How to be a Cut-Fruit Ninja!

A How-To Guide to cutting and dicing watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, and honeydew!

Front Cover.............................................Page 1

Dedication Page.........................................Page 2

Introduction...............................................Pages 3-5

Setup and Materials Guide.......................Pages 6-9

Watermelon Tutorial.................................Pages 10-16

Pineapple Tutorial .....................................Pages 17-24

Cantaloupe Tutorial...................................Pages 25-32

Honeydew Tutorial....................................Pages 33-37

Conclusion .................................................Pages 38-41

Glossary ...............................................Page 42

References ................................................ Pages 43-46

Table of Contents

Hi there! I'm your friendly neighborhood

kitchen knife! My name is Jeff, and I will serve as your guide today to teach you how to cut fruit (with the assistance of a parent or guardian). Just remember that this is dangerous business you're dealing with here so please be careful!

First, let's start off by gathering all the materials needed in order to make this process as squeaky clean as possible. Let's begin!!

Materials Needed:

• -1 Chef's Knife
• -1 Cutting Board
• -1 Kitchen Matt ( optional)
• -1 Cutting Glove
• -1 Bottle of Cleaner of your choice
• -1 Stainless Steal Fruit-Scooper
• -1 of each fruit: watermelon, pineapple, honeydew and cantaloupe

-1 Handheld Squeegee (optional)

-7-8 Bowls

-Paper Towels

-1Compost box/trash can 

 (to discard the skin, cores, seeds, and any other parts of the fruit that we do not need).

Cleaning Solution

Chef Knife

Handheld Squeegee

Paper Towels

Bowls

Fruit- Scooper

Cutting Board ( with Kitchen Matt underneath)

Oh no STOP! Looks like we missed a very important step. Before doing anything at all in the kitchen, the very first thing we need to do is wash our hands.

Gee Whiz that feels better! Okay I think we're all set to begin for real this time, so let's start off by learning how to cut the most consumed melon in the United States..... yep you guessed it, watermelon!

At this time, go ahead and thoroughly wash all of the fruit that we will be cuttting today, in order to get rid of any germs or bacteria that may still be lingering on its skin. Safety first after all!

Guide to Cutting and Dicing Watermelon

First, with the help of an adult, gently lay the watermelon down on its side on top of the cutting board. Next, swiftly cut off a quarter inch from each end in a downward motion as evenly as possible on both sides; but it's okay if  your cuts are not SUPER even on your first few attempts. After that, stand the watermelon upright on the cutting board as you then proceed to use the Chef Knife to cut alongside the inner curve of the melon in order to remove the green skin and thin layer of white rind.

* Please be sure to remove the sticker before cutting into the melon.

Now that we've reached this stage the hard part is over. Ooh Wee that was tough work wasn't it!? But have no fear -the rest of this process will now focus on the slicing and dicing of this now very naked melon. Hopefully it's not feeling too shy today! Haha!

*Tip: Did you know that you can tell whether or not a watermelon is good or bad based on the sound it makes when you tap it?- If it sounds dull, appears shiny, and does not feel firm to the touch, then it's usually bad or underripe. But if it sounds hollow and your knuckles seem to bounce off the surface of the melon when you knock it then you're good to go! In addition, the flesh inside of bad watermelons will look dark red or brown and appear to be very soggy and slimy. So be wary of those melons and of any melons with soft spots. YUCK!

*Remember to wash and sanitize your station each and every time before you start working with any other fruit!

Awesome work! Go ahead and give yourself a big pat on the back. Let's move on to pineapple.

Guide to cutting and dicing Pineapple

Next up on the chopping block is pineapple! There are many different ways to cut pineapple but today we will only we highlighting one method to this procedure, and once you master this skill-feel free to learn alternative ways to cutting and dicing your fruit of choice!

Fun fact: Did you know that you can grow your own pineapple plant by cutting off the top of a pineapple and planting it in soil?

Just as you did with the watermelon, please be sure to follow along with the visuals provided in this book in order to truly grasp each method to cutting up the rest of these fabulous fruits alright?

Lets begin, to start off, lay the pineapple horizontially across your cutting board ( just as you did before with the watermelon) and cut off the top and bottom of this fruit. Then, stand the pinappepple up vertically ( Note: it should be able to stand flat against the board) and proceed to cut in a downard motion along each side of the pineapple in order to remove its tough skin. Be sure to also remove the brown spores that are embedded all around this fruit and contine cutting downward until none of the green skin -or spores- are still left on the fruit.

Note: All of the skin

and spores were

properly removed.

For this next part, begin by cutting the pineapple into quarters ( as seen below) and then carefully slide the blade of the Chef's knife underneath the inner side of each quarter piece of pineapple in order to remove the core. After that, discard the core, dice the pineapple into bite- sized pieces, and enjoy!

Pineapple Quaters  

Pineapple Core

Fun Fact:

Cantaloupe derives its name from the town of Cantalupo,Italy, where the cantaloupe seeds arrived. They were then planted in the Papal Gardens in the 16th century, and it was the one and only Christopher Columbus who brought cantaloupe to America on one of his very first voyages to the New World!

Magnificent! I think that you're well on your way to becomming a real pro. Just stick with me and you'll be there in no time. Next on the chopping block is the most popular melon in the U.S- cantaulope!

Guide to cutting and dicing Cantaloupe

Hold on friend, for these last two fruits, you will need to add a fruit-scooper to your arsenal in order to take out those all those pesky seeds that we will surely encounter later on.    

P.S. , I hope that you're remembering  to clean your station in-between these tutorials!

Fruit- Scooper

Now just as you did with the pineapple and watermelon, the first thing you to want to do( after washing the fruit ofcourse) is to cut off each side of the fruit so that you can stand it upright and flat against the cutting board. Next, slide the blade alongside the curve of the cantaloupe until none of the green skin is visible to the eye, leaving only its vibrant orange flesh left on top of your trusty cutting board.

Don't forget to remove the  sticker before cutting!

If you still see some skin on parts of the fruit after standing it upright, don't ever be afraid to go back in and cut off those pieces you may have missed.