Slice and Dice: Summer Melon

Melons are the underdogs of summer. Bulky and thick-skinned, their beauty lies within (making them easy to ignore). However, on a hot day when there’s sweat suspended on your brow, melons provide more relief than a pretty peach or a palmful of berries. Nearly 90 percent water, a wedge of watermelon or spoonful of cantaloupe often offers more nuance and refreshment than a fancy poolside drink. So, if you didn't get a beach vacation this summer, don’t fret. Pull out a lawn chair and slice up a melon.   

How to Select a Summer Melon

Although there are many varieties of melon grown in the U.S., cantaloupe and watermelon are often the easiest to find. The fruit that is sold as cantaloupe is often really muskmelon. Unlike true cantaloupe, muskmelon has deeply netted skin that resembles a curvy Celtic pattern. Look for a muskmelon that feels solid, but is not rock hard. Beware: If the skin has a greenish tone, it’s not fully ripe. Always give the fruit a whiff. If it’s ready to eat, you’ll breathe in a sweet perfume.

Ripe watermelon should feel heavy for its size. In addition, look for a patch of light yellow skin on the side that was resting on the ground.

  

How to Peel a Summer Melon

Muskmelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and other sweet summer melons can be peeled.

Melons grow on the ground, so be sure to wash them thoroughly.

Place the melon on a cutting board on its side. Hold it in place with one hand. In the other hand, hold a chef’s knife perpendicular to the cutting board and slice off the stem end and the end opposite to it.

When the knife hits the cutting board, discard the strip of skin. Rotate the fruit, and continue peeling the skin until all of it is removed.

How to Slice a Summer Melon

Cut the skinned melon in half lengthwise. 

Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. 

Hold one half of the melon on the cutting board with the seeded side facing up. With a chef’s knife, slice it in half lengthwise. 

Continue to slice each melon quarter lengthwise until each piece is an inch or so thick. 

How to Cube a Summer Melon

Place a slice of the melon on a cutting board. Hold the end of the slice securely with one hand, and cut across the length of the melon with a chef's knife to form cubes.

How to Cut a Small Watermelon into Wedges

Note: Watermelon has much thicker skin (often referred to as a rind) than other summer melons. Be sure to use a sharp knife when cutting it. You can also stabilize it by placing a damp kitchen towel between it and the cutting board before making the first cut.

Select a small watermelon and place it on a cutting board with the stem side down. With a chef's knife, cut it in half lengthwise. With the cut side facing up, cut each half of the melon in half lengthwise. Take each quartered piece and slice it in half lengthwise again.

How to Cut a Large Watermelon into Wedges

Place a large watermelon on a cutting board with the stem side down and cut it in half lengthwise. With the cut sides facing down, cut each half in half lengthwise again to make quarters. Place one quarter of the melon on the cutting board, with the rind facing you and one of the cut sides facing down. Cut it widthwise into 1-inch thick triangular slices. Repeat with remaining quarters.

To cube the watermelon, simply place a slice on the cutting board with one side of the flesh touching the board. With a paring knife, cut the rind away from the flesh. 

With a chef’s knife, cut across the fruit.

Rotate the fruit 90 degree and cut across it again to form cubes. 

How to Make Melon Balls

Press the melon baller into the fruit, avoiding the rind. Rotate it 360 degrees to form a circle, and then drop the melon ball into a bowl. Repeat until no more balls can be taken from the melon, leaving space between each scoop to ensure melon balls are completely round and cutting the melon down to a smaller size from time to time to reveal untouched flesh.

Slice and Dice: Chili Peppers

My mom is a sorcerer in the kitchen. She uses spices like potions, never measuring anything out. A pinch of  turmeric goes here. A palm full of  coriander goes there. Then she tosses in a little bit of cardamom. Thanks to her culinary prowess, we sit down to an enchanting array of dishes - Beef Cutlets, Chicken Biryani, Mung Bean Pudding - that seem to have magically appeared. 

When I started recreating my mom's recipes, I was surprised to find that there was one ingredient I could never leave out: chili peppers. They add spunk to curries, stir-fries, and casseroles, but more importantly they bring out the flavor of other ingredients, like a good team player. Any time I excluded them, a dish would fall flat. If you're sensitive to heat, use the tips below to dial it back. Affordable and available year-round, I suggest you keep a steady supply in the kitchen. 

How to Select

Chili peppers continue to ripen after they are harvested and many become hotter as they mature. Their color also deepens or changes. Jalapeños, for example, go from green to red as they age. If you’re looking for maximum heat, select darker chili peppers from the bunch. Taut, shiny skin is a sign of freshness. Avoid soft, wrinkled chili peppers that look like they could use a boost of Botox.

How to Remove the Seeds and Inner Tissue

Chili peppers get their kick from capsaicin, a chemical concentrated in the spongy inner tissue and seeds. Since capsaicin has an irritating affect, avoid touching any part of your face (especially your eyes) when prepping chili peppers. If you have sensitive skin, be sure to wear gloves. During clean-up, carefully wash your hands and kitchen equipment with soapy water to cleanse away any capsaicin that may  linger behind.

