Melon ball cutter; Melon ball tool

A hand tool used to scoop fruit into uniform balls. The tool has a half-sphere scoop on the end of a handle; some models have a scoop on both ends of the handle, each a different size. The scoops range from ⅜ to 1 inch (9 mm to 2.5 cm) in diameter. This tool is also referred to as a vegetable scoop, a ball cutter, and a Parisienne cutter in kitchen jargon (the last stemming from the tool’s usefulness in shaping potato spheres for pommes Parisienne, a classic dish of roasted balls of potato). A melon ball cutter is also used to make small, curled chocolate shavings and is very handy for removing strawberry hulls and the core from pear halves. The cutters are now being manufactured to produce ovals as well as rounds.