Have you ever wanted to “wow” party guests with a surprising kitchen trick? As the summer months approach, many hosts and hostesses contemplate outdoor gatherings. Possibly some picnic-goers will return amazed by an amusing visual deception devised by a NASA engineer, Mark Rober. He developed an ingenious food display that requires only a chef’s knife and two watermelons of equivalent sizes and shapes. You can create a mini-dessert masterpiece and amuse your guests at the same time.
The steps involved require little efforts. First, go to the store or local farmer’s market or your own back yard and obtain two large watermelons. They must appear almost identical in size, weight and shape or the trick won’t work.
Second, hone your carving knife to a fine edge. Then take some time to remove the outer skin of one watermelon completely, using short, thin cuts. Carefully carve away the rind to expose only the soft, fleshy pink interior. Don’t cut into it, simply peel it until the interior resembles a smaller version of the oval watermelon shape.
Third, take the other watermelon and chop through the center with a single cut to produce two identical half-watermelons. Then spend some time hollowing out the rind. The pink interior remains edible, and will make a nice chopped fruit salad or dessert addition, once you remove the seeds.
Fourth, place the nicely carved watermelon inside the two hollowed-out portions of rind. Throw away the peeled skin cuttings and portions of peeled rind from the first watermelon and transport the entire project to your picnic securely concealed in a basket or other container.
When you pick up your chef’s knife again at the picnic, and withdraw what appears to be a solid watermelon from the container, you can then appear to cut a circle around the interior before dramatically pulling apart the two ends to unveil an entire solid pink watermelon core, to the delight and bemusement of your party guests. Especially if they’ve never cut into a watermelon before, you’ll likely create some childish amusement with this cute picnic party stunt!