Simple Melon Carving

Simple Melon Carving
This Instructable will show you how to do a simple melon carving technique that can be used to carve any type of melon. in this demo i will show you how to carve a cantaloupe.

Melon Carvings like these can be done in 5 or 10 minutes and look awesome on a buffet or to impress friends when you have a dinner party.
 
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Step 1Materials

Materials
Heres what you need left to right:

Melon - in this case i used a cantaloupe

Fruit and vegetable carving knife- i show 2 styles here the thin bladed wooden handled knife is actually just a paring knife but it is one that has a thin blade this works pretty well for carving and is easy to find, i found this one at Sur la Table for around $6.

The yellow handled knife has a super thin blade and is the most ideal knife for fruit and vegetable carving. this type of knife is called a thai carving knife. they are sort of hard to find, the company that made this one is called Kom Kom . You can purchase one of these knives from www.chefgarnish.com

U/V cutter- basically it has two ends one is a channel in the shape of a V the other a U. you can find one of these at the same web site as the knife or high end kitchen supply stores may also sell them. And actually i have made my own as well.

Deba knife or chefs knife- you just need a large knife so that you can take slices off of the melon to create a base for the melon to stand up.
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39 comments
Dec 1, 2010. 4:26 PMZafthan says:
Sweet instructable! You are so talented.
Aug 12, 2010. 9:05 AMelisadasilva says:
Wow I SO love this. I'm trying to learn how to carve melons and will try this first!
Jun 10, 2010. 10:15 AMjtmjr says:
This is Great thanks for posting Im gonna try this one tomorrow for a fruit basket
Sep 5, 2009. 10:42 AMopcp says:
I had to change it a bit to match the tools I had at hand but here is my first melon carving. Thanks heaps for the tutorial.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7371845@N02/3890387494/

Dec 22, 2008. 8:09 PMporcupinemamma says:
That is beautiful!! Thanks for sharing. Now, about the radish rose... First you make the cuts, and then you plunge in water. Look on the internet, there must be a diagram. It is way simpler to make than the melon-lol
Dec 17, 2008. 9:30 AMunbentcrayfish says:
oh my god that is very cool, you have too much time on your hands... nice.
Nov 21, 2008. 12:03 PMSFHandyman says:
That is really stunning. I have to try this. Thanks for posting.
Sep 26, 2008. 11:52 PMSolderguy says:
Will this work on other kind of fruit? Will this work on apples, watermelons, kiwi, bananas or anything like that?
Oct 25, 2008. 2:09 PMwatermelonhead says:
watermelons and apples, i'm guessing, will work.
Oct 22, 2008. 2:10 AMMr E Man says:
Awesome job, Can you make a radish rose? I'd like to see that done like this was.. :) I knew a Thai chef that could I only remember the trick is to put the radish in some ice water before you start.. Don't ask me the rest..
Oct 13, 2008. 10:10 PMwolfy_9005 says:
i like this :) I saw a papaya carved in bali....it looke really complex. But i guess after 20-30 years of experiece it's really easy
Oct 9, 2008. 5:06 PMColdSpooky says:
Thats awesome.
Sep 27, 2008. 8:48 PMclamoring says:
Beautiful work!
Sep 26, 2008. 1:29 PMmilo0is0hot0 says:
sooooo cooool i have to try this...
Sep 26, 2008. 11:44 AMrotteneggsaresmelly says:
feckin' sweet!
Sep 26, 2008. 7:22 AMsajrs says:
it's nice to see some of the cold larder techniques on 'ibles... it's a long time since i did fruit & veg carving... kinda makes me think of picking up a melon just for the sake of getting back those skills, thanks for the reminder
Sep 26, 2008. 12:13 AMcluelesstyagi says:
awesome!
Sep 25, 2008. 5:56 PMzwild1 says:
Great ible! Nice clean and focused pics, great descriptions! I think I might try this one at some point.... Keep up the good work!
Sep 25, 2008. 5:55 PMsmashbob says:
very simple with a great turnout. artistic. good i'ble. +1
Sep 25, 2008. 5:46 PMernestoaug says:
artista
Sep 25, 2008. 5:43 PMpechka says:
Wow! (But THAT'LL be the day, when a ripe melon survives around me longer than it takes me to get rid of the seeds and then gorge myself so rapidly that I risk choking to death----ripe honeydew melons ARE worth the risk, though!)
Sep 25, 2008. 4:22 PMthesamhill says:
Hey, that's awesome! When I make a pineapple, I cut the top off and set it on the plate. Then I stack the cut up bits all around it, with whatever else. Gotta love decorative fruit. But what's with the "melons make you sick" thing? I've been eating melons forever and I've never gotten sick from them.
Sep 25, 2008. 2:41 AMthematthatter says:
you gotta be careful with melons because they are a potentially hazardous food. Unlike most fruits, melons dont have a lot of acidity to inhibit bacteria growth. So you got to make sure to scrub them down good. And keep them chilled. You dont want to give your guests 3 days of the two bucket blues :(
Sep 25, 2008. 11:42 AMjongscx says:
well, you're not REALLY supposed to eat the decorative fruit anyway... just b/c you're not sure who's been handling it, and if they assumed you were gonna eat it or now (or if they washed their hands after using the bathroom...) it is pretty tho
Sep 25, 2008. 10:04 AMPlasmana says:
Wow! That is so cool! And easy too!
Sep 24, 2008. 8:22 PMacm321 says:
Too bad I'm allergic to melons...
Sep 24, 2008. 5:52 PMpass-the-beans says:
where do you get the u cutting knife. and about how long will it take to do a mellon that size?
Sep 24, 2008. 2:33 PMwhackpak says:
very good Instructable with detailed photo's
Sep 24, 2008. 2:31 PMFreshPineSent says:
Sep 24, 2008. 1:40 PMwupme says:
In the small thumb on the homepage, i thought it was a durian. That looks awesome, i just can't come up with the time :(
Sep 24, 2008. 1:35 PMLuminousObject says:
So very awesome. Will do this.
Sep 24, 2008. 1:15 PMJellyWoo says:
that is so cool!!!!!!!!!! would look great at parties. you're very talented!

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