Rinse the outside of the cantaloupe and cut in half lengthwise.
Remove the innards and discard. Set aside one of the cantaloupe halves by tightly sealing it and placing in the fridge. With the remaining half of the cantaloupe, slice it into 4 sections (like the shape of quarter moons).
½ medium cantaloupe
With each section, make a deep end-to-end cut down the middle but not going past the rind.
Cut cross sectionally about every ½-inch.
Slice the orange cantaloupe near the rind to separate it. Put the pieces in a mixing bowl. Discard the rind and repeat with the other sections.
Making the Cantaloupe Salad
Diced the celery and add it, along with the mayo and black pepper to the cantaloupe pieces in the mixing bowl. Combine to distribute evently and coat the pieces. Serve individually in small bowls, optionally on top of part of a lettuce leaf.
2 stalks celery, 3 tbsp mayonnaise, ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
This recipe for cantaloupe salad is fast and quick. It uses mayo, celery, and black pepper to work together to bring out flavors that will be noticeably appreciated. If serving to children, you might want to consider leaving out the black pepper as that’s mostly preferred by a more mature set of taste buds. But, you never know, some kids might like it with it left in it. Best to let them do a sampling.
How to Cut a Cantaloupe
While the recipe is very easy, there are many initial steps regarding the cutting of the cantaloupe. If you want more details and pics regarding those steps, here are the full details:
You can add several additional ingredients to this recipe for cantaloupe salad easily. Here’s a list of combinations of items you can consider adding to supplement its flavors:
Diced cucumber
Diced cucumber and bacon bits/pieces
Seedless grapes
Seedless grapes and walnuts
Shredded carrots
Diced carrots
Crumbled Feta cheese
Cottage cheese, on the side
What Goes With Cantaloupe Salad
Here are some main courses and side dishes that go well with this recipe for cantaloupe salad.
Here’s a good article on all about the cantaloupe from Medical News Today. It references a lot of the good nutrients, vitamins, and anti-oxidants it provides. It’s also good towards prevention of dehydration during the hot summer months.
While there are a few ways of how to cut a cantaloupe properly, we inherently focus on ways to emphasize the least amount of steps and to encourage safety with the knife.
Your end result will be either to have one cantaloupe section per person and the other cutting method ends up with a bowl of bite-sized pieces to dish out servings (or for use in a fruit salad). These steps will show you both ways so you’ll know how to cut a cantaloupe easy.
The good thing is you start with making the individual sections for the first way and then you continue from there to make the bite-sized pieces for the second way. Let’s begin.
Final Step for Cubes: Slice the cantaloupe bottom away from the rind
The Best Way to Cut a Cantaloupe for Individual Sections
This is how to cut a cantaloupe into slices or sections. Normally, you’ll want about 4 to 8 sections per cantaloupe half. That’s 8 to 16 sliced sections per cantaloupe. Here are your steps to achieve that.
Step 1. Rinse off the outer surface of the cantaloupe before cutting. Then, place the cantaloupe on a cutting surface. Using a large knife, cut the cantaloupe completely in half, lengthwise, i.e., cutting along the longest middle length. Then, rinse off the cutting knife.
Step 2. Under running water, using a spoon (or your fingers), scoop out the insides (seeds and innards), minimizing the removal of the actual cantaloupe.
Step 3. Cut each half in half. Repeat until you have the sizes of serving sections you want to serve. Usually, it is about 4 to 8 sections per cantaloupe half. This gives you about 8 to 16 sections per an entire cantaloupe.
The Best Way to Cut a Cantaloupe for Bite-Sized Pieces or Cubes
The best way on how to cut a cantaloupe into chunks or bite-sized pieces is to follow the previous steps to result in the larger sections of about 4 sections per cantaloupe half, or a total of 8 sections per cantaloupe. Then, proceed with these continued steps to cut them down into the desired pieces.
Step 1. With each cantaloupe section, cut a deep slit (end to end) down the middle. Ensure you cut down deep and stop only when you reach the rind, from one end to the other.
Step 2. Perform cross-sectional cuts across each cantaloupe section. You’ll begin to see how these cuts will determine the size of each chunk. It’s here that you can alter it to make them very large cubes or smaller bite-sized pieces. For the smaller pieces, you can strive for about 1/3 to 1/2-inch cuts.
Step 3. Finally, you’ll slice along the bottom edge of each cantaloupe section. You can hold the cantaloupe section’s rind bottom during this process but use caution not to cut yourself. For safety, I hold one end and slice only to its middle; then, I turn the cantaloupe section 180 degrees to hold the other end and slice that other half to stop in the middle. After each section is done, discard the rind and place the cantaloupe pieces into a bowl to keep the cutting surface cleared for the next section to be sliced. You now have a bowl of cantaloupe pieces for servings or usage in a salad recipe.
Recipe for Cantaloupe Salad
Here’s a popular recipe for cantaloupe salad. It uses cantaloupe chunks as described on how to cut above. It’s extremely fast and easy to make and uses common kitchen ingredients. It also has lists of additional ingredients that can be added to make a more hearty cantaloupe salad.
How long does a cantaloupe last in the fridge after it’s cut open?
This is how to cut and store cantaloupe. With proper refrigeration, it can last 3 to 5 days, according to various sources. If cut up into the smaller pieces, it’s best to plan to discard it after 3 days. If you’re trying to preserve an entire half of a cantaloupe, i.e., not cut into sections nor pieces, it can last up to 5 days if tightly sealed. However, for any orange cantaloupe cuts of sizes, it’s best to discard it if a white appearance or whitish foam starts to form.
What are some common ways of how to cut and serve cantaloupe?
It’s served often as sectional slices or bite-sized pieces by themselves. Sometimes, the sectional slices are also served with the rind cut away. It can also be served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream served over it. More on the recipe side, it’s often served as a member of a fruit salad or as a cantaloupe salad where it’s the star ingredient. For presentation, it’s sometimes served as cubed bite-sized chunks on top of a lettuce leaf, and possibly a small scoop of cottage cheese alongside it.
Where does the name “Cantaloupe” come from?
The orange cantaloupe is named after a small town close to Rome in Italy. That town is named “Cantalupa”. And it’s known for its sweet, orange melons.
What’s the difference between the honeydew melon and the cantaloupe?
The University of Arkansas explains it best here. Regarding flavor and texture, it references the honeydew melon as being green, sweeter, and with a firmer flesh texture when eaten.
Tell me more about the Cantaloupe.
Wikipedia does an excellent job of that here. It covers everything from its origins and variations, as well as its nutritional values.
