Chopping Honey Dew Melon

It's not really time for Honeydew Melon, but when I saw halves on sale for a good price at my favorite place to buy produce, Wilson Farms in Lexington, MA, I couldn't help but buy one. One of my pleasures during the summer months is making melon fruit salads. I usually keep it simple: honey dew melon chopped into chunks with one other fruit. The pale green of the melon contrasted beautifully with the bright red of soft raspberries or the dark blue of blueberries. Since the store also had some nectarines for sale, I thought I'd make a melon and nectarine salad.

One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is chop produce. I simply adore chopping. My all-star is the onion, which I can chop into a lovely dice within seconds (no tears involved). The most complicated may be the pineapple as it's a multi-step process, but the results are juicy and delicious and worth the effort. Melons are a bit tricky and I find that people take the easy way out and just halve the melons, slice them and then run their knife down the peel until they get lunar crescent shaped pieces which they then chop. I like to prep my melons a different way.

If your melon is not already halved, go ahead and cut it down the middle and prepare each half as directed below. Halving melons are tricky as those round buggers like to roll. You can always make a little slice into the peel at the waist of the melon to give the whole globe a flat resting point which stabilizes it on the cutting board.

1. Lay your half-melon cut side down on your cutting board. This keeps the melon stable. Cut into the peel on an angle with your knife.

2. Carefully work your knife around the shape of the melon, cutting off the peel. Don't cut too into the flesh as you'll lose some valuable fruit.

3. Once the melon is lovely and naked, halve it down the center with your knife.

4. Then create even slices down the length of both sections like so...

5. Then chop fruit into even chunks going the other way.

6. Now you have juicy chunks of Honeydew melon goodness.

7. Top it off with some Nectarine slices and it's the perfect salad for a hot sunny day.