Have you ever tried to cut a tomato and ended up with more of a gooey mess than anything else? We're here to help. Read on to learn three ways to neatly slice or dice a tomato.

No matter how you're cutting it, always begin by washing then coring the tomato. Insert a paring knife partway into the fruit, near the stem. Using short cuts, work your way around the stem until it -- along with any tough fibers -- simply pops out.

Turn the cored tomato onto its side, and begin slicing at the desired width. To safely make the final cuts, turn it back right-side up and make the cuts horizontally.

To dice a tomato, first slice it as described above. Next, take a slice (or stack two or three together) and cut it into strips about the same width as the slices. Grab the strips with your off hand and hold them together while turning them a quarter-turn.

Cut more strips across the previous strips to make a square pattern. The more uniform in width the cuts are, the closer to square-shaped the pieces will be.

Finely dicing a tomato requires removing its seeds and pulp. Do this by first cutting a cored tomato in half from top to bottom, then cutting each half into wedges, usually about four wedges per half.

Next, use your knife to carefully remove the pulp and seeds from each wedge. Move confidently with a sharp knife, and they should come out cleanly and easily.

When each wedge has been scraped clean, cut them into strips of even widths, then turn them and cut again into squares.

One of the most important things about cutting a tomato is having the right tool in hand. The cook in the Cooktop Cove video uses an ultra-sharp chef's knife; other people prefer to use a smaller knife with a serrated edge. There are even specially-made tomato knives, some with forked tips for easily picking up delicate pieces after cutting.

Before practicing your slicing skills, please share these tomato tips with your Facebook friends!

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