollow side down (where the seeds were). You want those flat stem ends to be from left to right, as shown in the photos above.
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Carefully cut thin slices in the same direction you sliced off those stem ends.
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Use your knife as a scoop to transfer the fruit to a serving plate or tray.
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Place the slices centered to where you want them. Then you can use your hands to gently press down to kind of fan them out, and they will spread a little to look like a pretty cascading stack of cantaloupe slices.
How to Cut Wedges
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Follow instructions for peeling and removing seeds above.
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So take your peeled and seeded cantaloupe half and lay it hollow side down on the board. Arrange those flat stem ends facing top to bottom, as shown in the photos above.
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Cut this half into two equal pieces.
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Then cut those two pieces in half. Angle your knife slightly toward the center of the cantaloupe, at about a 45 degree angle.
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Do this on both sides to give you 4 equal chunks.
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Then cut all remaining pieces in half again to give you 8 total wedges. Again, it helps to angle that knife toward the center of that stem end.
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Repeat on the other cantaloupe peeled and seeded cantaloupe half.
How to Cut into Cubes
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Follow instructions above for peeling, seeding and cutting into wedges.
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Take 4 of those wedges and turn them horizontal to yourself, with that hollow side down. Use your hands to kind of squeeze them (gently) to hold them together.
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Carefully make perpendicular cuts (like a checker board). Keep cutting until all of your wedges are in cubes.
Recipe Notes
Store in an airtight container for 4 to 7 days in the refrigerator.
A good, sharp chef's knife works best.
A ripe cantaloupe will give a little when gently pressed.
See all photos above for visual help in how to cut a cantaloupe.