Diggers for fruit, and for melons in particular, first appeared in the 19th century in France; their purpose was to allow the rich guests to keep their hands clean and the diners to show off a refined composition of the dishes. Respecting this great tradition, feel free to give this article to the butler, who will pass it on to the chef of your kitchens.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Dig a Melon
Step 1. Wash the melon, knife and digger
Scrub the whole fruit with a clean brush under cold running water; if you ignore this step, the bacteria on the peel can easily contaminate the pulp while slicing the cantaloupe. Wash the knife and dig it in very hot soapy water.
- Do not wash the melon until you are ready to cut it, as the humidity favors the formation of mold.
- Do not use soaps and detergents because they can penetrate the pulp; products for washing fruit and vegetables are harmless, but useless.
Step 2. Cut the melon in half and remove the seeds
By opening it in two hemispherical halves, you are able to retain the juice of the fruit; That said, it's not much of a problem if you've decided to divide it into four parts or sliced. If the central core is filled with a fibrous pulp rich in seeds, remove it with a large spoon and throw it in the trash.
Step 3. Get the scavenger into the pulp
Place it flat on the fruit or tilt it slightly; press it down until the entire hemispherical portion is inside the pulp. If part of the digger is above the level of the melon, you will get irregular bites instead of perfect balls.
Step 4. Rotate the excavator 180 °
Turn it until the convex part is facing you; in this way, you should be able to make a perfect sphere inside the concave part of the instrument.
- If you are not satisfied with the ball you got, rotate the scoop two more times before pulling it out of the pulp.
- If you are using a tool with a plastic handle or blade, do not apply pressure; if the fruit is particularly dense, you may break the burrow.
Step 5. Change the size of the spheres using other tools
Many scavengers come with blades of different sizes at each end. If you want to make spheres of even greater size, try the metal measuring spoons (the ones widely used in American cooking).
Plastic measuring spoons can be useful with softer fruits, such as watermelon
Method 2 of 2: Alternative Uses
Step 1. Core the fruit
Cut the apple, pear or fruit you are preparing in half following the direction of the stem. Press the digger into the center of each half, twisting it to extract the core.
Cut a cucumber in half lengthwise and then remove the seeds by running the digger along the pulp
Step 2. Get rid of fruit imperfections
Cut a peach in half and remove the pit. If the pulp surrounding the seed is dry or moldy, scrape it off with the concave part of the digger. Likewise, it eliminates all other defects on the surface of the fruit, in the places that are difficult to reach with the knife.
You can get rid of the "eyes" of potatoes using the same technique
Step 3. Use the digger to carve other foods
You can shape any thick substance, from shortcrust pastry to meat mixture for meatballs, to dumplings, to make balls with this tool. Make sure you are using the correct size digger; if the recipe calls for making rather large spheres, the small ones could burn during cooking.
- The plastic digger is only useful with soft foods, such as sorbet.
- Try dipping it in very hot water and sculpt small sundae ice creams.
Step 4. Shell the small fruits with a serrated digger
Some models have a serrated edge that allows for greater control and a more secure grip; you can use them to remove strawberry leaves or to prepare Pachino tomatoes before stuffing them.
