Instructions for Carving a Watermelon Baby Buggy

Turn a watermelon into a creative and functional centerpiece.

Carving fruits and vegetables is fun and easy, and helps liven up a buffet table. Watermelons are a perfect medium to work with. Skilled food artists carve pictures on the outside of watermelons or sculpt them into intricate pink flowers. You can create your own fruit art by making a watermelon baby buggy. All you need is a knife and a few simple materials -- no art degree is required. The buggy doubles as a beautiful centerpiece and serving bowl, and is sure to be the hit at any baby shower.

Things You'll Need

• Paring knife
• Butcher knife
• Melon baller
• Toothpicks

Instructions

1. Slice a thin layer off the bottom of the watermelon with the butcher knife to make a flat surface (so the melon doesn't roll).

2. Starting at one end, make a shallow cut with the paring knife across the top of the watermelon (perpendicular to the table top) about a quarter of the way in from the end and a third of the way down. This will become the hood of the buggy. Make a horizontal mark along the length of the watermelon about a third of the way down and extending from the one quarter mark to the far end.

3. Cut through the watermelon with the butcher knife along the horizontal and vertical marks until the cuts meet. Remove the severed top and retain for the wheels and handle. The watermelon is now shaped like a baby buggy with an attached hood.

4. Remove the fruit from inside the hood, bed and top with a melon baller or spoon until all of the pink is removed. Refrigerate and use for a fruit salad, which you can serve in the completed buggy.

5. Cut along the edge of the severed top to create a long, curved strip about 1-inch thick for the buggy handle. Pin the ends to the sides of the buggy under the hood with toothpicks and tilt the handle at a 45 degree angle.

6. Cut two circles out of the severed top, then cut in half to make four semi-circles. Carve spokes into the wheels with the paring knife by cutting away the green rind to expose the white. Place the four wheels against the buggy with the spokes out and the cut ends parallel to the table; hold in place with toothpicks.

Tips & Warnings

• Garnish the fruit salad with edible flower blossoms, such as violets, nasturtiums and marigolds, and pin some to the edges of the buggy with toothpicks. Cut V-shaped notches along the entire edge of the buggy to create a pinked, or zigzag effect.

• It takes some strength to cut through a watermelon. Ask someone else to make the two main cuts if you aren't steady with a knife or need some extra muscle power. Refrigerate the buggy and fruit after cutting, and keep separate until just before serving.

References

• Chiff.com: Fruit and Vegetable Carving
• What's Cooking America: Edible Flowers