How to cube a mango and fillet a watermelon: please don't just read this column. Try the techniques, and enjoy a fruit salad extraordinaire

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Jan, 2007 by Marjorie Roswell

How to Cube a Mango

http://phrogz.net/MangoCubes/

Before discovering this mango-cutting technique, my efforts used to yield only slippery hands and odd fruit shapes. Now I get perfect mango cubes every time, as well as squeals of admiration from those who happen to be near (followed by "mmmms" of appreciation as people eat the mango cubes). Amaze your friends--and yourself--as you delight in the delicious mango's flavor and beauty. I searched for "mango" and "porcupine" to find this site. (Apparently I wasn't the only one to think of a porcupine after being taught this method.)

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How to Fillet a Watermelon

http://www.rawtimes.com/food/watermain.html

http://www.hormel.com/templates/template.asp?catitemid=113&id=838

Here are two methods of deseeding a watermelon. (I favor the first method.) You'll probably never buy the nearly-tasteless, seedless watermelon again.

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Web Search: "Ceramic Knife"

I love my ceramic knives. I never would've thought I'd be the sort of person to have a favorite kitchen knife, but I do. These knives can look like toys, but they are quite sharp. Sharp knives actually prevent injury, as they're less likely to slip off the food and onto your hand. Instead, the knife glides right through the object you're trying to cut. These are expensive knives, but you might find (as I did) a great price at eBay.

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How to Cut an Avocado

http://media.smh.com.au/?rid=15471

http://www.wikihow.com/Cut-an-Avocado-Without-Touching-the-Flesh

As with mangos, I used to make a mess of avocados before learning this simple technique. You can use avocados for guacamole, of course, but also as a substitute for mayonnaise and a thickener for raw soups.

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The Difference between Coconut Types

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Coconut

http://www.deliciousorganics.com/images/coconut.jpg

A young coconut has more water and softer meat than a mature coconut. Generally, you'll find young coconuts in an Asian or Thai market, and mature coconuts in an Indian market. If you want to see the difference, you can go to http://images.google.com and search for both "coconut" and "young coconut." If you want to taste the difference, find your local ethnic markets!

How to Open a Young Coconut

http://www.rawguru.com/html/openyoungcoconut.html

Use caution when opening a coconut. You'll need a big knife, and there's risk, but there's nothing more delicious than a young coconut. This site offers photographs and a video at the bottom of the page. The video takes a minute to load, but it's worth the wait. Here are four ideas on how to use the coconut, once it's open.

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1. Drink the coconut water. Yum!!

2. Peel the young coconut meat off with a tool such as a thin spatula or flexible knife.

3. Blend the meat with the water to make fragrant coconut milk.

4. Blend the water with celery juice for a delicious soup. Add nori seaweed and "noodles" made from the sliced coconut meat.

Ever Wonder How to Cut a Coconut?

http://www.rawlifeline.com/resources/

Here are two more videos along with a happy-ever-after story, "From Cocaine to Coconuts."

How to Open a Coconut

http://www.howtoopenacoconut.com/

http://www.wikihow.com/Cut-Open-a-Coconut

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/crackcocl.html

I don't use any of the methods on the page to open a mature coconut: I simply asked the fellow at the Indian market what to do, and he said, "Just throw it down on a hard surface, like a sidewalk." I asked, "Don't you lose the water that way?" He responded, "A little bit, but you can catch most of it with a bowl." I've been opening mature coconuts in my basement ever since. Sometimes, depending on the coconut, it just bounces back up like a SuperBall. Sometimes I throw it down one too many times and, indeed, lose all the water. Most of the time, though, the throw-it-down method works like a charm.

How to Eat Uncommon Fruit

http://rawfamily.com/

http://www.bettercart.com/store/go?s=llite

The Raw Family used to offer a lovely home-grown book called How to Eat Uncommon Fruit. I don't see it offered on their website any longer, but it is still sold at the Living Light online store. The book is subtitled: Step by Step Food Preparation in Pictures. It covers cherimoya, coconuts, durian, jackfruit kumquats, longan, mango, persimmon, pomegranate, prickly pear, and star fruit.

A Three-Ingredient Snack

Blend three-parts flax seeds in a coffee mill, and add one-part cinnamon. Use it as a dip for apple wedges. It almost takes longer to say "Apple Wedges with Flax and Cinnamon" than it does to make this. Perhaps that's an exaggeration, but it's worth the few minutes it takes to find your old coffee mill, or a "Magic Bullet" blender to make this yummy cinnamon-flax blend. I brought this to a party (with organic apples of course), and people couldn't stop raving about it.

Chef Harvey's World of Garnishing

http://www.chefharvey.com/

http://www.chefharvey.com/Melon.htm

http://www.chefharvey.com/video/garnish 3.wmv