How to carve a watermelon

Is there a fruit or vegetable that screams SUMMER more than watermelon? I defy anyone to say so (unless you're in a country where watermelon isn't plentiful and cheap in the summer like it is here). Sure, there are people who love their tomatoes and peaches and corn and squash, but, let's be real. You can get those things any time of year. Obviously, the quality suffers, but watermelon consumption is still very much limited to the summer. 

I don't know about you, but this means I eat as much watermelon as possible for the entirety of the summer. I can't get enough of it. I don't really enjoy other melons, but sweet, crisp, juicy watermelon is something I'll never turn down.

It's not rocket science, but I can't believe I have lived for this long without knowing the best way to carve up a watermelon. I have my mom's inner circle of Korean lady friends to thank for introducing my mom (who introduced me) to this method. They often cook for dozens of people at a time and need to know the best ways to both work quickly and stretch the value of their produce.

This is an especially great way to carve up a watermelon if you have to share with people like my brother, who constantly steal the "heart" of the watermelon, a.k.a. the sweetest part. When I cubed it all up, he couldn't tell which pieces were from the inner part of the watermelon and that meant there were some left for everyone to enjoy. Suck on that, brother! :P

So, what follows are the pictures of how I proceeded to carve the watermelon. The captions to the photos will have whatever instructions I think are necessary, but I think the pictures are pretty self-explanatory. Get yourself a watermelon while the gettin' is good, y'all!

Cut the ends of the watermelon off.

 ^^^^^^^That way, you can stand it up, like so ^^^^^

With your large knife, start peeling the rind away from the watermelon. 

Trim away any white rind that remains. Usually, I end up with some white rind at the bottom of the watermelon.

Cut it in half. I saved the other half to cut up later. I think that watermelon keeps for longer in the fridge if you haven't cut it up.

Slice the watermelon lengthwise, in one-inch thick slices.

Now, slice the watermelon going the other way.

With your knife's blade parallel to the counter, run your knife through the watermelon. I was able to make two horizontal cuts through this half of my watermelon. 

After the first cut, you have pieces that are just a little too big to be bite-sized. I ran my knife through the watermelon again, slicing them into smaller pieces.  

Thusly.

Now look at the beautiful work you've done. Sweet, juicy cubes of summer, all ready to be eaten!