How to cut...Apples

I'm fairly certain that everyone is familiar with Apples, and they're a huge part of the menu at ChildRoots. Thanks to Christina's friends at Kiyokawa Family Orchard we have had a wide variety. These are the Granny Smiths and I'll be using them to demonstrate the cuts at CR. During this discovered that my camera does not like taking pictures of peeled Apples. 

Start by rinsing and drying. 

 

Lets start with the cuts for the real little friends. For them the apple and peeled and stood stem side down. (sorry blurry)

 

Using a sharp knife cut around the core. More about core and peels at the end of the post.

  

Stand a piece on a side and slice it thin. (sorry blurry)

  

Roll the piece to another side and slice into long sticks.

  

Pinch the sticks together and chop into a tiny dice.

  

The next step is small batons the friends can pick up and bite. Start by slicing a piece of the apple.

  

Turn the apple and slice down into the small batons.

  

Once the friends get the hang of biting they move onto peeled and extremely thin.

  

Now once the peel gets introduced, again stand the apple stem end down.

  

Cut around the core.

  

Depending on the age of the kids in the room the thickness of the slices varies.

  

Upstairs in the Pre-School they're ready for hand held. Yet again, stand the apple stem down.

  

Cut apple in half, rotate and cut again. How many cuts you can do depends on the size of the fruit.

  

 As for the cores and peels, they can be saved in a bag in a freezer. I've put apple cores into stocks, they add sweetness and a floral accent.  They can be stuffed into chicken or turkey with herbs, garlic and onions.Or they can simply be composted. 

How to cut...melons

This time around I'll describe how I cut the melons for the kids. Melons are an excellent source of potassium, vitamin A, and folic acids.

To tell if a melon is ripe, it should have a good bright color and give just slightly when you push on it. Smell the melon, you should be able to notice a sweet smell on a ripe one. Also, I usually give them a good shake and listen or feel for jiggling seeds. not always the easiest method, but the most reliable.

As always start with a large cutting board and a good sharp knife.

Start by thoroughly washing the outside of the melon with hot water. Then place on the cutting board and cut off both ends, usually taking off about 1/2 an inch. then stand it up on one end and slice down the middle.
Then take a large spoon and carve around the seeds first, then scoop them out.
If you plan on taking the rind off the melon lay it flat side down on the cutting board and cut it down the middle, parallel to the ends.
Stand up the melon quarter on the widest side. Take your knife and follow the rind line with the back of the knife, don't worry too much about the front. Repeat that process several times to get off the rind, you may need to go back and do some clean up shaving.
You can then cut it any way you want, but for the smaller kids I slice it thin.
Then I turn it and cut that in half.
This gives me small manageable piece that are easy to chop.
For the older kids I leave the rind on and slice it down the length.
Then take a few slice and lay it flat on the board.
Cut the slice to whatever size seems appropriate.
The Pre-Schoolers get the largest slices.

How to cut...a pineapple.

There are several questions i get from parents all the time, one of them is about how I cut the fruit. So I have decided to start documenting the process here. (Be warned: while I may know how to cut fruit, I am not a professional photographer so bear with me on the illustrations.)


Let's start with a PINEAPPLE.

To find out if a pineapple is ripe, tug on one of the leaves in the crown. If it comes off easily then you know it is ripe.

Always start with a good sharp knife and a large cutting board.

Grab all the leaves at the top of the pineapple, or the crown, and twist it off. Rinse the pineapple and lay it flat on a cutting board.
Cut off both ends of the pineapple. Usually only taking about 3/4 inch off each end. Then stand the pineapple up right on the cutting board.

Now you can quarter it by cutting the upright pineapple in half - one way and then the other.
Now comes the part that may take a little practice.
Lay one quarter with one of the cut sides down. Hold the pineapple steady by placing the palm of you non-cutting hand on the skin. Then holding the knife at a 45 degree angle, cut along the length of the pineapple quarter. Thus removing the hard fibrous core. *Don't throw the core away, we'll return to that later.
Now flip the de-cored quarter over so that the skin side is down.
Now slice it. When I am preparing pineapple for snack, here at the center, I would addjust the width of the slices depending on the age of the children I am serving.

*As for the cores, I usually put them in the breakroom for teachers to snack on. You can eat up and down the sides like an ear of corn. But if your really hardcore, you can eat the whole thing.
If you have a juicer, these pieces juice beautifully. You can also freeze them and throw them into soups, beans, or bbq sauce for some added sweetness!