After guaranteeing your papaya is ripe by checking if it feels firm and smells sweet, there are two ideal ways to slice it: the scoop effect and the fruit ninja style.

The scooping effect refers to scooping papaya out of the skin to make small balls of fruit. First, wash your papaya, cut it lengthwise, and scoop out all the little black seeds.

These seeds contain equal nutritional benefits as the flesh, so save them for later. Then, use an ice cream or melon scooper to carve out the small balls of fruit.

For the fruit ninja style, slice the fruit down the middle lengthways, peel off the outer skin, deseed the center, then chop the papaya into slices or cubes.

Slices are perfect if you want to eat your papaya au natural, while cubes are easier to blend into smoothies. The scoop shapes, on the other hand, work great as a garnish.