Since hundreds of years ago, artistic chefs from Thailand, China, and Japan have carved fruits and vegetables into amazing shapes. Most of these designs only require a sharp knife and a fruit or vegetable of your choice. With enough practice, you can turn these simple ingredients into everything from an attractive dish garnish to the main body of a statue.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Carving a Bowl out of Melon
Step 1. Choose a Melon
You can use my melon which has a firm, firm skin and no bruises or mushy spots. Watermelons are often chosen for carving because of their size, but any large, hard melon can work.
Step 2. Cut a small part from the bottom of the melon
Use the sharpest knife you have, for the best control when carving. Start by using a knife to cut a small section at one end of the melon, so the melon will stay in the same position. You can make the melon stand vertically upwards, or you can place an oval melon on its long side to make a longer bowl.
Stainless steel or bronze knives are the best for this job, as they won't change the color of the fruit
Step 3. Draw a pattern on the melon
Use a good permanent marker to draw a pattern on the surface of the melon, such as the silhouette of the head and wings of a swan. You can draw it directly by hand, but many people prefer to use stencil paper and trace it. You can find stencils like this in booklets from craft stores or on the internet.
- Although specific designs for carving melons are quite difficult to find on the internet, there are many websites dedicated to carving pumpkin designs, which seem to be easily adapted for melons.
- Position your pattern so it doesn't cover the top surface of the melon, which would normally be cut to create a bowl shape.
Step 4. Cut along the pattern
Insert a knife into any part of the melon skin that has been marked with a permanent marker, and carefully cut along the entire pattern. You can cut the melon following the pattern lines, or perform a back and forth motion like sawing, depending on the hardness of the melon skin and the sharpness of the knife. Make sure to cut through the skin of the melon, all the way to the flesh underneath.
Step 5. Remove the remaining melon skin
After all the patterns have been cut, the part of the melon skin that is no longer attached to the melon can be removed. If necessary, make additional round or oval cuts around the top of the melon, opening it into a bowl shape. Carefully pull these pieces off the melon, wiggling or slicing it back if necessary to remove it from the flesh.
Step 6. Empty the contents of the melon
Use a fruit scraper to remove all the flesh from the melon. Scrape the inner surface of the melon so that only the tough skin remains, or a small layer of flesh remains if you want a variety of colors.
Step 7. Fill the melon bowl
Fruit salad seems to be the most common thing to fill in a melon bowl. Serve this dessert immediately, or store it in the fridge first. In addition to fruit salad, this melon bowl can also be used as a snack container, dessert such as trifle, or any other filling. Melon bowls are rarely used to contain non-food items, because the melon skin will eventually rot.
- You can drain the juices from the fruit salad before serving by punching holes in the bottom of the bowl and placing them in the pot.
- If the contents of the bowl fall through large holes in the bottom surface of the melon, try lining the bowl with parchment paper or another material.
Step 8. Carve a cover for your bowl (optional)
If you can separate the top part of the melon intact, you can carve a pattern on that part as well. This piece can be placed on top of the melon bowl as a pretty bowl lid. This step is entirely up to you, and is usually done on engravings with abstract designs. If your engraved pattern is more realistic, such as the popular swan silhouette, a bowl lid can detract from the beauty of the design or make the existing design difficult to identify.
Method 2 of 3: Carving Flowers from Cucumbers
Step 1. Cut a portion of the cucumber
Cut a medium or large cucumber one-third of the way from the tip, or for small cucumbers cut in half. The exact size doesn't really matter, but the part you're carving should have the tip of the cucumber and the surface cut off.
Save the rest of the cut cucumber, because making a flower for the first time usually takes more than one try
Step 2. Make cucumber skin slices by slicing just under the skin
Take a sharp stainless steel paring knife and aim it at the cut end of the cucumber. Slice about 1/8 of the circumference of the cucumber, just below the surface of the green skin. Gently move the knife under the skin until it is about 1.25 cm from the tip of the cucumber. Lift the knife, leaving the skin slices still attached to the tip of the cucumber.
