The knife method, done right: slice off the crown and the base so the pineapple stands flat. Stand it up and shave the skin off in downward strips, following the curve — take enough to remove the brown 'eyes.' Quarter it lengthwise, cut the woody core strip off each quarter, then slice into chunks. Four steps, about five minutes, one sticky cutting board.

The shortcut: a stainless steel pineapple corer does the peeling, coring and slicing in one motion. Cut the top off, center the tool, twist it down like a corkscrew, and pull out perfect rings in under 30 seconds — the shell stays intact, which also makes a great serving bowl for fruit salad.

Sweetness tip: the bottom third of a pineapple is the sweetest. Store it upside down for a day before cutting and the sugars distribute through the whole fruit.

Best for: Fruit platters, smoothies, grilled pineapple and anyone intimidated by whole pineapples at the store.

The knife method: halve the melon through the middle, place each half flat-side down, and slice a grid — first one direction, then the other — so cubes fall away from the rind. For parties, try the sticks trick: cut the grid deeper and the melon becomes handheld sticks with a rind handle at the bottom. Kids demolish these.

The shortcut: a 2-in-1 watermelon slicer and fork tool cuts clean, uniform slices and serves them in the same motion — no juice flood across the counter, no wrestling a 10-pound melon with a chef's knife. All stainless steel, so it goes straight in the dishwasher after the BBQ.

Storage: cut watermelon keeps 3–4 days refrigerated and airtight, so a Sunday melon can cover a week of lunchboxes.

Best for: BBQs, pool days, lunchboxes and the July 4th fruit table.

Emergency rooms genuinely have a name for it — avocado hand — because the standard advice of whacking a knife into the pit goes wrong constantly. The safer knife method: cut around the pit lengthwise, twist the halves apart, then remove the pit with a spoon or by pinching it out with a folded towel. Never hold the avocado in your palm while cutting.

The genuinely safe method: a 3-in-1 avocado tool splits, pits and slices with a plastic blade sharp enough for avocado skin but not for fingers. Split the fruit, twist the pitter over the pit, then pull the fan blade through each half for perfect, even slices straight out of the shell.

Keep the second half from browning: leave the pit in, press plastic wrap or a lid directly against the flesh, and refrigerate. A squeeze of lemon buys you another day.

Best for: Toast, guacamole, meal-prep bowls and anyone who has ever googled 'avocado cut finger.'

The knife method is fine for one apple: quarter it, angle-cut the core out of each quarter, slice to taste. But if you are filling lunchboxes or building a snack plate, doing that five times gets old fast.

An apple cutter and divider cores and wedges the whole fruit in a single push — center it over the stem, press down, done. Uniform wedges, core left behind, and it works just as well on pears. At 15 x 11cm it lives in a drawer and cleans in the dishwasher.

Anti-browning trick for lunchboxes: soak cut apple wedges in lightly salted water for five minutes, rinse, and pack — they stay white until lunchtime without tasting salty.

Best for: School lunches, snack plates, charcuterie boards and pie prep.

For most people, small fruits just need a rinse and a bowl. But two situations call for more: halving grapes safely for small kids (put the grape between two flat lids and slice through the gap — a dozen at a time), and peeling soft-skinned fruit for fancier preparations.

If you regularly peel grapes, tomatoes or garlic — for canning, fruit salads, or entertaining — the USB-rechargeable electric peeler automates the single most tedious job in the kitchen. It removes soft skins in seconds per fruit, and it earns its keep the first time you peel tomatoes for a batch of sauce.

This one is a specialist tool: skip it if you never peel small fruit, grab it if you do it every summer.

Best for: Canning season, fruit salads for a crowd, and tomato-sauce weekends.