Chili peppers can be prepped with the capsaicin-laden tissues and seeds intact. If you want to dial down the heat, use these simple steps to remove them:

Thoroughly wash and dry the chili pepper. Lay it on its side on a cutting board and use a chef’s knife to slice off the stem end. 

Slice the chili pepper in half lengthwise.

Place one half of the chili pepper on the cutting board with the cut side facing up. Slide the tip of the knife under the tissue and carefully cut it away from the inner wall of the chili pepper without cutting through the flesh.

Use your fingers or the tip of the knife to scrape out the seeds.

How to Chop

Lay one half of the trimmed, deseeded chili pepper on a cutting board skin side down. Cut it in thick slices lengthwise.

Rotate the slices 90 degrees and cut across them widthwise.

How to Julienne

Lay one half of the trimmed, deseeded chili pepper on a cutting board skin side down. Cut it in thin slices lengthwise.

How to Mince

Lay one half of the trimmed, deseeded chili pepper on a cutting board skin side down. Cut it in thin slices lengthwise In culinary school, this is called a julienne. 

Rotate the slices 90 degrees and cut across the slices widthwise.

Slice and Dice: Jackfruit

The last time I landed at Cochin International Airport, there was a taxi cab driver bandh or strike. My cousin Kunjumon miraculously managed to retrieve me with the help of a private driver. 

Soon after we arrived at his house, I stepped under a canopy of coconut trees towering in the backyard. The toasty air and lush green landscape provided the perfect counterpoint to the steely winter weather I'd left behind. 

Before I could take a breath, Kujumon ran out and accosted me.

"What are you doing out here? You could get hit by a coconut."

I thought he was teasing me as my Dad's side is full of pranksters. 

"Really you could get killed." Rats, he was serious. 

As it turns out, death by hard-shelled fruit is no joke in Kerala (a.k.a the land of coconuts). I learned that the only thing worse is getting pummeled by jackfruit, which can weigh over 100 pounds. 

Like turmeric and cardamom, jackfruit is a Kerala original. From the outside, it looks like a portly, prehistoric reptile. Picture an elephantine watermelon covered in a tapestry of poky, grasshopper green nubs. Carve open a ripe one, however, and they will come. It's gentle flavor falls somewhere between a banana and a perfectly ripened cantaloupe. It's texture has bite. No fruity mush here.  

In the U.S., fresh jackfruit used to be a rare find. Recognizing that dilemma, my cousin Sunil once lugged a sizable one from Miami to Cleveland to surprise his parents. He held it close at check in to manage the weight. A fellow passenger assumed it was a child and asked, "Can I see your baby?" No joke. 

Thanks to its growing popularity, fresh jackfruit has become increasingly available, cutting down on such awkward moments. In Chicago, precut wedges are often available along Devon Avenue. More surprisingly, it now pops up at mainstream grocery stores, including Jewel. 

Prepping ripe jackfruit is a multi-stepped labor of love. If you want to bring a fresh bowlful to the table, read on.

How to Select Jackfruit

Since the good stuff is inside, it's easiest to start with a precut wedge of jackfruit (just as you might with watermelon) and work your way to the tasty pods. If you go this route, look for a wedge that is pineapple yellow versus butter yellow for the fullest flavor. Warning: ripe jackfruit has a funky aroma, which may emanate through the wrapping. Don't let it scare you.

If you're beginning with a whole fruit, look for a yellow-green shell. Green-shelled jackfruit may be prettier, but the fruit will not be ripe. 

How to Cut Jackfruit

Jackfruit contains ribs covered in a very stick resin. To begin, coat your hands, your chef's knife, and your cutting board with a thin layer of neutral oil to keep it from globing on. Soap and water will not do the trick. Trust me, you do not want to skip this step. 

Cut the fruit width wise to create a disk and make it easier to handle.

Slice the disk in half.

 

Slice away the fibrous core and cut into wedges.

Pull out the fleshy pods.

Pull open the pods like a clam shell and remove the seeds, which are also edible. (More on that later.)

Slice and Dice: Butternut Squash

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it’s a fine time to start scouting out delectable side dishes. In our house, it’s sacrilegious to exclude mashed potatoes and stuffing from the menu. There’s less fervor associated with the other sides, and I like to use winter squash, in one of its many forms, to ensure that no one leaves hungry. After the holiday rush, I continue to use butternut squash and its thick-skinned brethren to add substance and, often a touch of sweetness, to salads, soup, and casseroles. Chances are prepping the versatile veggie is easier than you think.

How to Select and Store Butternut and Other Winter Squash

Winter squash varies widely in color, shape, and size. Nonetheless, always select squash that feels rock hard and seems heavy for its size. If possible, opt for squash that has its stem intact as it helps to preserve the vegetable's moisture. To maximize  shelf life, store butternut and other winter squash in a dark, dry, and cool spot such as a pantry.