If the skin slices break, you can still use the same cucumber slices for practice
Step 3. Make more skin slices around the cucumber slices
Repeat this step until all the green parts of the cucumber skin have turned into slices, or "outer petals" of the flower.
Step 4. Carefully turn the white flesh of the cucumber into slices
Again, use a paring knife to make thin slices starting from the cut end of the cucumber. This time you will be making the "inner petals" of the flower from the hard, white part of the cucumber.
This step may be more difficult than the previous peeling step, as you'll need to make the slices thin enough to bend, but also thick enough so they don't break. Do it slowly, and take a break if your eyes or hands feel tired
Step 5. Remove the seeds
Carefully scrape the seeds and pulp out of the center of the cucumber with your knife. You can also remove the white meat that isn't sliced into slices if you have any.
Step 6. Cut the ends of the cucumber petals into triangular corners
Use a knife or scissors to cut each petal into a triangular corner. Try to cut each petal into the same length for a more symmetrical and interesting effect.
Step 7. Give the center a multicolored flower
Cut small pieces from the carrot and insert it between the base of the cucumber between the slices to mimic the shape of the pollen center on a flower. Other colorful and edible options include small berries, a roll of tomato peel, or even real flowers. Small edible flowers that can look attractive here include dandelions, clovers or English daisies.
Method 3 of 3: Carving Complex Designs
Step 1. Prepare some sharp stainless steel knives
Bronze knives are fine, but other metal knives usually cause discoloration of the fruit. A sharp peeling knife or a fruit carving knife from Thailand is the ideal knife. The blade of a knife intended for carving fruit is usually only 5-10 cm long, but ideally has a long handle and is comfortable to grip.
If you wish, select additional tools for specific uses. The most commonly chosen is usually a zester or a garnish with a V-shaped line used to peel slices from fruit
Step 2. Choose a melon to practice
The melon provides ample room for training, and the tough lemon rind is perfectly shaped. If you're feeling ambitious, you can carve almost any type of fruit. Firm fruits such as apples or pineapples are usually easier to carve than soft ones, such as kiwis or grapefruits.
For this method you are considered using melon, but most of this method can be adapted to other fruits
Step 3. Learn how to grip a knife
Place the thumb of your dominant hand on the handle of the knife, right next to the blade. Place your index finger on the blunt side of the back of the knife. Lower your middle finger to the side of the knife, opposite your thumb. Bend your ring and pinky fingers around the knife handle, gripping comfortably.
Step 4. Carve out a simple, shallow pattern
Try cutting or scratching a simple pattern, such as a heart or circle, halfway through the skin of the melon. Try to cut this pattern deeper, without revealing the flesh underneath.
Step 5. Cut the melon peel following this pattern
Mark the surface of the scratch with a grid or checkerboard pattern, without removing the melon skin or flesh. Through the lines in the checkerboard pattern, you can see the color of the flesh below which looks interesting.
Step 6. Practice carving smaller shapes
Carve around these lines or elsewhere on the melon, to practice making smaller or more intricate designs. Designs with short, straight lines, such as diamond-shaped patterns, will be easier to make than designs with curved lines.
Removing the melon skin around the sheer design without breaking the skin may take a considerable amount of practice
Step 7. Try to make sure the skin of the melon is completely cut off on all sides before removing it
If you're having trouble starting to peel off the skin, pierce the center with a knife and pull gently.
Step 8. Try making oblique cuts
For a different look, tilt your knife slightly when cutting, instead of pointing the blade straight down. This step results in the appearance of a slanted cut, and will create the impression of a overlapping design. For example, a V-shaped pattern made with this technique can create a flower petal-like appearance.
Tips
- Choose a fruit that has a firm skin, no bruises, no lumps or odd grooves.
- Sharpen your knives regularly to keep them sharp and safe.
