Removing the Seeds
Cut off the top and bottom of the melon. While cutting off the top and bottom is optional, it makes it easier to prop up your melon and make your cuts. To remove the top and bottom, position your knife just past the pits on either end and slice into the melon with a sharp, serrated knife, using consistent pressure. Serrated knives work well when cutting melon because the edge of the knife can easily saw into a tough rind. If you don’t have a serrated knife, use a large chopping knife instead.
Slice your melon in half vertically with a sharp knife. After you remove the top and bottom of the melon, sit your melon on 1 end, and position your serrated knife across the other end. Press down with moderate, consistent force to cut your melon in half. As you do this, hold the outside of the melon carefully with your hand so it doesn’t move or slip. Be very careful as you make your cut so you don’t hurt yourself or drop the melon. If you’re cutting a large melon, like a watermelon, it may be easier to make a horizontal cut. Just position the knife in the middle of the melon, and gradually make horizontal cuts as you turn the melon until you reach the other side. This makes it much easier to slice the melon in half, rather than trying to cut directly through the entire thing.
Use a spoon to remove any seeds and pulp from the center. Many types of melon, such as honeydew and cantaloupe, have a center filled with seeds and stringy, pulpy flesh. In this case, position the tip of the spoon at the beginning of the fleshy section and scoop the insides out. Continue scooping until you get to the end, and throw away the seeds and pulp. As you do this, hold the melon over of a trash can so you can easily get rid of the seeds and pulp. If your melon doesn’t have its seeds in the center, such as a watermelon, then this is not required. You can remove the seeds as you eat the sliced melon instead.
Slicing the Melon into Wedges or Chunks
Cut the halves in half again so you have 4 sections. Reposition one section of the melon horizontally on your cutting board, and make a vertical slice in the middle of the melon. Once you chop the first half, do this for the second half as well. This way, you can easily slice your melon into uniform wedges.
Chop each quarter in half. Move one of the quarters onto the center of your cutting board, and position your knife so it is parallel with the long side of the melon. Then, make a vertical cut through the melon, slicing through both the fruit and the rind. By doing this, you get about 8 wedges for each half, depending on the particular fruit you are slicing and the size of your cuts.
Make another cut if you’re serving lots of people or prefer smaller bites. If you’d like to make your wedges smaller, cut the melon in half horizontally across each slice. Alternatively, slice your melon in half vertically if you prefer more compact wedges instead of long sections. While this is optional, it’s a good idea if you want to provide melon for a large picnic or want to make small chunks of melon for a fruit spread.
Keep the rind on the melon to eat the fruit with your hands. When eating melon wedges, hold the rind at the bottom and take bites starting at the top. Stop eating the melon and throw away the rind when the color of the flesh starts to fade. Removing the rind when serving melon can make eating the fruit with your hands very messy and sticky.
Cut the melon wedges into chunks if you'd prefer no rind. To make melon chunks, start by making a vertical cut every 1 inch (2.5 cm) across each melon wedge without cutting into the rind. Then, slice through the melon wedges horizontally along the inside of the rinds to separate the rinds from the fruit. Finally, discard the rinds and finish cutting the scored fruit into bite-size chunks.
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