How to Prep Butternut Squash

Thoroughly wash and dry the squash. Place it on its side on a cutting board. With a chef’s knife, cut half an inch off of either end of the squash.

Stand the squash with the wider cut end on the cutting board. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin.



Slice the squash in half lengthwise.

Remove the seeds with a spoon. 



To roughly chop, place one half of the squash on a cutting board with the cut side down. Slice it in half width wise.

Place a quarter of the squash on a cutting board with the cut side down. Slice across the squash every inch or so lengthwise.

Carefully rotate the cut pieces 90 degrees and slice across the squash lengthwise every inch or so.

Repeat with the rest of the squash.

Slice and Dice: Eggplant

By early October, I start to crave comfort foods from around the world. Eggplants come in an endless variety - from Biancas to Santanas to Pingtung Long - and offer a ticket across the globe. I bake them until succulent in parmesan, roast them until smoky for baba ghanoush, and saute them for the perfect meat substitute in Asian dishes. 

How to Select and Store Eggplant

Although eggplant is available year-round, its peak season is during the late summer and early fall. When selecting the right one, be sure to check that the skin is smooth and taut. If it’s ripe, gently (and affectionately) squeezing the flesh will leave a shallow, temporary indentation.

How to Peel, Slice, and Salt Eggplant

In the U.S., the voluptuous pear-shaped globe eggplant is the easiest to find. Its purple-black skin becomes chewy when cooked, so it’s often removed. Its springy, porous flesh sucks in oil, so to keep it from becoming greasy when cooked, eggplant is often salted, rinsed, and dried before cooking.

Place the eggplant on its side on a cutting board. Slice of the stem and the rounded end.

Using a vegetable peeler or pairing knife, remove the skin in long strips, moving lengthwise from the stem to bottom end. Or leave it on and skip to the next step.

Slice across the eggplant crosswise.





Place slices in a colander and sprinkle generously with salt -- enough to ensure each slice has been dusted. This keeps it from becoming spongy when cooked. Let the eggplant sit with the salt for about 15 minutes. (You will see water beads appear on the eggplant's surface.)

Rinse the salt from the eggplant and thoroughly dry it before cooking.

How to Cube Eggplant

Place the eggplant on its side on a cutting board, slice off the ends, and remove the skin with a vegetable peeler, as above.
Rest the bottom end of the eggplant on the cutting board. Cut down through the eggplant lengthwise, every half inch, to create planks.

Stack two planks on the cutting board and slice across them lengthwise, creating half-inch wide sticks.



Cut across the sticks, every half inch, to create half-inch cubes.

Slice and Dice: Beets

"The lesson of the beet, then, is this: hold on to your divine blush, your innate rosy magic..." Tom Robbins

 

 From the outside, beets fail to leave a lasting impression. In fact, they range from dull to downright curmudgeonly. Who wants that, when you can opt for cheery tomatoes or regally robbed eggplants? Well, as many cooks know, it’s foolish to judge a root vegetable by its cover. Despite their drab exterior, beets possess a beguilingly sweet, earthy flavor. They bring a jewel-like beauty to the table (think garnets and coral) and plenty of substance, including folate and fiber. 

How to Select and Store Beets

Select firm beets with wrinkle-free skin. If you find them with their greens intact, look for vibrant, succulent leaves, and consider yourself lucky: the antioxidant-rich greens are edible so you're getting two-for-one. Use them as a fiber-rich filler in soups, omelets, and stir-fries. 

Beets can be stored in the refrigerator loose and unwashed for up to a week. Cut off the greens first, leaving an inch of the stem intact to keep their stain-inducing juice from leaking into your fridge. Store the greens in a breathable bag in the fridge for up to two days.

How to Steam Beets

If the beet greens are attached, cut them with an inch of the stem still intact.

Thoroughly wash the beets. 

Fill a large pot with a few inches of water. Place the beets in a steamer insert in the pot and cover.

Simmer the beets until they are easily pierced with a knife, about 40 minutes to an hour for medium-sized beets. The skin may appear to pull away slightly. If needed, add more water during the cooking process.

Remove from the pot from the stove and allow the beets to cool.

Beet juice will stain your fingers. Put on a pair of plastic gloves to keep your hand from getting dyed.

Gently rub off the skin with your fingers.

How to Slice Beets

Slice off the stems and root end of cooked beets.

Place the beet on the cutting board root-side down. Slice across it every half inch or at larger intervals for thicker slices.

Wash your cutting board immediately as beet juice stains.

How to Dice Beets

Slice off the stem and root ends of cooked beets. Place the beet on the cutting board root-side down. Slice across the beet at every half inch.

Stack two beet slices on the cutting board. Cut across them widthwise at every half inch. Rotate the batons 90 degrees and slice across them lengthwise every half inch.