Today we’re taking you through How to Cut Melons into Cubes. Someone asked us this question recently and we thought it was the perfect time to answer it because 1. it’s summertime and that means melon-time and 2. cutting a sphere into cubes can feel a lot like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole.
You can scour the internet for a million “food hacks” on the best way to cut melons—we’re not going to show another one of those. Ours is a straightforward approach of How to Cut Melons into Cubes (no tricks, no gimmicks). Just how you would like…do it. Like a person. In your kitchen.
We’re showing you the best way to cut melons on both a watermelon and a cantaloupe so you can see it done on a melon with evenly distributed seeds versus one with seeds concentrated in one place. Let’s get to it!
watermelon (evenly distributed seeds)
step one
Start by cutting off the ends, just like you did when you learned How to Slice and Dice an Onion . Not only does this give you a flat edge to prevent your melon from rolling around, it’ll also give you a peek inside the watermelon so you can gauge how thick the rind is before you cut it off.
step two
From there, take your SHARP AND SAFE (!) knife and run the tip along the edge of the watermelon, following the semi-circle shape and doing your best to remove only the rind without cutting into the flesh. Do this all around the watermelon until your rind is completely off. If you see any green or white rind left when you’re finished, just give it a quick slice so you’re only left with what you’d want to eat.
step three
Now that you’ve got this baby bare, you’re ready to cut your melon into cubes. Because melons can be pretty large, feel free to start by cutting it in half to make it a little more manageable. We’re dealing with a relatively small watermelon today, so we’re just going to take off one of the sides so we can put it down flat.
Once your watermelon is rested on that flat edge, start cutting straight lines at whatever width of cubes you’re looking for. Then flip it and slice some more planks perpendicular to your first cuts. You’ll see Ryan stacked this watermelon three planks high as he cut, but feel free to do as many at a time as feels comfortable and manageable— sometimes less is more. Rotate that one more time to finish out the cubes, cutting just like we describe when dicing in 11 Knife Cuts Everyone Should Know .
That’s it!
cantaloupe (concentrated seeds)
step one
The process for How to Cut Melons into Cubes is pretty much the same for cantaloupe or any other melon with seeds concentrated in one place. First, cut off the ends to give yourself a flat surface and place the melon on its side.
step two
Run the front part of your knife along the rind, following the round shape of the cantaloupe to remove all of the skin. Once all the rind is gone, cut your melon in half and use a spoon to remove the seeds.
step three
Turn your melon half down onto its flat surface so it doesn’t rock. Begin cutting in whatever width of cubes you’re looking to make, following the rainbow shape of the melon as you go just like we do in How to Slice and Dice an Onion. Following this arch helps keep all your pieces evenly sized rather than having dinky little end pieces when you cut straight down. Rotate that 90 degrees and cut across again to create your cubes!
hot tip
One more hot tip for the road! Place a towel underneath your cutting board when cutting melons. One of the reasons cutting melons into cubes can feel hard is because the juice goes EVERYWHERE. Having a towel under your cutting board will absorb all those extras juices and help stabilize your cutting board.
Now you know the best way to cut melons! Check out How to Slice and Dice an Onion and 11 Knife Cuts Everyone Should Know for even more cutting techniques.
