How to Cut a Watermelon and Remove Its Rind

The round shape is what makes a watermelon difficult to cut. When you bring a knife down on a watermelon that is wobbling on the board, the melon can slip and the knife can slide toward your hand. So the first step is to secure the watermelon. Place a damp cloth under the cutting board so it will not slide on the counter; use a long, sharp knife. Washing the rind before cutting is covered in a separate tip; here, we focus only on the cutting itself. Use the middle of the blade, not its tip; a cut made with the tip can slip on the watermelon rind.

Lay the watermelon on its side and cut off a slice from each of its two ends until the red flesh is visible. Then stand it upright on one of its cut ends. It will no longer roll; it stands on a flat base and can be held with one hand instead of two. This single step changes the safety of the whole task. If the watermelon is very large, first cut it in half through the middle and set each half separately on its cut side; this makes it easier to handle. Before discarding the two cut ends, scoop out the red flesh with a spoon and add it to the serving plate.

Peel the rind in strips from top to bottom, following the curve of the watermelon. Insert the knife just below the white layer between the green rind and red flesh, and guide it downward along the curve. The white part is tasteless and tough to bite, so no white streaks should remain between the strips; remove any remaining streaks at the end with a thin cut. The peeled watermelon will look like a red cylinder on the board and be ready to cut into the desired shape. While peeling, hold the top of the watermelon with one hand and guide the knife downward, away from your hand, with each strip.

Choose the shape to suit the table. For slices and wedges that will be eaten by hand, leave the rind on: cut the watermelon in half, then into half-moon slices, and cut the slices into wedges; hold the rind like a natural handle. For cubes meant to be eaten with a fork, peel the watermelon, then cut it into thick slices, then sticks, and finally cubes. The seeds are arranged in rows inside the watermelon; if you cut along these rows, the seeds collect on the cut surface and are easy to remove with the tip of a knife. If the cubes are cut too small, they release juice quickly, so keep them bite-sized.

Serve the cut watermelon cold, arranged in a single layer on a wide, shallow plate; piled-up slices release juice, leaving the ones underneath sitting in it. Place rind-on slices flat on the plate, not upright, so they are easy to pick up. Remove the seeds ahead of time from pieces intended for a child’s plate. How long cut watermelon can sit out at the table is a food-safety topic covered in a separate tip; put any extra cut watermelon in a covered container without delay. Serve the watermelon on a clean plate, not on the cutting board where it was cut.