You've Been Slicing, Dicing, Pitting And Peeling Your Produce All Wrong. Until Now.

Ain't nobody got time for grueling food prep.

Cooking is fun. Eating is fun. Sometimes you want to get the cooking done so you can get to the eating. We can respect that.

The following tricks will have you prepping produce quicker than ever before, and they'll cut down clean-up time, too. No special tools are required. Never bought a cherry pitter? Use a paperclip! Want cubed watermelon? Have it now!

Get these time-saving tips below, then tell us in the comments what other foods you'd like to be able to whip up in seconds. You're welcome!

Pare And Slice An Avocado Without Any Mushy Mistakes

Kin Community
What you’ll need: An avocado, a spoon and a knife.
What to do: Use a sharp knife to cut around the pit, then twist the two halves apart. Hit the pit with the knife to embed it in the blade, then remove it from the fruit. Slice the flesh of the avocado without cutting through the tough, outer skin, and then scoop out the insides with a spoon. Full instructions here.

Peel A Banana Struggle-Free

Crazy Bananas
What you’ll need: A banana.
What to do: Peel the fruit from the bottom, not the stem. Counter-intuitive, but works like a charm! Full instructions here.

Shuck Corn Without Making A Stringy Mess

Carl Blemming
What you’ll need: A husk of corn. a sharp knife and a microwave.
What to do: First microwave the corn in its husk for three to four minutes. Use oven mitts to remove the corn from the microwave, and cut off the shank. Use a knife to lead it out of the husk. Full instructions here.

Pit A Cherry With A Paperclip

Chow
What you’ll need: Cherries, a paperclip.
What to do: Bend the paper clip open, then push it through the stem end of the fruit. Twist until the pit comes out. Full instructions here.

Cut Grapes In Half -- Fast!

Wayne Lambright
What you’ll need: Grapes, a sharp knife and two tupperware lids or matching plates.
What to do: Sandwich a bunch of grapes between two plates or lids. Add pressure with one hand, then slice (away from your face) with the other. Full instructions here.

Segment A Grapefruit For Immediate Enjoyment

neotech40
What you’ll need: A grapefruit, a serrated knife.
What to do: First you'll need to remove the center of the grapefruit (that part with the thick, white stem) by coring it as you would an apple. Then, take the tip of the knife and set it right at the edge of the cored hole. Cut segments all around the fruit (without cutting through the top hole) and there you have it: Beautifully sliced grapefruit wedges. Full instructions here.

Peel And Cut A Kiwi With Ease

Min0M03
What you’ll need: A kiwi, a spoon and a knife.
What to do: Slice off one end of the kiwi. Take a spoon and circle it around the circumference of the fruit, getting right under the skin. Cut the now-skinless fruit as desired.Full instructions here.

Peel A Mango With A Cup

Crazy Russian Hacker
What you’ll need: A mango, a sharp knife and a hard plastic cup.
What to do: Cut the fruit along its pit. Then place the rim of the glass just where the skin meets the fruit and push the mango down the side of the glass. The skin should peel off in one piece. Full instructions here.

Peel An Orange Without Squirting Juice Everywhere

CrazyRussianHacker
What you’ll need: An orange, a sharp knife and your hands.
What to do: Carefully cut the orange (perpendicular to its stem) without breaking into the actual flesh of the fruit. Once you've cut all the way around, use your fingers to scoop off each side into bowl-shaped peels. Full instructions here.

Dice An Onion Like A Master Chef

Good Housekeeping
What you’ll need: An onion, a sharp knife.
What to do: Trim off the stem of the onion and cut it in half through the root end. Peel off the skin. Make horizontal cuts perpendicular to the stem of the onion (but don't go all the way through the root). Then make vertical cuts (still keeping the root connected). Then chop across the width of the onion to the size of your liking. Full instructions here.

Julienne Or Dice A Pepper Despite Its Awkward Curves

Yummly
What you’ll need: A pepper, a sharp knife.
What to do: Cut off both ends of the pepper. Stand the pepper on its cut end and slide the knife along the inside of the pepper to remove the core and seeds. Cut the pepper in half. Now you have a pepper canvas to cut into any shape you wish. Full instructions here.

Cut A Pineapple Super Quick

(And Make Pineapple Water Simultaneously)

Weelicious
What you’ll need: A pineapple, a sharp knife (and a pitcher).
What to do: Don't be intimidated by this spiky beast! Cut off the leafy top and the pineapple's bottom. Then cut off the spiky sides, close enough to the inside of the pineapple where you can then remove the "eyes." Cut the skinless fruit in half. Now quarter the fruit and remove the hard, center core. Continue to slice just how you want it. Full instructions here.

Peel An Entire Bag Of Potatoes In Under 60 Seconds

SSWIFeatured
What you’ll need: A bag of potatoes, a power hose, a bucket, a drill and a cheap toilet brush.
What to do: Put the potatoes into the bucket. Attach the end of the toilet brush onto the drill. With the hose in one hand and the drill in the other, turn both on and power wash the spuds. Full instructions here.

Hull A Strawberry With A Straw

ForkNPlate
What you’ll need: Strawberries, a straw.
What to do:: Perhaps this is why it's called a strawberry, no? In any case, use the straw to pierce through the bottom of the fruit and push it straight through to the top. Pluck off the remaining leaves. Full instructions here.

Cut A Bunch Of Cherry Tomatoes In Seconds

DaveHax
What you’ll need: Cherry tomatoes, a sharp knife and two same-sized plates.
What to do: Sandwich a bunch of tiny tomatoes between two plates . Add pressure with one hand, then slice with the other. Full instructions here.

Cube Watermelon Like A Pro

This Blew My Mind
What you’ll need: A watermelon, a sharp knife, a bag.
What to do: Cut the watermelon -- lengthwise -- in half. Make two long slices down each side, being sure not to cut all the way through. Separate the flesh from the rind by cutting in a circular shape around the center. Slice crisscross cuts into the flesh of the fruit. Tip the melon over and watch the pieces tumble out. Full instructions here.

Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr.

Before You Go

Roasted Sesame Asparagus Toasts With Poached Eggs

100 Vegetable Dishes

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE